50 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Museum. — During the year 1859 the labelling and repairing the 

 specimens received from the Patent Office, and setting up and classi- 

 fying new specimens collected by the Institution, or deposited by dif- 

 ferent government explorations, have been uninterruptedly continued 

 under the immediate direction of Professor Baird. 



The extensive series of corals collected during the United States 

 exploring expedition have been arranged and labelled by Professor 

 Dana, of New Haven, by whom they were originally described, and 

 now constitute an interesting and attractive part of the general mu- 

 seum. We have also employed a distinguished conchologist, Mr. P. 

 P. Carpenter, of Warrington, England, to classify and label the ex- 

 tensive collection of shells, and have been favored in this work with 

 the co-operation of the principal gentlemen most distinguished in 

 this country for their original investigations in this branch of natural 

 history. Mr. Isaac Lea, of Philadelphia, assisted by Dr. Foreman, 

 has named the Unionidas; Mr. Binney, of New Jersey, the Helicidaa; 

 Mr. Stimpson, the shells of the eastern coast of the United States j 

 and Dr. Gould has identified the new species of the exploring expe- 

 dition, and rendered aid in the classification of the collection gene- 

 rally. Assistance has also been rendered by Mr. J. G. Anthony, Mr. 

 James Lewis, Dr. Newcomb. and Mr. Lapham. 



A taxidermist has been constantly engaged in going over the col- 

 lection. He has mounted several hundred new specimens of birds, 

 and set up a considerable number of large quadrupeds. 



According to the statement of Professor Baird, the number of en- 

 tries in the record books, of additions to the museum, in the line of 

 zoology, during the year 1859, amounts to 11,691, and the whole 

 number of records in all the books is 37,197; but, as explained in 

 previous reports, this number is far from exhibiting the aggregate of 

 specimens catalogued; each entry frequently includes all the speci- 

 mens of any one species received at one time from one locality, and, 

 in some cases, embraces several hundred individual objects. It will 

 not be too high if we estimate five specimens on the average to each 

 entry, and we shall then have 185,985 as the aggregate of these ob- 

 jects now in the museum. In addition to the foregoing, there is a 

 large collection of specimens in ethnology, botany, mineralogy, and 

 geology. 



The object of the Institution in obtaining so large a number of du- 

 plicates is, that they may be distributed for the advancement of 



