58 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



distribution 'of exchanges in that country. It is gratifying to state that ship- 

 ments have now been resumed, the Prince of Bulgaria having been good enough, 

 in response to the request of the Institution, to designate the scientific institu- 

 tions and library at Sofia to act as the exchange intermediary between Bulgaria 

 and the United States. 



The final arrangement of details concerning the shipment of Government 

 documents to China has not been perfected, and therefore the first consignment 

 of official publications to that country has not yet been made. 



During the latter part of the present fiscal year a communication was re- 

 ceived from Dr. F. Bonola Bey, secretary-general of the Khedivial Geographical 

 Society in Cairo, announcing that as he was about to leave Egypt for some time 

 he felt it would be necessary for him to give up the work which he had 

 been conducting for the Smithsonian Institution for a number of years, and 

 that, at his request, the director-general of the survey department at Cairo 

 had offered to take charge of the distribution of exchanges. A letter was also 

 received from the director-general placing the services of his department at the 

 disposal of the Institution. Consignments will, therefore, be sent to the survey 

 department in the future. The grateful acknowledgments of the ' Institution 

 are due to Dr. Bonola Bey for the valuable services which he has rendered 

 during the past seventeen years in the distribution of exchanges to correspond- 

 ents in Egypt. 



Under the arrangement which has existed for a number of years with the 

 national library at Athens, the Smithsonian Institution has been permitted to 

 forward to that library packages intended for distribution only to Government 

 institutions and officials connected therewith, it being necessary to forward all 

 other exchanges for Greece in care of the American School of Classical Studies 

 at Athens. On account of this division of consignments it was often necessary 

 to hold packages here for a considerable length of time before a sufficient num- 

 ber accumulated to constitute a shipment. The national library, however, 

 through the good offices of Dr. Eypaldo Bassier, member of the Greek Parlia- 

 ment, has finally been prevailed upon to distribute exchanges for all addresses 

 in Greece, which greatly increases the efficiency of the service between that 

 country and the United States. In this connection it should be stated that the 

 services which the American School of Classical Studies rendered the Institu- 

 tion in the distribution of exchanges for miscellaneous addresses in Greece 

 have been eminently satisfactory, and the thanks of the Institution are due the 

 officers of that school for their promptness in forwarding packages to their 

 destinations. 



Dr. Julius Pikler, who was temporarily appointed agent for Hungary on 

 July 1, 1906, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dr. Joseph von Korosy, 

 was, on February 7, 1907, permanently appointed. 



No response has yet been received from the Korea branch of the Royal 

 Asiatic Society at Seoul regarding the request of the Institution that the 

 society act as the exchange medium through which packages to and from Korea 

 may be forwarded. The Institution is, therefore, still without means of for- 

 warding packages to Korea, transmissions to which country were suspended 

 during the late Russo-Japanese war. 



INTERCHANGE OF PUBLICATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER 



COUNTRIES. 



The total number of packages handled by the International Exchange Service 

 during the past year was 189,830, an increase over the number for the preceding 

 year of 17,947. The weight of these packages was 469,536 pounds, a decrease 



