Excerpt from Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum: Report on the Progress and Condition of the United States National Museum for the Year Ending June 30, 1922 At first the cost of maintaining the museum was paid from the Smithsonian income; then for a time the Government bore a share, but during the past 40 years the Congress has provided for the expenses of the Museum, thus protecting the limited resources of the Institution. The museum idea was fundamental in the organic act establish ing the Smithsonian Institution, which was based upon a 10 years' discussion in the Congress and the advice of the most distinguished scientific men, educators, and intellectual leaders of the Nation of 75 years ago. It is interesting to note how broad and comprehensive were the views which actuated the Congress in determining the scope of the Museum, a fact especially remarkable when it is recalled that at that date no museum of considerable size existed in the United States, and the museums of England and of the Continent of Europe were still to a large extent without a developed plan, al though containing many rich collections. The Congress which passed the act Of foundation enumerated as within the scope of the Museum all Objects of art and of foreign and curious research and all objects of natural history, plants, and geo logical and mineralogical specimens belonging to the United States. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.