DISCOURSE OF W. B. TAYLOR. 286 



and ethnology, of the United States, cannot be too highly estimated : 

 but the support of such a collection ought not to be a burden upon 

 the Smithsonian fund." * 



The popular mind did not however appear to be prepared to 

 accept these earnest presentations; and in 1858, thfe National 

 Museum was transferred by law to the custody of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, with the same annual appropriation (4,000 dollars) 

 which had been granted to the United States Patent Office when in 

 charge of it. 



So rapidly were the treasures of the Museum increased by the 

 gathered fruits of various government explorations and surveys, 

 as well as by the voluntary contributions of the numerous and 

 wide-spread tributaries of the Institution, that the policy was early 

 adopted of freely distributing duplicate specimens to other institu- 

 tions where they would be most appreciated and most usefully 

 applied. And in this way the Smithsonian became a valuable 

 center of diffusion of the means of investigation in geology, miner- 

 alogy, botany, zoology, and archseology.f The clea,r foresight which 

 announced that the Museum must very soon outgrow the entire 

 capacity of the Smithsonian resources, has been most amply vindi- 

 cated: J and to-day a large Government building is stored from 

 basement to attic, with boxed up rarities of art and nature, suffi- 

 cient more than twice to fill the Smithsonian halls and galleries, 

 in addition to their present overflowing display. § The strong desire 

 of Henry to see established in Washington a National Museum on 

 a scale worthy of our resources, and in which the existing over- 

 grown collections might be so beneficia,lly exhibited, he did not live 



* Smitfisonian Report for 1853, p. 11 (of Sfen. ed.)— p. 9 (of H. Rep. ed.) 



tSee "Supplement," Note L. 



X From the rapid growth of the national collection after it was transferred to 

 the custody of the Smithsonian Institution, tlie annual appropriation of 4,000 dol- 

 lars by Congress very soon became -wholly insufficient to defray even one-half its 

 necessary expenses. A memorial signed by the Chancellor and the Secretary, 

 was presented to Congress May 1, 1868, in which the memorialists "beg leave to 

 represent on behalf of the Board of Regents, that the usual annual appropriation 

 of 4,000 dollars Is wholly Inadequate to the cost of preparing; preserving, and 

 exhibiting the specimens; — the actual expenditure for that purpose, in 1867, 

 having been over 12,000 dollars." (Smithsonian Report for 1867, p. 115.) It was not 

 however till 1871 that the appropriation was raised to 10,000 dollars. In 1873, It 

 was increased to 15,000 dollars, and in 1875, to 20,000 dollars. 



2 See "Supplement," Note M. 



