274 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 
From S. F. Baird to George P. Marsh, Constantinople. 
Wasuincton, May 2, 1852. 
My pear Mr. anp Mrs. Marsu:— 
Your most welcome letter of March 3rd and 14th arrived a day 
or two ago, and has been read and re-read a dozen times. I had only 
to regret its extreme brevity, as a man in Constantinople who has 
nothing to do, might write more than four pages at a time, don’t 
you think so? Still I fear I may not do much better, as I now write 
at night and shall probably finish this letter while asleep. 
I know you will rejoice to learn that the Board of Regents at 
their meeting yesterday raised salaries of us assistants five hundred 
each; Jewett now has 2500 and I 2000. I hope next year they will 
bring mine up to his mark and then I shall be satisfied. As to the 
occupation with clerical business, I fear we will never be able to get 
out of this. So much there is to be done, and so little money to 
do it with, that I fear we must ever be hewers of wood and 
drawers of water. 
We are getting on well at the Smithsonian, although no com- 
mencement has yet been made upon the interior of the main building. 
The tower rooms will all be done in a few days; after which some plan 
of fireproofing will probably be accepted, and the whole rapidly 
hurried to completion. The active operations are progressing finely. 
Mr. Jewett’s stereotyping promises well, and he is commencing to 
work in earnest at the catalogue. I have ushered two new volumes 
of Contributions nearly through the press besides some octavos. 
My grand plan of international exchange is working like a charm. 
The German periodicals and the letters of societies are filled with 
encomia upon the “Grossartigkeit” and all that sort of thing of the 
Institution. I have accumulated a vast amount of matter to send 
off this spring, with our books, such as abstracts of Census, maps 
of Railroads and Canals, Congressional documents, Schoolcraft’s 
book, etc. Last year you remember I made up 240 cubic feet, or 
8,000 pounds of books for Europe. This year the amount will 
probably be doubled. All the communication between Scientific 
bodies throughout Europe and America comes through us; and all 
concerned are loud in praise of the efficiency and despatch of the 
