KEPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 21 



that during the last eight years the number of accessions has been half 

 as large again as during the previous twenty-one years. Many of the 

 more recent ones are of very great extent. Among these may be men- 

 tioned the bequest of the late Isaac Lea, of Philadelphia, which con- 

 tains 20,000 specimens of shells, besides minerals and other objects ; 

 the Jeffreys collection of fossil and recent shells of Europe, including 

 40,000 specimens; the Stearns collection of mollusks, numbering 100,000 

 specimens ; the Kiley collection of insects containing 150,000 specimens ; 

 the Catlin collection of Indian paintings, about 500 in number ; the collec- 

 tion of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, for the transporta- 

 tion of which to Washington several freight-cars were required. 



There are also the extensive collections obtained at the Fisheries Ex- 

 hibitions at Berlin and London and at the close of the New Orleans 

 Cotton Centennial; the Shepard collection of meteorites; the Wilson 

 collection of archaeological objects (more than 12,000 specimens); the 

 Lorillard collection of Central American antiquities, and very many 

 others nearly as extensive. In addition to these are the annual accre- 

 tions from the work of the U. S. Fish Commission, the U. S. Geological 

 Survey, and the Bureau of Ethnology, as well as the contributions from 

 several expeditions of the Government, from Armj^ and Navy officers, 

 and from other Government officials. These have been very extensive, 

 and are yearly increasing in bulk and value. 



The accessions during the year are 1,481 in number (19351-20831). 

 These consist, in the aggregate, of more than 137,000 specimens. A 

 table showing approximately the number of specimens in the Museum 

 in 1882 and received each year since is given in the next paragraph, de- 

 voted to the census of the collections. 



CENSUS OF THE COLLECTIONS. 



One of the most striking features in connection with the affairs of the 

 Museum is the remarkable increase in the extent of its collections. This 

 increase is in a large degree spontaneous, only a very small sum of money 

 being available for the purchase of new material. As might be supposed, 

 a considerable proportion of the objects given duplicate material already 

 on hand, and although these contributions can with the utmost advan- 

 tage be used for distribution to other museums and schools, they do 

 not increase, as much as is desired, the value of the collections for 

 study by specialists and for general educational purposes. TLie need 

 of a larger fund for the purchase of specimens is yearly more manifest. 

 Exceedingly important material is constantly offered to us at prices 

 very much below what it would cost to obtain it by collecting, and, in 

 many instances, when refused, it is eagerly taken by the museums and 

 institutions of Europe. The extent and character of the recent addi- 

 tions to the collections may, perhaps, be better shown by the appended 

 table than in any other way. This table shows comparatively the re- 

 sults of a census of the collections taken annually for the past six 

 years, and from it it appears that the number of specimens, or of lots of 



