22 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



been entirely suspended, although there is near prospect of renewed 

 communications with the former country. 



The international exchange of official documents has aggregated 

 10,694 parcels received from foreign countries for various Departments 

 of the United States Government, and 30,008 packages have been 

 received from United States Government Departments and shipped 

 abroad. 



This branch of the service is naturally of most importance to the 

 Government, the foreign receipts having resulted in building up a very 

 complete collection of publications of the various governments of the 

 world. 



The total amount available for use of the service during the year 

 was $22,334.33, which included the Congressional appropriation of 

 $19,000 and $3,334.33 received from various Executive Departments 

 for transmission of their outgoing and incoming exchanges. 



The slight increase in the annual appropriation granted by Congress 

 during the past year for improving the facilities for the transportation 

 of exchanges has permitted an improvement in the promptness of 

 dispatch by the payment of ocean freight on a portion of the ex- 

 changes, which have been forwarded by some of the faster steamers 

 instead of necessarily delaying shipments until opportunity permitted 

 free transmission by later vessels. This slight improvement has bene- 

 fited tlie service to such an extent that it is hoped Congress will 

 realize the benefits derived from expenditures of this character, and 

 in future will appropriate sufficient means to enable all exchanges to 

 be forwarded to their destination without interruption. A great deal 

 of matter forwarded through the International Exchanges is most val- 

 uable at the time of publication, and there should be no impediment 

 to prompt delivery. 



The number of correspondents at present on the records of the 

 exchange service is 28,008, of which 21,427 are foreign — an increase of 

 2,527 over last year — and 6,581 are domestic, being an increase over 

 1896 of 567. 



Appended to my report for the year ended June 30, 1895, was a map 

 of the world showing the relative extent of the exchange service. 

 Since that time the far-reaching influence of the service has added so 

 many correspondents, and so many more remote countries have been 

 reached, that the preparation of a new map to more nearly represent 

 the number of corresj)ondents in each country will soon be necessary. 



THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 



I have always been of the opinion that the collection of living ani- 

 mals is a legitimate method of furthering the objects for which the 

 Smithsonian Institution was established. It was inevitable that sooner 

 or later an intelligent interest in such collections should be awakened 



