28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1909. 



further details concerning this exchange, will be found in the ap- 

 pended report on the exchanges. 



The increase in the number of packages handled by the bureau 

 during the past year was the largest in the history of the exchanges — 

 25,777 more packages having passed through the service than in 

 1908, the total number being 228,875. The weight of these pack- 

 ages was 476,169 pounds, a gain of 40,884 pounds over the preceding 

 year. 



The congressional appropriation for carrying on the system of 

 exchanges during 1909 was $32,200 (the same amount as was granted 

 for the preceding year), and the sum collected on account of repay- 

 ments was $3,777.33, making the total available resources $35,977.33. 



The results of the efforts of the bureau to procure larger returns of 

 publications from abroad for the Library of Congress and the several 

 departments and bureaus of the Government have been more than 

 satisfactory — in fact, they have far exceeded my expectations, in 

 some cases hundreds of volumes having been received. 



The Japanese department of foreign affairs, which has in the past 

 been good enough to distribute exchanges sent in its care for cor- 

 respondents in Japan, has recently signified its willingness to for- 

 ward to the Smithsonian Institution consignments bearing addresses 

 in the United States. 



A bureau of exchanges has been established by the Kingdom of 

 Servia and placed under the direction of the department of foreign 

 affairs at Belgrade, and the Argentine exchange bureau has been 

 separated from the National Library and connected with the super- 

 vising commission of public libraries at Buenos Aires. 



The total number of full sets of United States official publications 

 now sent regularly to depositories abroad is 55, and the number of 

 partial sets 33, Servia having been added during the year to the 

 former and Alsace-Lorraine to the latter. 



The number of correspondents has increased from year to year 

 until the aggregate is now 62,630, or 2,507 more than at the conclu- 

 sion of the fiscal year 1908. 



NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 



The National Zoological Park during the year added 576 new 

 animals to its collections, which offsets a loss of 562 by exchange, 

 death, and return of animals, and brings the number of individuals 

 on hand June 30, 1909, up to 1,416. There were 564,639 visitors, a 

 daily average of about 1,547, the largest number in any one month 

 being in April, when 127,635 were counted, a daily average of 4,254. 



The entire support of the park was derived from an appropriation 

 of $95,000 for general purposes, including the purchase, transporta- 

 tion, care, and maintenance of animals; the care and improvement 



