obtained and deposited in one place, would form a museum of the highest interest; but the portion of the income of the bequest which can be devoted to the increase and maintenance of the museum will be too small to warrant any attempt toward an indiscriminate collection. It is hoped that in due time other means may be found of establishing and supporting a general collection of objects of nature and art at the seat of the General Government, with funds not derived from the Smithsonian bequest. For the present it should be the object of the institution to confine the application of the funds, first, to such collections as will tend to facilitate the study of the memoirs which may be published in the Contributions, and to establish their correctness; secondly, to the purchase of such objects as are not generally known in this country, in the way of art and the illustration of antiquities, such as models of buildings, &c.; and, thirdly, to the formation of a collection of instruments of physical research which will be required both in the illustration of new physical truths and in the scientific investigations undertaken by the institution.

Much popular interest may be awakened in favor of the institution at Washington by throwing the rooms of the building open on stated evenings durings the session of Congress for literary and scientific assemblies, after the manner of the weekly meetings of the Royal Institution in London. At these meetings, without the formality of a regular lecture, new truths in science may be illustrated and new objects of art exhibited. Besides these, courses of lectures may be given on particular subjects by the officers of the institution, or by distinguished individuals invited for the purpose.

APPENDIX No. 1.

Extract from a communication of Professor Jewett, Assistant Secretary of the Institution, acting as librarian.

MY DEAR SIR: As I do not expect to have the pleasure of seeing you again before the meeting of the regents, I will, with your indulgence, refer to some of the principal matters which will require attention in commencing the library. They would no doubt all occur to you in their order, but I have thought you might find it convenient to have this part of the business in some degree prepared to your hands. A great deal of preparatory work is to be gone through with, before any books can be placed on the

shelves.

1. On the plan proposed for the library, it seems to me that the first thing to be done is to make arrangements for obtaining catalogues, printed or in manuscript, of the principal libraries of the United States; to examine these libraries, as far as can be done personally, in order to know their general character, the statistics of their increase, &c.; and to form such

alliances with the librarians as will be indispensable in making the library of the institution, in conformity with the suggestion of Dr. Bache, a supplemental one, and a centre of bibliographical reference. Some libraries possess printed catalogues complete nearly down to the present time; others are several years behindhand. It will be necessary to procure manuscript catalogues in continuation of those which have been printed, and to make arrangements for receiving, from month to month, or from year to year, lists of all future accessions. These supplementary catalogues should all be prepared on a uniform plan. The titles should be written on cards of the same size, so that they may be placed together in one alphabetical arrangement, in order to facilitate research. A mark placed on the back of each card will designate the library from which it came. Now, in every library with which we are in correspondence some one must be employed to do this. It would be merely clerk's labor, where the catalogues are properly kept, and no doubt the librarian or assistant might, in every case, be induced to undertake it for a small compensation.

2. The next thing to be done will be to make arrangements for procuring the books to which we are entitled by the 10th section of the charter of the institution. Unless something be done, this provision, in course of time, will bring in comparatively few books in a year. I have no doubt that publishers generally would readily send their books, if the subject were properly presented to them, and arrangements made by which they could transmit them to Washington without subjecting the institution or themselves to expenses altogether disproportioned to the value of the books. It has occurred to me that perhaps the several district clerks might be induced to attend to the business; it is perhaps legally their duty to do so, but I suppose it would be unsafe to rely upon their performing faithfully such an unexpected duty, unless they received for it some additional compensation. Besides this, a circular might be printed and sent to publishers, setting forth the advantages which would result directly to the cause of letters, and indirectly to themselves, from compliance with this requirement. By these means I think we should obtain nearly all the publications of importance issued from the American press.

3. The selection of books for the first purchase must be made. This will, I suppose, comprise three classes of works: 1. Those which may be immediately needed in the scientific department; 2. Bibliographical works and descriptions, histories and catalogues of similar institutions; and 3. The general collection, consisting of the memoirs, transactions, and journals of the learned societies of Europe and America. These three classes of books will form a library quite unique, and one of great utility. The catalogue, if it be made with fullness and accuracy, will be a valuable publication. İ think, further, that a somewhat extended list of books should be made out for future purchases. These lists should be intrusted to honest and faithful men in some of the principal book marts of Europe, with orders to buy the books whenever they can find them, at say one-half the ordinary prices. In this way we should obtain at very low prices great numbers of the books which we shall want. Of course, the same list should not be left with different men. The work should be done with care, and by consultation with the best scholars in the country. It will be difficult to find the necessary bibliographical helps. The best collection of them in the country is in the library of the Brown University, but this is very imperfect.

4. The first purchases are to be made, and the arrangement for future purchases. These, of course, should not be commenced until the lists are as far completed as they can judiciously be in this country.

5. Another subject contemplated in the programme of organization, and which should receive immediate attention, is the procuring of copies of some of the most celebrated works of art. It will probably be best to confine the purchases at first principally to plaster casts of some of the finest specimens of ancient and modern statuary. These can be procured very cheap, and convey, of course, a perfect representation of the original. I have no doubt

what for a public institution, and one under national auspices, we could whenever we desire it, obtain permission to take casts directly from the

statues.

The expense of doing so would of course be somewhat greater than that of purchasing such copies as might be found in the market, but a small difference in expense is not to be thought of in such a case. It would further be desirable to commence the purchase of the models of antiquities, such as models in cork of some of the houses, temples, theaters, baths, &c., &c., in Pompeii and Herculaneum. These can be procured at comparatively small prices. Models of every interesting part of Pompeii which has been excavated, presenting in miniature a perfect view of nearly the whole on the scale of 1 foot to 150, might be procured for about $2,000. It might also be well to procure a few Etruscan vases; also a few antique coins and medals, sufficient to convey some illustration of numismatics, as a subsidiary branch of history. The regents should of couse decide what proportion of the appropriation for collections should each year be expended for these purposes. I will merely remark that $1,000, or even $500 at the outset, prudently expended, would procure a very interesting collection.

I have thus stated quite in detail the work which must be done before the library can be ready for use, or rather before any part of it can be placed upon the shelves. Before it can be ready for use much more is to be done in arranging and cataloguing. To lay properly the foundation of a large library is a slow work, and much time must necessarily be consumed in producing but small visible results.

I am, my dear sir, very truly, your friend and servant,

Professor JOSEPH HENRY,

Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

C. C. JEWETT.

LETTERS RELATIVE TO THE "PROGRAMME OF ORGANIZATION" OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PROPOSED BY PROFESSOR JOSEPH HENRY.

From T. Romeyn Beck.

ALBANY, N. Y., November 29, 1847. I have perused the copy of the "Proposed Organization" which you have been good enough to send me.

I notice an omission, which may be either intentional or not. It is the exclusion of medicine and surgery from the physical class. It appears to me that there are subjects belonging to them, which are legitimate subjects of philosophical research and therefore should be included. I instance, the materia medica, i. e. the discovery of new remedies or the improved application of old ones; improvements in surgery; discoveries in physiology; and lastly, the applications of one or more to medical jurisprudence.

True, you are careful in your specifications, to leave room for this addition, but you must be aware that the medical profession embraces in this country a considerable portion of the talent and learning that might be roused into activity by the adoption of your plan, and I submit whether the insertion of these subjects is not due to them.

There is another branch intimately connected with the above, which deserves every encouragement. It is the promotion of the health of communities, or hygiene as the French call it. No subject is less understood-none calls for public encouragement and attention more strongly than this dreadfully neglected matter.

You will see that I refer in all this to the division of reports. The "British Association" in directing attention to and popularizing (if I may use the word) this plan of diffusing knowledge has done more good than most of the

learned societies in the world.

I prefer, with your permission, to give you my ideas in this way, instead of noting them on the programme.

I will in conclusion only hint at a danger, which unless early and constantly guarded against, may render your scheme unpopular, and hence in a measure impair its usefulness. It is, the possibility of the selection of particular

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persons-or of associations of persons in different places, who may appear to assume the control in any particular department of science-in other words, the formation of predominant cliques. These are the curse of most of our most distinguished societies at home and abroad-and in this country the danger is greater, from the fewness of men well grounded in science, and the disparity that exists between those claiming to be adepts.

These views I give you, if I know my own heart, with a sincere desire that the Smithsonian Institution may attain the highest usefulness under your administration, and that it may go on, "prospering and to prosper."

I forgot to add, what indeed I expressed to you verbally, that your plan as a whole has my unqualified approbation.

From Benjamin Silliman.

YALE COLLEGE,

NEW HAVEN, December 4, 1847. Your letter of November 26, with the programme of the Smithsonian Institution, was duly received, and I have endeavored to bestow upon it a degree of consideration proportionate to its importance.

Regarding the will of Mr. Smithson as the rule and the only rule which ought to govern, I have no hesitation in saying that the views propounded in the programme are sound and correct, and ought, therefore, to be sustained.

It is obvious that Mr. Smithson intended that his fund should operate intellectually, and no further physically than is necessary for the mental effects. Books, instruments, and museums of objects of nature and art are necessary to that end, and are, therefore, within the views and purpose of the donor; but splendid buildings, of costly materials and construction, if erected at the expense of the Smithsonian fund would prove a perversion of the design and an abuse of the trust.

The neglect in which the bequest was allowed for eight years to lie, creates a claim, both of honor and equity, which ought to result in the enlargement of the fund by the appropriation of the accumulated interest to become a part of the productive capital. It would be a meritorious application of a portion of the National revenue if the buildings requisite for the accommodation of the Smithsonian Institution were to be furnished by the Government in aid of the great design for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.'