THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 25 



tion. To these, in all cases, respectful answers have been returned, 

 and an endeavor has been made to impress upon the correspondent 

 the distinction between fanciful speculation and definite scientific in- 

 vestigation. 



Education. — The plan of organization of this Institution does not 

 include the application of any of its funds directly to educational pur- 

 poses. Were the whole Smithsonian income applied to this one ob- 

 ject, but little, comparatively, of importance could be effected, and 

 that little would scarcely be in accordance with the liberal intention 

 of the testator, as expressed in his will, by the terms "the increase 

 and diffusion of knowledge among men." Still, the theory and art 

 of education are susceptible of improvement, as well as of a wider ap- 

 plication ; and therefore, though the Institution may not attempt to do 

 anything itself in the way of elementary instruction, it may, in ac- 

 cordance with its plan of operations, assist in diffusing a knowledge 

 of the progress of the art of teaching, and of its application in this 

 country. 



At a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of 

 Education, held in this building in December, 1854, a committee was 

 appointed, which called the attention of the Institution to the im- 

 portance of aiding in preparing and publishing a history of education 

 in the several States of the Union, the object of which would be to 

 diffuse a knowledge of what has been done in each section of the 

 country among all the others, and thus to render the separate expe- 

 rience of each beneficial to the whole. After consultation with the 

 members of the Executive Committee, then in the city, it was con- 

 cluded to devote $350 to this purpose. This sum has accordingly 

 been advanced to the Hon. Henry Barnard, of Connecticut, who has col- 

 lected and digested for publication the materials for a work of this kind. 



The subject will be presented under the following heads : 



1. Survey of the principal agencies which determine the education 

 of a people, with an explanation of the American nomenclature of 

 schools and education. 



2. A brief sketch of the action of the general government in the 

 matter of education and schools. 



3. Legislation of each State respecting education, 



4. Condition of education in each State, according to the census re- 

 turns of 1850, and other reliable sources of information. 



5. Educational funds — State, municipal, and institutional. . 



6. Educational buildings : remarks on their general condition, with 

 illustrations of a few of the best specimens of each class of buildings. 



7. Catalogue of documents relating to the educational systems and 

 institutions in each State. 



8. Statistical tables, with a summary of educational agencies, such 

 as the press, ecclesiastical organizations, facilities of locomotion, &c. 



9. A brief statement of the educational systems and statistics of 

 the most civilized countries of Europe. 



The work will either be published as a separate report on educa- 

 tion, or may be given in a series of numbers of the American Journal 

 of Education, extra copies of which will be obtained for distribution. 



