REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. V> 



about 235,000. In 1884. when the additional room afforded by the new 

 building gave opportunity for taking a provisional census of the large 

 accessions received from Philadelphia and from other sources, the 

 number had grown to 1,471,000. At the close of the year covered 

 by this report the total number of recorded specimens was 5,898,493. 

 While these figures convey no impression of the bulk of the collec- 

 tions, when it is considered that by L885 all of the space in both build- 

 ings was completely filled, and in fact so overcrowded that a third 

 building was already being asked of Congress, some conception may 

 be had of the conditions now existing. The storerooms are packed to 

 their utmost capacity, making it difficult to gain access to the speci- 

 mens or to provide adequately for their safety. For many years most 

 of the objects received have had to be stored in outside and unsafe 

 structures, where they are mainly piled up in the original packing- 

 boxes, and where has already accumulated enough material of great 

 intrinsic and scientific value to fill an additional building as large as 

 that now occupied by the main collections. 



AS A MUSEUM OF RESEARCH. 



In order to permit of their examination and study, as provided in 

 the act of establishment, the collections of the Museum are, to the 

 extent of its accommodations, arranged systematically and in a manner 

 convenient for reference. Access to the reserve or study series, so 

 called, consisting of the main body of the collections and as complete 

 in all the groups as the accessions have made possible, is given to all 

 properly qualified persons engaged in original research. The oppor- 

 tunities thus afforded are widely availed of, the Museum being visited 

 every year b}^ many investigators, some of world-wide distinction, 

 coming from the scientific centers of European and other foreign 

 countries, as well as from all parts of the United States. Material is 

 also occasionally sent out to representatives of other institutions hav- 

 ing the means of providing for its safe-keeping, when required in the 

 working up of special subjects, or for comparison in connection with 

 their own collections. 



The custodianship of the collections being the first and most impera- 

 tive duty devolving upon the scientific staff of the National Museum, 

 its members find comparatively little time during office hours for 

 advancing knowledge, though they are mostly well qualified for such 

 work, being selected with special reference to their ability to identify 

 and classify the specimens under their charge in accordance with the 

 latest researches. As a matter of fact, however, the staff does pro- 

 duce every year a large number of papers descriptive of the collec- 

 tions, which together constitute an important contribution to scientific 

 literature. 



