Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington , U S. A., July i, 1899. 
The Secretary, on behalf of the Regents of the Smithsonian 
Institution, and with the permission of the honorable the Secretaries 
of State, of War, and of the Navy, calls the attention of officers of 
the United States on foreign stations to the fact that there is at the 
capital a National Zoological Park, established by an act of Congress 
approved April 30, 1890, which provides— 
That the National Zoological Park is hereby placed under the direction of the 
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, who are authorized to transfer to it any 
living specimens, whether of animals or plants now or hereafter in their charge, to 
accept gifts for the park at their discretion, in the name of the United States, to 
make exchanges of specimens and to administer the said Zoological Park for the 
advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the people. 
That the heads of the Executive Departments of the Government are hereby 
authorized and directed to cause to be rendered all necessary and practicable aid to 
the said Regents in the acquisition of collections for the Zoological Park. 
This park, of which some idea may be formed by the accompany¬ 
ing map and illustrations, has been established in an unusually 
beautiful site near the city of Washington. It is intended to form 
here a representative national collection which, while especially 
rich in our native American animals, shall also contain specimens 
from all parts of the world, and shall be to America what the zoo¬ 
logical gardens at London, Paris, and Berlin are to their respective 
countries. 
For several years Congress made no appropriation for the pur¬ 
chase of animals, and the park is still largely dependent upon gifts 
to increase the collection, which is far from adequate as an exhibit 
in a national institution. 
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