REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 15 



total number of orders given in the Index is (19; of genera, 545 ; of 

 Species, 3,038. The work forms an octavo volume of 484 pages. 



A work too long delayed, and constituting a most important addition 

 to the Miscellaneous Collections — a memoir of the founder, James Smith- 

 son, with a collection of his published contributions to science, followed 

 by a documentary history of the organization, rise, and progress of the 

 Institution — has during the past year been collected and prepared, and 

 is now in press. 



At a meeting of the Board of Regents, held January 23, 1878, it was 

 resolved that the Secretary be requested to have a memoir of James 

 Smithson prepared and published, to include all his scientific papers now 

 accessible; and that the Secretary prepare and publish a history of the 

 origin and progress of the Institution. In accordance with these resolu- 

 tions, the Secretary directed Mr. William J. Rhees, the chief clerk, who 

 had been connected with the Institution for more than twenty-five years, 

 to commence the collection of material for these works, and on the death 

 of Professor Henry, Mr. Rhees was requested to continue his labors. No 

 compilation of this character having been previously attempted, the in- 

 vestigation involved a laborious research. 



The scientific papers of Smithson, which originally appeared in the 

 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, and in Thom- 

 son's Annals of Philosophy, have been collected and reprinted; they 

 occupy ll'Ooctavo pages. These memoirs were submitted to several chem- 

 ists and mineralogists for an estimate of the scientific value of Smith- 

 son's researches, and the present acceptance or recognition of the results 

 obtained by him. 



The history of the Institution contains the will of Smithson, the man- 

 ner in which the bequest was obtained by the United States, the corre- 

 spondence between Hon. Richard Rush, the special agent of this govern- 

 ment, and the officials and attorneys in England, an account of the suit 

 in chancery which was found necessary to obtain the fund, an account 

 of the residuary legacy or sum left in England as the priucipal of an 

 annuity to the mother of the nephew of Smithson, and how this was 

 finally obtained and added to the fund. The legislation of Congress in 

 reference to the bequest is given, including a reprint of every resolution, 

 memorial, report, speech, and act from the proceedings of Congress that 

 have any reference to the fund or to the establishment and objects of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, from December 17, 1835, when President Jack- 

 son first informed Congress of the bequest, down to the 1st January,. 

 1878. 



The collection of this part of the history involved a minute examina- 

 tion of every page of the "Globe," containing the report of the proceed- 

 ings of Congress, and also a large number of documents and many of the 

 records printed and in manuscript on file at the Capitol or elsewhere. 

 The various plans proposed in the Senate and House of Representatives 

 for the carrying out the intentions of Smithson, by John Quincy Adams, 



