hampered by the overcrowded state of the building, but it is assisted by the invariable courtesy of those in charge of the sections, and by books of educational value placed in the several departments. It rests with Congress to make an appropriation for erecting another building twice the size of the existing one, and only then will it be possible to display the treasures now stored in dark corners or still resting in unpacked cases.
The publications of the National Museum comprise two series: Proceedings of the National Museum, consisting of short essays giving accounts of recent accessions or newly ascertained facts in natural history, and promptly issued to secure the earliest diffusion of the information. These proceedings were begun in 1878, and are now comprised in seventeen volumes, octavo.
Bulletins of the National Museum, consisting of more elaborate memoirs relative to the collections, such as biological monographs, taxonomic lists, etc., varying in size from a few pages to many hundred pages. The bulletins were begun in 1875 and comprise fifty numbers to date.
The Bureau of American Ethnology was established in 1879, to conduct ethnological researches among North American Indians, and is supported by annual appropriations of Congress. The work is under the immediate direction of Major J. W. Powell, who was also a long time at the head of the United States Geological Survey, assisted by eminent specialists. The bureau conducts mound explorations, studies in ethnology, archæology, pictography, and linguistics of North America. Through its medium a wealth of information concerning the aborigines of North America is being treasured and made available to present scholars and to posterity.
The Bureau publishes four series of works:
1. Annual Reports, begun in 1870, now comprise twelve volumes, royal quarto. This series is handsomely printed and illustrated, and is both creditable to the Government and well adapted to attract public attention.
2. Contributions to North American Ethnology, begun in 1877; nine volumes, quarto.
3. Introductions to the study of various topics; begun in 1877; four volumes, quarto.
4. Bulletins; begun in 1877; twenty-six volumes, quarto.
The National Zoological Park.—From a desire to preserve certain American wild animals rapidly becoming extinct, living animals were exhibited in temporary quarters near the National Museum for several years. In 1880 the preliminary steps for the establishment of a Zoölogical Park were taken by the appropriation by Congress of two hundred thousand dollars for the purchase of land, and the park was actually founded by an act
