REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 15 



has been wrongly identified and supposed to be of service in medicine, 

 or some harmless animal feared as noxious. 



The publications of the Institution and its dependencies reach every 

 State and almost every county in the United States. A careful study 

 of the subject made two or three years ago by the president of one of 

 the scientific societies in Washington seems to indicate that there are 

 several States which are reached by no scientific publications whatever 

 except those distributed gratuitously by the Government. 



Speaking of the Smithsonian Institution proper, and not of the Mu- 

 seum or any other trust that it administers, it may be stated that noth- 

 ing could be so desirable lor the Institution as that Congress should 

 examine for itself whether, on the whole, in the execution of the trust 

 of Smithson, more has been given to the Government than has been 

 received ; for if, in attempting to increase and diffuse knowledge among 

 mankind, the machinery of the Institution's action has been such that 

 it has incidentally paid over to the Government the equivalent of much 

 more than the whole original fund, these facts should surely be known 

 to those who have to ask themselves in what spirit as well as for what 

 purpose the Institution expends money placed in its charge. 



Professor Laugley has pointed out that "although by the judicious 

 administration of the Smithson fund nearly a million and a half dollars — 

 the fruits of its investment — have beeu applied during the past forty 

 years to the advancement of science and education in America (in ad- 

 dition to the principal, $703,000. larger now than ever before) it should 

 be remembered that the income of the Institution is only $12,000 a year, 

 a sum much smaller in its power to effect results than ever in previous 

 years." 



Can the United States fail to recognize its obligation to supplement 

 liberally this private contribution for public good, especially if it be 

 borne in mind that, as Professor Langley has recently shown, the Insti- 

 tution has left in perpetual charge of the nation, in the Museum alone, 

 property acquired out of its private fund (and to which it has appar- 

 ently the same title) which is probably now more than equal in value 

 to the whole amount of the Smithsonian bequest ? 



THE EDUCATIONAL WORK OF THE MUSEUM. 



The work of the Museum, if it only performed the functions of an 

 institution for scientific investigation, would be of sufficient value to 

 justify its maintenance and extension. 



As a matter of fact, it not only performs these functions but also does 

 a very great deal to render the resources of science available to the 

 public at large. 



Professor Huxley's definition of a museum was that it is " a consulta- 

 tive library of objects." 



The National Museum is a consultative library for the scientific man, 

 and it is something more. It aims to be an agency for the instruction 



