KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 47 



Accessions to the library. — The number of publications added to the 

 library during the year is 6,052, of which 648 are volumes of more than 

 100 pages, 903 are pamphlets, 4,343 are parts of regular serials, and 158 

 charts. The most important accession was the gift by the heirs of the 

 late Dr. Isaac Lea, consisting of 137 volumes, 276 " parts," and 693- 

 pamphlets, and including a nearly complete series of the " Proceedings 

 of the Zoological Society of London." There are now nineteen sectional 

 libraries attached to the several curatorships in the Museum. 



Publications of the Museum. — The issue of Museum publications during 

 the year has been uuusually small, owing to the pressure of Congres. 

 sional work at the Printing Office during the long Congressional session 

 of 1888, which caused the Museum work to be set aside. A number of 

 special publications are partialty completed, and will be issued soon 

 after the beginning of the next fiscal year. 



During the year volume 10 of Proceedings of the IT. S. National 

 Museum (1887) was issued. This contains viii + 771 pages and 39 

 plates. It includes 78 papers by 26 authors, 10 of whom are officers of 

 the Museum. Nearly three-fourths of the papers relate to birds and 

 fishes. In the appendix is printed a catalogue of the exhibit prepared 

 by Mr. S. E. Koehler, in charge of the section of graphic arts, for the 

 Ohio Valley Ceutenial Exposition. Special papers were prepared by 

 the curators of several departments, in connection with the exhibits for 

 this exposition, which will be reprinted in Section III of the Museum 

 report for the present year. 



Bulletin 33 of the United States National Museum, "A catalogue of 

 minerals and their synomyms alphabetically arranged for the use of 

 museums" by Prof. T. Egleston, Ph. D., of Columbia* College, was issued 

 in May. This volume contains a complete catalogue of the names of 

 minerals and their synonyms, and will be of much value to students 

 of mineralogy and others interested in this science. 



The assistant secretary in charge of the Museum has submitted a 

 statement reviewing the history of the publications of the Museum, and 

 making certain suggestions with a view to increasing the extent of the 

 editions and to the establishment of a systematic method of distribu- 

 tion. From this statement I quote the following remarks and recom- 

 mendations relating to the Proceedings and Bulletin : 



"The Proceedings was established for the purpose of securing prompt 

 publication of the discoveries in the Museum. In order to secure this 

 object the printing has been done, signature by signature, as fast as mat- 

 ter was prepared. A certain number of signatures has always been dis- 

 tributed, as soon as published, to scientific institutions and specialists. 

 The number of sets of signatures thus distributed has been in the neigh- 

 borhood of 200. 



"This method of publication has seemed to be to some extent waste 

 ful, and it is thought that equally good results may be secured by dis- 

 tributing a certain number of the advance copies in the form of authors' 

 extras. In making arrangements for the printing of Volume XII it 



