REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 27 



direction of the Institution at the initiative of the Committee on 

 Appropriations, without any suggestion from the Institution itself. 

 The plans for the work were submitted to the authorities of the 

 Interior Department and approved by it, and a synoptic report of 

 the year's operations was transmitted to the Secretary of the Interior. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



The correspondence of the Institution shows that there is even in 

 the more remote parts of this country and abroad, a widespread 

 knowledge that one of the primary purposes of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution is the diffusion of knowledge, although the public at large 

 does not always possess a veiy definite idea of the exact scope of 

 the Institution's functions. Hence there are received annually hun- 

 dreds of letters asking for information covering practically every 

 field of science, from a simple inquiry concerning the identity of 

 some natural-history specimen to a request for an explanation of 

 some problem in astronomy or physics, which may require quite 

 exhaustive study on the part of a member of the staff. All legiti- 

 mate requests for scientific information are cheerfully responded to 

 as far as practicable, and by this means much useful knowledge is 

 disseminated, although the preparation of these communications con- 

 sumes a considerable part of the time of both the scientific and cleri- 

 cal staff. It may be well to state in this connection, however, that 

 the Institution does not undertake to maintain a " question bureau," 

 such as is frequently conducted by newspapers and magazines, nor 

 does it furnish information of a commercial nature, which could as 

 readity be obtained from a professional advisor upon the payment 

 of a fee. 



In addition to this general correspondence, there is carried on by 

 the several branches of the Institution — the National Museum, the 

 Bureau of American Ethnology, the National Zoological Park, the 

 International Exchanges, and the Astrophysical Observatory — a con- 

 siderable correspondence relating to the respective activities of each. 

 All matters affecting questions of policy, and all appointments, how- 

 ever, receive the personal consideration of the Secretary. 



The practice of press-copying outgoing letters in books has been 

 abandoned during the year, and the use of carbon copies substituted 

 in its stead. Other changes have also been instituted in the method of 

 filing, by which the papers on any given subject are made more 

 readily accessible for reference. 



EXPOSITIONS, CONGRESSES, AND CELEBRATIONS. 



Jamestown Exposition. — Out of an appropriation of $200,000 for 

 the Government display at the Jamestown Exposition, $16,000 was 

 allowed for the preparation of exhibits by the Smithsonian Institu- 



