REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 11 



ruary 24, 1874, to December 31, 1875, amounting to $118.49, which will 

 be expended in accordance with the will of the donor. 



The interest on the Virginia bonds collected during the year amouuted 

 to 14,750.11. 



It was stated in the last report that at the time of the suspension of 

 the First National Bank of Washington, (19th September, 1873,) in 

 which the current funds had been deposited by direction of the board, 

 there were $8,224.87 to the credit of the Institution. The following divi- 

 dends have been received on this deposit : November 11, 1873, 30 per 

 cent. ; on the 7th April, 1874, 20 per cent. ; on the 5th May, 1875, 10 

 per cent. ; and on the 27th December, 1875, 15 per cent., or a total of 

 75 per cent., or $6,168.04, leaving a balance still due of $2,056.23. 



PUBLICATIONS. 



The publications of the Institution are of three classes, viz: the Con- 

 tributions to Knowledge, the Miscellaneous Collections, and 

 the Annual Repoets. The first consist of memoirs containing posi- 

 tive additions to science resting on original research, and which are 

 generally the result of investigations to which the Institution has, in 

 some way, rendered assistance. The Miscellaneous Collections are 

 composed of works iutended to facilitate the study of branches of 

 natural history, meteorology, &c, and are designed especially to induce 

 individuals to engage in these studies as specialties. The Annual 

 Reports, besides an account of the operations, expenditures, and con- 

 dition of the Institution, coutaiu translations from works not generally 

 accessible to American students, reports of lectures, extracts from cor- 

 respondence, &c. 



The following are the rules which have been adopted for the distribu- 

 tion of the several publications of the Institution : 



1st. They are presented to learned societies of the first class which 

 in return give complete series of their publications to the Institution. 



2d. To libraries of the first class which give in exchange their cata- 

 logues and other publications, or an equivalent from their duplicate 

 volumes. 



3d. To colleges of the first class which furnish catalogues of their 

 libraries and of their students, and all other publications relative to 

 their organization and history. 



4th. To States and Territories, provided they give in return copies of 

 all documents published under their authority. 



5th. To public libraries in this country, containing 15,000 volumes, 

 especially if no other copies are given in the same place; and to smaller 

 libraries where a large district would be otherwise unsupplied. 



6th. To institutions devoted exclusively to the promotion of particu- 

 lar branches of knowledge are given such Smithsonian publications as 

 relate to their respective objects. 



7th. The Annual Reports are presented to the meteorological observ- 



