1868.] SENATE— No. 218. 7 



years, 1 have made special investigations with the view of test- 

 ing different methods of exhibiting, in a public Museum, the 

 modern results of zoological research in general ; and I fear 

 that all the work done in that direction may be lost, should I 

 not have the opportunity of applying these results to the 

 arrangement of our collections. 



To sum up the present wants of the Museum in few words, 

 I would say that we need an increased annual income, means 

 for the publication of the scientific researches made in the 

 Museum, and means for the extension of our building. To 

 meet all these wants at once, would require a capital of $500,- 

 000 ; but as it is hopeless to expect so large a sum at once, I 

 would leave it to your wisdom to devise the best mode of accom- 

 plishing that which may seem the most pressing in your judg- 

 ment. In my estimation, the most urgent want is an increase 

 of our annual income. Next, the means for publishing the 

 work done in the Museum. Satisfied as I am that when the 

 great scientific value of the institution is recognized in every 

 part of the civilized world, the citizens of Massachusetts will 

 not fail to secure an appropriate building for its purposes. 



I cannot close these remarks without adding a few words upon 

 our library. The collection of books, relating especially to 

 natural history, now put up in one of the rooms of the Museum, 

 has considerable value, owing chiefly to the large number of 

 special papers, separately printed, contained in it. This class 

 of scientific publications is not easily obtained, and the surest 

 mode of securing the majority of them, as they are published, 

 is by exchange. I am therefore satisfied that if a sufficient 

 capital could be funded to insure the regular publication by 

 the officers of the Museum, of richly illustrated transactions, 

 this would suffice to build up a natural history library, such as 

 we need. I want no better evidence of the possibility of secur- 

 ing this result than the fact that by a liberal distribution of its 

 contributions to knowledge, the Smithsonian Institution has 

 brought together the most important scientific library in the 

 United States, consisting of 40,000 volumes, which have 

 recently been added to the library of Congress. In like man 

 ner, could the Transactions of the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology, if published in the manner suggested above, be made 



