pe, far Se eee tee es Se a — — an. net = = 5 reese eae Te, fe My Ta vA as “e¥E A - y . af _ ee 7 & g ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SHOWING THE OPERATIONS, EXPENDITURES AND CONDITION OF THE INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30 1910 2a THSO ay wae <= iC: wi IF Ont Coes TONS WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1911 Wee eu, 7 ey: aa ae Paar 7 Ae ‘ LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, SUBMITTING THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1910. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Washington, May 29, 1911. To the Congress of the United States: In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, I have the honor, in behalf of the Board of Regents, to submit to Congress the annual report of the operations, expendi- tures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year end- ing June 30, 1910. I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Cuartes D. Watcort, Secretary. IIr OAM TIMA 42192 aT. arroer HAY acomeie res q fey’ HONE, ale pH *: se P Letter from the secretary submitting the Annual Report of the Regents to Congress. - - CONTENTS. Contents of the report: - 52 --.)..-- 5-6 == er ee he no) eee Se List of plates REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. ihhe Smuithsoman Instititiqne. . ecm bases eet . ses ee Fo lope The: Pstablishmenteessassi) - feces. ee ee is tn Se 0 Se The, Baantiot Reventes sferrs watten) tendtoad base eeniceece S ieeeban: Gener FCONSIGETAIONS 62 525.55 95 sae ee ta es oo 8 Explorations and researches— Snvithsenian -A fican, Expedition s. 223 seen St ee sensed sails Yee betes Studies in Cambrian geology and paleontology ...................-.-. Geological investigations in the Far East and in Newfoundland..-..... Stud yrof Amer tan mammals seco! 2 atese. ode dew sslideshl ed wee Biological survey of the Panama Canal Zone......................-.. Antiquity of man in,South Americas sf i942. hessen oe Lue ad eeu: Besearches undes Hodekiis fund) Sg sate fe As Se es Sete Sores Smithsonian table at Naples Zoological Station...................--- Publicapions....-..serett aepesadablc. SocH A 2b 0101 ASA! zivered pele Advisory committee on ae and. publieaiioniem=<)h ot ae shui. ! Mee Melody st yen reseed le wef ol cise pe oot ee Ny Reh cet yee perl see ooh y Oey yon, fant thes ‘Rheseneley medals isos s2 spree ohh Gu ghee Stel teks es jl gant sl Peeps The bangley menionial tablep 25232535 2[edee HA) le eee ceted btm be Commission on Zoological Nomenclature..................2....-.------- International congresses and celebrations.....................-..---.--- Misee Man oues * bg a _ ~~ ¢ ¥ t ¥ 1b q ee re BeAr a" desiocis*inn ‘enti peeinenn oe “shay, edt 10% noiswdisend: EN ; are Sniomsi ya. ag Qotbuion . oe + 1% 8 eA, THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. JUNE 30, 1910. Presiding officer ex officio — WILLIAM H. Tart, President of the United States. Chancellor.—MELVILLE W. FULLER, Chief Justice of the United States. Members of the Institution: WittiaAmM H. Tart, President of the United States. James S. SHERMAN, Vice President of the United States. MELVILLE W. FuLier, Chief Justice of the United States. PHILANDER C. KNox, Secretary of State. FRANKLIN MAcVEAGH, Secretary of the Treasury. Jacop M. Dickinson, Secretary of War. Grorce W. WICKERSHAM, Attorney General. FRANK H. HitcHcockK, Postmaster General. GEORGE VON L. Mryer, Secretary of the Navy. RicHarpD A. BALLINGER, Secretary of the Interior. JAMES WixLson, Secretary of Agriculture. CHARLES NAGEL, Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Regents of the Institution: MELVILLE W. Furies, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor. JAMES S. SHERMAN, Vice President of the United States. SHELBY M. CuLtom, Member of the Senate. Henry Casor Lopcr, Member of the Senate. Avcaus7us O. Bacon, Member of the Senate. JOHN DauzeLL, Member of the House of Representatives. JAMES R. Mann, Member of the House of Representatives. WiLLiAM M. Howarp, Member of the House of Representatives. JAMES B. ANGELL, citizen of Michigan. ANDREW D. WHITE, citizen of New York. JOHN B. HENDERSON, citizen of Washington, D. C. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, citizen of Washington, D. C. GEORGE GRAY, citizen of Delaware. CHARLES I’. CHOATE, Jr., citizen of Massachusetts. Executive Committee—J. B. HENDERSON, ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, JOHN DALZELL, Secretary of the Institution.—CHARLES D. WALCOTT. Assistant Secretary.—RICHARD RATHBUN. Chief Clerk.—Harry W. DorRSsEY. Accountant and Disbursing Agent.—W. I. ADAMS. Editor.—A. HowarpD CLARK. 4 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. Assistant Secretary in charge.—RIcHARD RATHBUN. Administrative Assistant.—W. DE C. RAYENEL. Head Curators.—WILLIAM H. Houimes, F. W. Trus, G. P. MERRILL. Curators.—R. S. BASSLER, A. Howarp CLARK, F. W. CLARKE, F. V. COvILLE, W. H. Dat, B. W. Evermann, J. M. Fuint, U. S. N. (retired), W. H. HoLtMES, WALTER HoucH, L. O. Howarp, ALES HRDLICGKA, GERRIT 8. MiItter, Jr., RICHARD RATHBUN, ROBERT RIDGWAY, LEON HARD STEJNEGER, CHARLES D. WALCOTT. Associate Curators.—J. N. Rost, DAvID WHITE. Curator, National Gallery of Art—W. H,. HoLMgEs. Chief of Correspondence and Documents.—RANDOLPH I. GEARE. Superintendent of Construction and Labor.—J. 8S. GOLDSMITH. Editor.—Marcus BENJAMIN. Photographer.—T. W. SMILLIE£. Registrar._S. C. Brown. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. Hthnologist in charge-—F. W. Hoper. Ethnologists.—J. WALTER FrwkKes, J. N. B. Hewitt, Francis LA FLESCHE, TRUMAN MICHELSON, JAMES MooNEY, PAUL RADIN, MATILDA CoxkE STEVEN- SON, JOHN R. SWANTON. Philologist—FRaNz Boas. Editer.— JOSEPH G. GURLEY. Jilustratoy.— Dr LANCEY W. GILL. INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES. Chief Clerk.—C. W. SHOEMAKER. NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. Superintendent. FRANK BAKER. Assistant Superintendent.—A. B. Baker. ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY. Director.—C. G. ABBOT. Aid.—F. E. Fow.r, Jr. REGIONAL BUREAU FOR THE UNITED STATES, INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. Assistant in Charge.—L. C. GUNNELL, REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION CHARLES D. WALCOTT, FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1910, To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit a report showing the operations of the Institution during the year ending June 30, 1910, including the work placed under its direction by Congress in the United States National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology. the International Exchanges, the National Zoological Park, the Astrophysical Observatory, and the regional bureau of the Inter- national Catalogue of Scientific Literature. In the body of this report there is given a general account of the affairs of the Institution, while the appendix presents more detailed statements by those in direct charge of the different branches of the work. Independently of this the operations of the National Museum and of the Bureau of American Ethnology are fully treated in separate volumes. THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. THE ESTABLISHMENT. By act of Congress approved August 10, 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was created an establishment. Its statutory members are “the President, the Vice-President, the Chief Justice, and the heads of the executive departments.” THE BOARD OF REGENTS. The Board of Regents consists of the Vice-President and the Chief Justice of the United States as ex officio members, three members of the Senate, three Members of the House of Representatives, and six citizens, “ two of whom shall be resident in the city of Washington, and the other four shall be inhabitants of some State, but no two of them of the same State.” 5 6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. There has been no change in the personnel of the Board since my last report, Representatives John Dalzell, James R. Mann, and Wil- liam M. Howard; and Hon. John B. Henderson, and Dr, Alexander Graham Bell, whose terms of office expired during the year, having been reappointed as Regents. Meetings of the Regents were held on December 14, 1909, and on February 10, 1910, the proceedings of which will be printed as customary in the annual report of the Board to Congress. Although occurring a few days after the close of the fiscal year, I may properly record here the death on July 4, 1910, of the Chancel- lor of the Institution, Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the United States. Adequate reference to this sad event will be made in my next report to the Board. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. T have called attention heretofore to the influence that the Smithso- nian Institution has had in the development of science in this country. That its usefulness is not restricted to this country is constantly evidenced in many ways. But the achievements that the Institution might accomplish, and that the scientific world expects of it, and the general good that it might do in the promotion of the welfare of the human race, continues to be greatly limited by the lack of ample funds to carry forward worthy lines of exploration and research that are constantly being presented for consideration. During the past year the Institution’s activities have been increased to some degree by gifts for the promotion of certain special lines of study, particularly in biological research. Among the important works that might be undertaken I would especially call attention to the great advantage to this country and to the world that would result from the establishment of a national seismological laboratory under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. IMPORTANCE OF A NATIONAL SEISMOLOGICAL LABORATORY. NEED. The immense destruction of life and property by certain large earthquakes emphasizes the importance of investigations which may lead to a reduction of the damage of future earthquakes. The science of seismology is in its infancy and it is not always evident what lines of investigation will yield the most important results, hence the im- portance of developing larger knowledge of seismology in all direc- tions. As an example: It was not at all realized that the accurate surveys of the Coast and Geodetic Survey in California would dem- onstrate that the great earthquake there in 1906 was due to forces set up by slow movements of the land which have probably been going REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. F( on for a hundred years. We have learned that slow movements of the land must precede many large earthquakes, and monuments are now being set up in California to enable us to discover future move- ments of the land and thus to anticipate future earthquakes. This, I think, is the most important step so far taken toward the prediction of earthquakes. COOPERATION. Seismological work is too large to be prosecuted successfully by the universities, but requires some central office under government super- vision to encourage theoretical and observational studies and to col- lect and study information from all available sources. The various departments of the Government could offer material help. The Weather Bureau could furnish information regarding felt shocks and could maintain seismographs at some of their stations. Post- masters throughout the country could also report felt earthquakes. The Coast and Geodetic Survey could maintain instruments and adapt their surveys and tidal observations to the detection of slow earth movements. The army could give information regarding earthquakes felt at their outlying posts, the navy regarding earthquakes felt at sea. The Geological Survey could furnish infor- mation regarding the geological structure of earthquake regions. SEISMOLOGICAL CLEARING HOUSE AND FOREIGN COOPERATION. The seismological laboratory would collect and study all this infor- mation. It would serve as a clearing house for the whole country. It would also be the link to connect seismological work in this country with the work done in other parts of the world. Its director should represent the United States in the International Seismological Asso- ciation which this country has joined through the Department of State. GOVERNMENT WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. Germany, Italy, Hungary, Roumania, Bulgaria, and Japan have maintained for some years offices for the collection and study of earth- quake material. Chile and Mexico have recently established them. The work in England is under the direction of the Royal Society. Many other countries maintain stations for seismological observa- tions. This is the only important country subject to destructive earthquakes whose government does not support the study of earth- quakes. WORK OF THE LABORATORY. 1. Collection and study of all information regarding earthquakes in the United States and its possessions. The preparation of maps showing the distribution of earthquakes and their relation to geo- logical structure. 8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. 9. The study of special regions which are subject to frequent earth- quakes to determine as far as possible where future earthquakes are likely to occur. 3. The study of the origins of earthauakes occurring under the neighboring oceans. 4, An organization of commissions to study in the field the effects produced by large earthquakes. 5. The study of proper methods of building in regions subject to earthquakes. This will require experiment. 6. The improvement of instruments for recording earthquakes. 7. Other theoretical studies. 8. The dissemination of information regarding earthquakes by bulletins or otherwise. EQUIPMENT. There will be required an office, a laboratory, a photographic room, a work shop, and a special instrument house. The building of this latter house and the general equipment would cost about $6,000. ORGANIZATION AND ANNUAL EXPENSES. Tn the beginning there would be required a director, an assistant, a mechanic, a stenographer, and it would be necessary to purchase books, instruments, and material for the laboratory, ete. It is estimated that $20,000 would equip the laboratory and meet all the expenses for the first year. After that the work will probably expand and the amount applied to equipment for the first year would meet the requirements for extension for some time after. FINANCES. The permanent fund of the Institution and the sources from which it was derived are as follows: Deposited in the Treasury of the United States. CUTIES EMO] STL LINS OLN, oA oe ee ee ea $515, 169. 00 Residuary, legacy,of Smithson, 61 86%= acess | eee wes eeee es ees 26, 210. 63 Deposit tromyusavings| of incomex 186 t= ee ee 108, 620. 87 Bequest of James Eamilton,tsije = ee ee $1, 000. 00 Accumulated interest on Hamilton fund, 1895__________ 1, 000. 00 — 2, 000. 00 Bequest of Simeon) Habel,elS80_ i242 324s vere eee Sa 500. 00 Deposit from) proceeds of ‘salevof bonds, 188i. 2222 ee ee 51, 500. 00 CittiotPhomas:G: Hodekins:.1 80 lie a See 200, 000. 00 Part of residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins, 1894____________ 8, 000. 00 DEPOSIT AOMy Savings Of aMCOMe 1 OO pe ee 25, 000. 00 Residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins________________________ 7, 918. 69 Total amount of fund in the United States Treasury________ 944, 918. 69 Registered and guaranteed bonds of the West Shore Railroad Com- pany (par value), part of legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins________ 42, 000. 00 ——————— Total-permanent fund: = =e ee ee ee eae 986, 918. 69 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 9 The sum of $251.95 was received during the year as the first pay- ment of a bequest of $500 made by the will of Mr. William Jones Rhees, for many years an officer of the Institution. This fund has not been invested. In addition to the above there are four pieces of real estate bequeathed to the Institution by the late R. S. Avery, some of which yield a nominal rental and all are free from taxation. That part cf the fund deposited in the Treasury of the United States bears interest at 6 per cent per annum, under the provisions of the act organizing the Institution and an act of Congress approved March 12, 1894. The rate of interest on the West Shore Railroad bonds is 4 per cent per annum. The income of the Institution during the year, amounting to $107,483.68, was derived as follows: Interest on the permanent Foundation, $58,375.12; contributions from various sources for specific purposes, $43,230.95, and from other miscellaneous sources, $5,877.61; all of which was deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the current account of the Institution. With the balance of $32,176.70, on July 1, 1909, the total resources for the fiscal year amounted to $139,660.38. The disbursements, which are given in detail in the annual report of the executive com- mittee, amounted to $104,295.50, leaving a balance of $35,364.88 on deposit June 30, i910, in the United States Treasury. The Institution was charged by Congress with the disbursement of the following appropriations for the year ending June 30, 1910: Internation aleshixchan gest ie 2. eS se Pee i Se oe eee eee $32, 000 PRIN ETICAT ADAGE OL O Sayy oe eee ee ns Sy ERE BE eS eer ee 48, 000 ASTLOD HY SICH ODSEEV AOI ya te es Se Se ee ee 13, 000 National Museum: z AFR e UD TSN TiES TEE SED GL ENE UTS ee tn acre eee Se 200, 000 ERA ery Gl eel eta ee ee ee ee ee eee 60, 000 PreESeEvatlonsolsCOleChiOn sete sot seen se ee ee 250, 000 1 BOO) RS ee tp Breen or ut tae cg a maa NPAT se ipa ERR Sy tno ONE A EN Is ya 2, 000 TGS CaS Cee eee mee ere a a onal ae ane ae ee 500 GES Ups] CULT) Soe T TD ST TG Se ead ea a ee ne a de eee 15, 000 Moving collections to new building___-__-_______ SETAE OSS, cee RTT 4, 000 NAL OnE ZO O10 SI Callens aikeress Ser CTS ae eee bela bie Se ee 95, 000 International Catalogue of Scientific Literature__________-____________ 6, 000 Tota ees S28 See ee ee 1 ee ERE SMM Spopeee Reet IER Bee BOs 720, 500 EXPLORATIONS AND RESEARCHES. As far as the resources of the Institution and contributions from individuals has permitted, various scientific explorations and re- searches have been carried on during the past year, and it is gratify- ing to report that the Institution’s activities in these lines have been 10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. somewhat more extended than in previous years. Were ample funds available to be administered under the Smithsonian Institution, the scientific work of the Government might often be supplemented by original researches of a character that could hardly be undertaken by the Government, and which would be of great service to humanity and to science. Besides operations undertaken by the Institution itself, important biological, ethnological, and astrophysical researches have been car- ried on under its direction through the National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, and the Astrophysical Observatory, which are discussed elsewhere in this report. SMITHSONIAN AFRICAN EXPEDITION. In my last report there was given an account of the setting out of the expedition to Africa in charge of Col. Theodore Roosevelt and of the results accomplished prior to June 30, 1909. This expedition, which was entirely financed from private sources through contributions by friends of the Smithsonian Institution, landed at Mombasa on April 21, 1909, and arrived at Khartoum on March 14, 1910. The collec- tions made by it reached Washington in excellent condition and are now deposited in the National Museum. The series of large and small mammals from East Africa is, collectively, probably more valuable than is to be found in any other museum of the world. The series of birds, reptiles, and plants are also of great importance, and the study of the material representing other groups will furnish interesting results. Colonel Roosevelt’s report on the work of the expedition is as follows: KHARTOUM, March 15, 1910. Sir: I have the honor to report that the Smithsonian African expedition, which was intrusted to my charge, has now completed its work. Full reports will be made later by the three naturalists, Messrs. Mearns, Heller, and Loring. I send this preliminary statement to summarize what has been done; the figures given are substantially accurate, but they may have to be changed slightly in the final reports. We landed in Mombasa on April 21, 1909, and reached Khartoum on March 14, 1910. On landing, we were joined by Messrs. R. J. Cuninghame and Leslie J. Tarlton; the former was with us throughout our entire trip, the latter until we left Hast Africa, and both worked as zealously and efficiently for the success of the expedition as any other member thereof. We spent eight months in British East Africa. We collected earefully in various portions of the Athi and Kapiti plains, in the Sotik and around Lake Naivasha. Messrs. Mearns and Loring made a thorough biological survey of Mount Kenia, while the rest of the party skirted its western base, went to and up the Guaso Nyero and later visited the Uasin Gisbu region and both sides of the Rift Valley. Messrs. Kermit Roosevelt and Tarlton went to the Leikipia Plateau and Lake Hannington, and Doctor Mearns and Kermit Roosevelt made REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 11 separate trips to the coast region near Mombasa. On December 19 the expedi- tion left East Africa, crossed Uganda and went down the White Nile. North of Wadelai we stopped and spent over three weeks in the Lado, and from Gondokoro Kermit Roosevelt and I again crossed into the Lado, spending eight or ten days in the neighborhood of Rejaf. In Gondokoro we were met by the steamer which the Sirdar, with great courtesy, had put at our disposal. On the way to Khartoum we made collections in Lake No, and on the Bahr-el- Ghazal and Barel-Zeraf. We owe our warmest thanks for the generous courtesy. shown us and the aid freely given us, not only by the Sirdar, but by all the British officials in Hast Africa, Uganda, and the Sudan, and by the Belgian officials in the Lado; and this, of course, means that we are also indebted to the home governments of Egypt and Belgium. On the trip Mr. Heller has prepared 1,020 specimens of mammals, the majority of large sizes; Mr. Loring has prepared 3,163, and Doctor Mearns, 714, a total of 4,897 mammals. Of birds, Doctor Mearns has prepared nearly 3,100; Mr. Loring, 899; and Mr. Heller about 50, a total of about 4,000 birds. Of reptiles and batrachians, Messrs. Mearns, Loring, and Heller collected about 2,000. Of fishes, about 500 were collected. Doctor Mearns collected marine fishes near Mombasa and fresh-water fishes elsewhere in British East Africa, and he and Cuninghame collected fishes in the White Nile. This makes in all of verte- brates: Mammals, 4,897; birds, about 4,000; reptiles and batrachians, about 2,000; fishes, about 500; total 11,397. The invertebrates were collected carefully by Doctor Mearns, with some assistance from Messrs. Cuninghame and Kermit Roosevelt. A few marine shells were collected near Mombasa, and land and fresh-water shells throughout the regions visited, as well as crabs, beetles, millipeda, and other invertebrates. Several thousand plants were collected throughout the regions visited by Doctor Mearns, who employed and trained for the work a Wunyamvezi named Makangarri, who soon learned how to make very good specimens and turned out an excellent man in every way. Anthropological materials were gathered by Doctor Mearns, with some assist- ance from others. A collection was contributed by Major Ross, an American in the government service at Nairobi. I have the honor to be, very truly, yours, THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. STUDIES IN CAMBRIAN GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. During the field season of 1909 I continued my investigations in the geology of the Cambrian and pre-Cambrian rocks of the Bow River Valley, Alberta, Canada, and on the west side of the Continental Divide north of the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia. The first camp was made on the shores of Lake Louise, southwest of Laggan. From this point work was carried forward on the high mountains east, northeast, and southwest of the lake, and side trips made to the valley of the Ten Peaks and across the Bow Valley in the vicinity of Ptarmigan Lake. Many fine photographs were se- cured, both of the beantiful scenery and the geological sections, which 12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. are wonderfully well shown above timber line on the higher ridges and peaks. The measurements of the Cambrian section were carried down to a massive conglomerate which forms the base of the Cambrian system in this portion of the Rocky Mountains. This discovery led to the study of the pre-Cambrian rocks of the Bow River Valley. These were found to form a series of sandstones and shales some 4,000 feet in thickness, that appear to have been deposited in fresh-water lakes prior to the incursion of the marine waters in which the great bed of conglomerate and the Cambrian rocks above were deposited. Completing the reconnoissance survey of the Bow River area, camp was moved to the Yoho River Canyon. In the Yoho River Canyon, one of the most picturesque and instructive areas in the great Yoho National Park of Canada, a study was made of the north side of the President Range and numerous pictures taken in that vicinity, also from Burgess Pass, north of Field. A most interesting discovery of unique Cambrian fossils was made near Burgess Pass. Quite a number of specimens were collected be- fore snow drove the party back to Field. Three days were spent on Mount Stephen at the famous trilobite beds before breaking up camp on September 8. As opportunity offered during the fall and winter, field notes were written up and studies made of the sections obtained during the sum- mer. As the results of these studies two papers are in press in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 53: No. 6, “ Olenellus and other Genera of the Mesonacide,” and No. 7, “ Pre-Cambrian Rocks of the Bow River Valley, Alberta, Canada.” Preliminary studies were also made of the unique crustacean fauna found in the middle Cambrian rocks of Burgess Pass. GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN THE FAR EAST AND IN NEWFOUNDLAND. In my last report mention was made of a grant to Prof. Joseph P. Iddings for carrying on geological investigations in the Far Kast. As one of the results of his work the Institution has received an interesting collection of Manchurian Cambrian fossils, as well as collections of fossils from Japan and Java. The Institution made a small grant to Prof. Charles Schuchert, of Yale University, to enable him to carry on certain geological studies and to obtain a collection of Cambrian fossils from the west coast of Newfoundland, the south shore of Labrador, and the Strait of Belle Isle; also collections to illustrate tie transition fauna between the Cambrian and Ordovician. STUDY OF AMERICAN MAMMALS. Through the generosity of a friend of the Institution, Mrs. EK. H. Harriman, there has been provided a trust fund yielding an income of REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 1s) $12,000 a year, which is placed under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution for the specific purpose of carrying on scientific studies, particularly of American mammals and other animals, the donor specifying Dr. C. Hart Merriam as the investigator to carry on the work during his lifetime. BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE PANAMA CANAL ZONE. The Institution has had in contemplation for some time several important scientific explorations, and it is gratifying to state that it now seems possible that one of them—an exhaustive biological sur- vey of the Panama Canal Zone—will be undertaken in the winter of 1910-11. Definite plans for this survey have not been decided upon at present, but these are now under consideration and it is hoped that all the arrangements may be completed and the work put in hand in a few months. It is particularly important to science that a biological survey of the Canal Zone be made at this time, as it appears without question that it would yield important scientific results, both as regards ad- ditions to knowledge and to the collections of the United States National Museum and other museums. While the Isthmus is not so well endowed with large forms as the great continental areas, such as Africa, southern Asia, and some other regions, yet its fauna and flora are rich and diversified. The collecting which has been carried on there has been on such a rather limited scale, and chiefly along trade routes, that an extensive and thorough survey would surely produce new scientific information of great value. A part of the fresh-water streams of the Isthmus of Panama empty into the Atlantic Ocean and others into the Pacific Ocean. It is knewn that a certain number of animals and plants in the streams on the Atlantic side are different from those of the Pacific side, but as no exact biological survey has ever been undertaken the extent and magnitude of these differences have yet to be learned. It is also of the utmost scientific importance to determine exactly the geograph- ical distribution of the various organisms inhabiting those waters, as the Isthmus is one of the routes by which the animals and plants of South America have entered North America and vice versa. When the canal is completed the organisms of the various watersheds will be offered a ready means of mingling together, the natural dis- tinctions now existing will be obliterated, and the data for a true un- derstanding of the fauna and flora placed forever out of reach. By the construction of the Gatun dam a vast fresh-water lake will be created, which will drive away or drown the majority of the animals and plants now inhabiting the locality, and quite possibly exterminate some species before they become known to science. 14 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. The National Museum at present has practically no Panama mam- mals. The birds now in the collection are chiefly from along the line of the railroad and from Chiriqui. It has comparatively few rep- tiles. The fresh-water fishes are poorly represented in the collections and are of special importance for comparison with South American forms. Land and fresh-water mollusks are much needed. The National Herbarium is poorly supplied with Panama plants; in fact, they are at present practically “a negligible quantity,” and the American herbariums taken together do not contain a sufficient amount of material to form the basis of a general flora of Panama, which is a work much needed. ANTIQUITY OF MAN IN SOUTH AMERICA. In March, 1910, the Institution directed Dr. Ale’ Hrdli¢ka, Cura- tor of the Division of Physical Anthropology, United States National Museum, to proceed to South America and Panama Canal Zone for the purpose of making anthropological researches, and particularly to undertake investigation into the question of man’s antiquity in Argentina. A grant was also made to enable Mr. Bailey Willis, of the United States Geological Survey, proceeding on his way to South America in the interest of the world’s topographical map, to cooper- ate with Doctor Hrdli¢ka in his researches in Argentina, for it was appreciated that the problems to be met with were to an important degree of a geological nature. The undertaking of the investigation was especially due to Mr. W. H. Holmes, Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, whose observations during a visit to Argentina in 1908 made apparent the . far-reaching importance of the data being collected bearing on human antiquity in South America. The subject of man’s antiquity in South America dates from the meager reports concerning the scattered remains in the Lagoa Santa caves in Brazil, the casual Seguin finds in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, and the Moreno collection of old Patagonian material in the valley of Rio Negro, and it has assumed a special importance during the last decade through a relatively large number of reports by Argentinian scientists, but particularly by Prof. F. Ameghino, of new finds of the remains of ancient man and of traces of his activities. Some of these more recent finds were so interpreted that, if corrobo- rated, they would have a most important bearing not merely on man’s early presence in the South American Continent, but on the evolution and the spread of mankind in general. Under these conditions, and in view of the fact that some of the reports were not fully satisfactory as to their anatomical or geologi- cal details, it was deemed necssary to send down competent men who might subject the whole matter to critical revision. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 15 It is gratifying to state that on arriving at Argentina and explain- ing their mission the Smithsonian representatives were afforded by the Argentinian Government, as well as by the Argentinian men of science, all facilities needed for the examination of the specimens pre- served in various institutions, as well as for the prosecution of their field work. Professor Ameghino and his brother, Carlos, gave par- ticular aid, accompanying Doctor Hrdlitka and Mr. Willis person- ally for over three weeks along the coast from place to place where the supposedly ancient remains were discovered. The researches occupied nearly two months. Every specimen re- lating to ancient man that could still be found was examined, and every locality of importance where the finds were made was visited and investigated. The evidence gathered, unfortunately, does not sustain a large part of the claims that have been made. The human bones and the archeological specimens which should represent geolog- ically ancient man agree in all important characteristics with the bones and work of the American Indian; and the finds, while often in close relation with early Quaternary or Tertiary deposits, bear, so far as observed, only intrusive relations to these deposits. Further- more, there are specimens the original sources of which are not so well established that scientific deductions of great consequence can be safely drawn therefrom, even though they present some morphological peculiarities. The expedition secured numerous geological, paleontological, and anthropological specimens, some of which throw much light on the question of the antiquity of the finds to which they relate. These specimens are being identified and described in the National Mu- seum. Doctor Hrdli¢ka and Mr. Willis will present in due time a detailed report on their investigations. Following the researches in Argentina, Doctor Hrdlitka visited several of the anthropologically important localities on the coast of Peru and made large collections of skeletal material, which will help to settle definitely the racial problems of these regions, and will have an important bearing on the anthropology of the western part of South America. Further explorations and collections, necessarily limited, were made by Doctor Hrdli¢ka in Panama and Mexico. In the latter coun- try the principal results of the visit were the opening, at the invitation of the Mexican authorities, of a highly interesting sepulcher in the ancient ruins of San Juan Teotihuacan, and the making of a series of casts from the remaining pure bloods among the Aztec descendants in Xochimilco. The Argentina, as well as the Peruvian and Mexican, collections have been transferred to the U. 8. National Museum. 16 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. RESEARCHES UNDER HODGKINS FUND. Flying organs of insects and birds.—Under the direction of Pro- fessor von Lendenfeld, of Prague University, aided by a grant from the Hodgkins Fund, there has been carried on for the past ten years investigations on the flying organs of various insects and birds. Some of the results of these studies have been published in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections in papers by Dr. E. Mascha on “ The struc- ture of wing feathers,’ Dr. Leo Walter on “The clasping organs at- taching the hind to the fore wings in hymenoptera,” and Dr. Bruno Miiller on “ The air sacs of the pigeons.” There was received during the past year and prepared for press a fourth paper on “ The flying apparatus of the blow-fly.” These investigations were fostered by the late Secretary Langley with the hope that they would yield information useful to engineers and others interested in the problem of flight. It was the opinion of the investigator that of all the forms of insects, and indeed of all flying animals, the Diptera, such as the blow-fly, furnish the most promising pattern for a flying machine and that a working model should be built according to this pattern and experimented with. Mount Whitney Observatory.—The construction on Mount Whit- ney, California, of a small steel and stone house to serve as a shelter for observers and investigators during the prosecution of researches on atmospheric air and other cognate subjects was authorized Octo- ber 30, 1908, by an allotment from the Hodgkins Fund. This spot had been selected as an observation point by the late Secretary Langley as far back as 1881, and had been visited later by other scientific investigators, including Professor Campbell, of the Lick Observatory, and Director Abbot, of the Smithsonian Astro- physical Observatory, each of whom realized the unusual advantages offered by this mountain as a site for a meteorological and at- mospheric observatory. Before erecting the shelter it was necessary to build a trail to the top of the peak, 14,502 feet above sea level, in order to transport the building material, supplies, and instruments. Many dangers and hardships were undergone by the men who accomplished this work, but finally the trail was completed and the equipment packed up the mountain.? The actual work of construction of the shelter was begun July 28, 1909, when the first pack train reached the summit, and was quite completed by August 27, 1909, when summer observations were begun by Director Abbot, of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observ- “A more detailed account of the work, “A shelter for observers on Mount Whitney,” by C. G. Abbot, was published January 12, 1910, in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 52, pp. 499-506. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 17 atory, and Director Campbell, of the Lick Observatory, who was engaged in a study of the spectrum of Mars. The erection of the shelter has already proved a most beneficial! undertaking, and it will undoubtedly serve for many years as such for observation parties not only of the Smithsonian Institution but of other institutions desiring to benefit by the conditions and ad- vantages offered to scientists by this exceptional location. Applica- tions for permission to use this shelter by scientific research parties should be made to the Secretary. Relation of atmospheric air to tuberculosis—In February, 1908, the Institution offered a prize of $1,500 for the best treatise on “The relation of atmospheric air to tuberculosis,” to be awarded in connection with the International Congress on Tuberculosis held in Washington in September of that year, but owing to the great work of translating, reading, and classifying the 81 papers submitted, the committee on award has not, as yet, made a final report; although much progress is reported and the final announcement is excepted shortly. Publications under Hodgkins Fund.—tThere was published during the year as a Hodgkins Fund publication a volume on “ Mechanics of the Earth’s Atmosphere,” consisting of a series of 25 papers translated from the French and German by Professor Abbe, and forming a con- nected treatise on that subject. Another volume issued at the cost of the Hodgkins Fund was an exhaustive bibliography of aeronautical literature compiled by Mr. Paul Brockett, and containing titles of 13,500 papers on aviation in all languages published previous to July 1, 1909. THE SMITHSONIAN TABLE AT THE NAPLES ZOOLOGICAL STATION. For over seventeen years the Institution has maintained at the Naples Zoological Station a table for the use of American biologists, and the lease has been renewed for a period of three years from January 1, 1910, at an annual rental of 2,500 francs. The founder and director of the station, Dr. Anton Dohrn, always showed a most cordial spirit of helpfulness toward the Institution in arranging for its appointees, and it is with particular regret that I report his death, which occurred on September 29, 1909. At the re- quest of the Institution, the Department of State designated the American consul at Naples to represent the Institution officially at the funeral. Doctor Dohrn has been succeeded by his son, Dr. Reinhard Dohrn, who has expressed his earnest adherence to the policies adopted by his father, and assures the Institution of his hearty cooperation dur- ing his administration. 97578°—sm 1910——2 18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. During the year the following American biologists were appointed to the Smithsonian Table: Prof. H. D. Senior, of the College of Medicine of the Syracuse University, who continued his researches in the angioblast of the trunk in Teleosts through studies of the origin of the circulation in Amphioxus. Dr. R. M. Strong, of the University of Chicago, whose work was confined to some general studies of chromatophores, which occur in two species of Cephalopods and in three species of Crustacea. Dr. W. D. Hoyt, formerly of Johns Hopkins University, but now of Rutgers College, whose studies comprehended the periodicity in the fruiting and cultural experiments in alternations of generations of marine alge. Prof. Charles L. Edwards, of Trinity College, who continued his investigations in the variations in Synapta inhoerens and other holo- thurians. Prof. Charles W. Greene, of the University of Missouri, who worked on the comparative physiology of fishes. Applications for future occupancy of the Table have been received during the year from Dr. S. R. Williams, of the Miami University, and from Dr. Sergius Morgulis, of Harvard University. The advisory committee on the Smithsonian Table has, as always, rendered invaluable aid in the examination of the credentials of ap- plicants, and it is desired to here record the Institution’s apprecia- tion of their assistance. During the year an important change in the personnel of the com- mittee took place. Dr. John §. Billings, who served for many years as its chairman, tendered his resignation, and it is much regretted that a relationship so helpful and agreeable has been thus terminated. The Institution is fortunate, however, in securing the cooperation of Dr. Carl H. Eigenmann, professor of zoology at the Indiana Univer- sity and director of the biological station maintained in connection with that establishment. The present organization of the committee is as follows: Dr. Theodore Gill, of the Smithsonian Institution, chairman; Dr. C. Wardell Stiles, of the Bureau of Public Health and Marine-Hos- pital Service, secretary; Dr. E. B. Wilson, of the Columbia Univer- sity, New York; Dr. Carl H. Eigenmann, of the Indiana University. PUBLICATIONS. The principal medium for carrying out one of the fundamental functions of the Institution, “the diffusion of knowledge,” is through its publications. The Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, and the Smithsonian annual - REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 19 reports now comprise a library of about 150 quarto and octavo vol- umes covering practically every branch of scientific knowledge, and if to these be added the publications issued under its direction by the National Museum, the Bureau of Ethnology, and the Astrophysical Observatory, the scientific literature produced through the Institu- tion aggregates about 350 volumes, made up of several thousand memoirs and papers. The works issued at the expense of the Institution proper aré neces- sarily in limited editions, but they are so distributed to the principal libraries throughout the world as to be available for general reference by all who need them. The annual reports, the general appendix of which is made up of selected papers reviewing progress in scien- tific work in all its branches, is a public document, and through the liberality of Congress is published in larger numbers than the other Smithsonian series, although the editions of this more popular work are each exhausted soon after publication. In the series of Contributions, reserved for original additions to knowledge, no memoir was issued during the year. Langley memoir on mechanical flight——Two memoirs by the late Secretary Langley, entitled “ Experiments in Aerodynamics” and “The Internal Work of the Wind,” were printed in 1891 and 1893, respectively, as parts of volume 27 of the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, and several editions of each have since been published. A third memoir, dealing with later experiments to December 8, 1903, to be entitled “‘ Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight,” was to complete that volume. This work was in preparation at the time of Mr. Langley’s death in 1906, and the manuscript of the first part cov- ering his experiments down to November, 1896, had been written by him and partially revised for press. The further editorial revision of that part and the completion of part 2 to bring the work down to the close of the experiments on December 8, 1903, was placed in the hands of Mr. Charles M. Manly, who had for several years been Mr. Langley’s chief assistant in his experiments. The completed manu- script is now nearly ready for the press and it will probably be pub- lished within a few months. It is hoped that later it may be practicable to have tabulated and published the extensive technical data of observations of the work- ing of the model aerodromes and various types of engines, propellers, planes, and other apparatus with the use of the pendulum and whirl- ing-arm. It is of interest here to note that on August 6, 1907, a French aviator made a flight of nearly 500 feet with a machine of the Lang- ley type.* @Recent Progress in Aviation. By Octave Chanute. In Journal Western Society of Engineers, vol. 15, No. 2, April, 1910. See also various French and Italian aeronautical periodicals giving some details of these experiments. 20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.—Thirty papers were added to the Miscellaneous Collections, including a number of biological and anthropological articles, and four volumes of considerable size on The Mechanics of the Earth’s Atmosphere, Landmarks of Botan- ical History, Bibliography of Aeronautics, and Recalculation of Atomic Weights, all of which are enumerated in detail in the appen- dix to this report. Among the papers published just at the close of the year was one by Dr. F. W. Clarke on “ Chemical denudation” and one by Dr. George F. Becker on the “ Age of the earth.” The Smithsonian Physical Tables have been revised and extended to bring the work within the range of recent advances in the science of physics, and the new edition has been put to press. The several series of Smithsonian meteorological, geographical, physical, and mathematical tables continue to be in demand by students, and new editions are required at comparatively frequent intervals. As mentioned on another page, three papers have been added to the series descriptive of my researches in Cambrian Geology and Pa- leontology. Harriman Alaska Expedition—Arrangements are being made by which the publication of the series of volumes on the results of the Harriman scientific expedition to Alaska in 1899 will be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution and the work will hereafter be known as the Harriman Alaska series of the Smithsonian Institution. The remainder of the edition of the 11 volumes privately printed, as well as volumes in preparation, will bear special Smithsonian title pages, and all will be distributed under the auspices of the Institution. National Museum publications—The National Museum publica- tions during the year included the annual report on its operations, about 50 papers, chiefly biological, in the proceedings, 8 bulletins, and 7 botanical papers in the series of Contributions from the National Herbarium. The most elaborate of these works is Bulletin No. 70, devoted to the National Gallery of Art, by Assistant Secretary Richard Rathbun. ‘This book reviews the history of the Art Gallery and gives a catalogue of the collections with illustrations of some of the most important paintings. Bureau of Ethnology.—The Bureau of American Ethnology issued five bulletins during the year, including works on the unwritten liter- ature of Hawaii, by Doctor Emerson, and “Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park,’ by Doctor Fewkes. Society publications—The annual reports of the American His- torical Association and of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution were received from those organizations and communicated to Congress in accordance with their national charters. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. ot Allotments for printing —The allotments to the Institution and its branches, under the head of public printing and binding, during the past fiscal year, aggregating $72,700, were, as far as practicable, ex- pended prior to June 30. The allotments for the year ending June 30, 1911, are as follows: For the Smithsonian Institution for printing and binding annual reports of the Board of Regents, with general appendixes______-___________ $10, 000 For the annual reports of the National Museum, with general appen- dixes, and for printing labels and blanks, and for the bulletins and proceedings of the National Museum, the editions of which shall not exceed 4,000 copies, and binding, in half turkey or material not more expensive, scientific books and pamplets presented to or acquired by chem Nationale Museum Hbrary 22s: 2 2 ee oe eae ie ee 34, 000 For the annual reports and bulletins of the Bureau of American Eth- nology, and for miscellaneous printing and binding for the bureau, including the binding in half turkey, or in material not more expensive, scientific books and pamphlets acquired by the bureau library________ 21, 000 For miscellaneous printing and binding: Internationals mxchangesia eer Bis TRE ree 2 see eat Ti ee 200 International Catalogue of Scientific Literature__________________ 100 Nationals Zcologicall Rar kee 2-8) nee Pg a hie, Ee es 200 ZAStrophysicaliOb servator yas s<- 2 ye eek ee 200 For the annual report of the American Historical Association_________ 7, 000 PROGR Eee oe iis Wo ep OTE ae Ek eR tee ee es LT EE 72, 700 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PRINTING AND PUBLICATION. The committee on printing and publication has continued to ex- amine manuscripts proposed for publication by the branches of the Institution and has considered various questions concerning public printing and binding. Twenty-five meetings of the committee were held during the year and 106 manuscripts were passed upon. The personnel of the committee is as follows: Dr. Frederick W. True, head curator of biology, United States National Museum, chairman; Mr. C. G. Abbot, director of the Astrophysical Observatory; Mr. W. I. Adams, of the International Exchanges; Dr. Frank Baker, superin- tendent of the National Zoological Park; Mr. A. Howard Clark, editor of the Smithsonian Institution; Mr. F. W. Hodge, ethnologist, the Bureau of American Ethnology; Dr. George P. Merrill, head curator of geology, United States National Museum; and Dr. Leon- hard Stejneger, curator of reptiles and batrachians, United States National Museum. THE LIBRARY. The Smithsonian Library as at present organized includes (1) the Smithsonian deposit in the Library of Congress, (2) the Smithsonian office library, (3) the library of the National Museum, (4) the library of the Bureau of American Ethnology, (5) the library of the Astro- 29 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. physical Observatory, and (6) the library of the National Zoological Park. The Bureau of Ethnology Library, together with the business offices of the Bureau, was during the past year transferred to the Smithsonian building, where it is more accessible than heretofore for reference. The total additions to these several libraries during the year aggre- gated more than 23,000 volumes, pamphlets, and serial publications. The library of the National Museum, which is subdivided into 31 sectional libraries for the convenience of the several departments and divisions, now numbers 38,300 volumes, 61,858 unbound papers, and 110 manuscripts, and the Bureau of Ethnology lbrary contains 16,050 volumes, 11,600 pamphlets, several thousand periodicals, and a large collection of manuscripts. The Smithsonian deposit in the Library of Congress was increased by the addition of 2,653 volumes, 2,879 parts of volumes, 1,896 pam- phlets, and 623 charts, the total accession entries now having reached the half-million mark. This library is becoming more and more val- uable as the sets of transactions and memoirs of the learned institu- tions of the world and of scientific periodicals are each year made more complete. There was published during the year a bibliography of aeronautics, prepared by the assistant librarian. This work contains references to about 18,500 books or papers on that subject, most of which are avail- able for reference in Washington, the collection of aeronautical litera- ture in the Smithsonian office library having been greatly increased in recent years. THE LANGLEY MEDAL. In memory of the late Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley and his contributions to the science of aerodromics, the Board of Regents on December 15, 1908, established the Langley medal, “to be awarded for specially meritorious investigations in connection with the science of aerodromics and its application to aviation.” As stated in my last report, the first award of the medal was voted by the Board of Regents to Wilbur and Orville Wright, “ for advanc- ing the science of aerodromics in its application to aviation by their successful investigations and by their successful demonstrations of the practicability of mechanical flight by man.” The brothers Wright were immediately communicated with in France and accepted an invitation to be present at the Board meeting of February 10, 1910, to receive the medals in person. On the date mentioned they were introduced to the Board and the formal presen- tation was made. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell reviewed the progress made in the science of aviation by the investigations and experiments REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 98 of Professor Langley, culminating on May 6, 1896, in the demonstra- tion that a model aerodrome heavier than air could support itself and fly under its own power. Professor Langley thus became “ the great pioneer of aerial flight.” ¢ Senator Lodge made the formal presentation speech, in which he said: It is peculiarly the characteristic of Americans to be pioneers; pio- neers across the great continent on which we live, pioneers by sea, and now pioneers by air; and to Wilbur and Orville Wright, pioneers of what Doctor Langley called “the great universal highway overhead,” who by their achievements have added honor to the American name and nation, we now present the first Langley medal that the institution has conferred. After receiving the medals from the hands of the Chancellor the recipients expressed their great pleasure in being considered worthy of such distinction. Mr. Wilbur Wright called attention to the valu- able scientific researches by Professor Langley in matters relating to the physical properties of the air and to the great importance of ex- tending these researches, particularly to determine the coefficient of air pressure; that is, the pressure of wind at a certain speed on a plane of a certain size. As an indication of their early confidence in the successful solution of the problem of aerial navigation, the Wright brothers said: The knowledge that the head of the most prominent scientific institution of America believed in the possibility of human flight was one of the influences that led us to undertake the preliminary investigations that preceded our active work. He recommended to us the books which enabled us to form sane ideas at the outset. It was a helping hand at a critical time, and we shall always be grateful. LANGLEY MEMORIAL TABLET. In accordance with a resolution adopted by the Board of Regents on December 15, 1908, designs have been prepared, and are under consideration by a special committee, for “ the erection in the Insti- tution building of a tablet to the memory of Secretary Langley, set- ting forth his services in connection with the subject of aerial naviga- tion.” The committee’s recommendations are that the tablet be mod- eled in bronze in low relief along the lines of the work of St. Gaudens, to contain a bas-relief of the bust of Mr. Langley, and that in the background there be represented a model of the Langley aerodrome in full flight, with the date of its first flight. The tablet is also to bear the lettering “ Samuel Pierpont Langley, 1834-1906, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1887-1906,” and to bear also the text 27The full addresses by Doctor Bell and others on this occasion will be printed in the report of the Board to Congress. 24 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. of what is known as Langley’s Law as to relation of speed to power in aerial motion, as follows: These new experiments (and theory also when viewed in their light) show that if in such aerial motion, there be given a plane of fixed size and weight, inclined at such an angle, and moved forward at such a speed, that it shall be sustained in horizontal flight, then the more rapid the motion is, the less will be the power required to support and advance it. COMMISSION ON ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. An International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, con- sisting of five members, was appointed in 1895 by the Third Interna- tional Zoological Congress, held at Leyden, Holland, for the purpose of studying the various codes of nomenclature and to report upon the same at a later congress. At the congress at Cambridge, England, in 1898, the commission was made permanent and increased to fif- teen members. At the Berne Congress, in 1904, the commissioners were divided into three classes of five, each class to serve for nine years. Committees on nomenclature, to cooperate with the International Commission, have been organized in the United States by the Ento- mological Society of America, the Association of Economic Ento- mologists, the American Ornithologists’ Union, and the Society of American Zoologists. A code of nomenclature was adopted at the Berlin congress in 1901 and was amended at the Boston congress in 1907. Prior to the Boston congress a desire had developed among zoologists that the commission should serve as a court of interpretation of the code, and in accord- ance therewith the commission presented to the Boston congress five opinions, which were ratified by the congress. Since the Boston meeting a number of questions on nomenclature have been submitted to the commission for opinion. Owing to the amount of time consumed in communicating with the fifteen commis- sioners it was impossible to act promptly upon these cases, but in December, 1909, the Smithsonian Institution gave a grant to provide for the clerical work for a period of three years, and since that time it has been possible to render the opinions more promptly. The commission has no legislative power. Its powers are restricted to studying questions of nomenclature, to reporting upon such ques- tions to the international congress, and to rendering opinions upon cases submitted to it. The Smithsonian Institution has also undertaken the publication of the opinions of the commission for a limited period and their distribu- tion to important libraries and to zoological specialists throughout the world. ‘The first issue of these opinions was in press at the close of the fiscal year and included opinions 1 to 25, covering several REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 25 important questions, making a pamphlet of 61 pages. In connection with the summary of each opinion there is given a statement of the case and the discussion thereon by the members of the commission. The commission has issued the following rules to be followed in submitting cases for opinion: (1) The commission does not undertake to act as a bibliographic or nomencla- tural bureau, but rather as an adviser in connection with the more difficult and disputed cases of nomenclature. (2) All cases submitted should be accompanied by (a@) a concise statement of the point at issue, (0) the full arguments on both sides in case a disputed point is involved, and (c) complete and exact bibliographic references to every book or article bearing on the point at issue. The more complete the data when the case is submitted, the more promptly can it be acted upon. (3) Of necessity, cases submitted with incomplete bibliographic references can not be studied, and must be returned by the commission to the sender. (4) Cases upon which an opinion is desired may be sent to any member of the commission, but— (5) In order that the work of the commission may be confined as much as possible to the more difficult and the disputed cases it is urged that zoologists study the code and settle for themselves as many cases as possible. INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES AND CELEBRATIONS. Congress of Americanists—The Institution was represented at the Seventeenth International Congress of Americanists held at Buenos Aires, May 16 to 21, 1910, by three delegates, Dr. Ales Hrdli¢ka, of the United States National Museum; Mr. Bailey Willis, of the United States Geological Survey; and Rev. Charles Warren Currier, of the Catholic University of America. Doctor Hrdli¢ka reports that the meeting was very well attended, particularly by delegates from the various republics of South America. There were read nearly fifty papers, many of them of considerable interest, and related chiefly to the natives of South America. Mr. Bailey Willis presented a communication on “ Changes in the geological environ- ment during the Quaternary period,” and Doctor Hrdlicka gave a résumé of the present knowledge on “Artificial deformation of the human skull, with special reference to America.” The Institution also appointed Dr. Ale’ Hrdlicka its representa- tive at the second meeting of the above congress to be held in the City of Mexico, September 7 to 14, 1910. Upon the suggestion of the Smithsonian Institution, the Depart- ment of State designated Doctor Hrdlicka, Mr, Willis, and Doctor Currier as representatives of the United States at the above con- gress at Buenos Aires. Geological Congress.—Dr. George F. Becker, of the United States Geological Survey, was designated as the representative of the Smith- sonian Institution at the Eleventh International Geological Con- 26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. egress at Stockholm, Sweden, in August, 1910. A paper expressing my view on “The abrupt appearance of the Cambrian fauna” was prepared to be read at this congress. International American Scientific Congress.—Mr. Bailey Willis, of the United States Geological Survey, was appointed a delegate in behalf of the Smithsonian Institution to the International American Scientific Congress to be held at Buenos Aires, July 10 to 25, 1910, on the occasion of the Argentina centennial. Congress on Ornithology—Mr. William Dutcher, president of the National Association of Audubon Societies, was designated as the representative on the part of the Smithsonian Institution and United States National Museum at the Fifth International Congress on Ornithology held at Berlin from May 30 to June 4, 1910, and upon the nomination of the Institution Mr. Dutcher was also accredited by the Department of State as a delegate on the part of the United States to that congress. Zoological congress.—The following gentlemen were designated as delegates to represent the Smithsonian Institution and United States National Museum at the Eighth International Zoological Congress to be held at Graz, Austria, from August 15 to 20, 1910, and the De- partment of State designated them as delegates on the part of the United States: Dr. Charles Wardell Stiles, of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, and custodian of Helminthological Collections in the National Museum; Dr. Henry Haviland Field, an American naturalist and director of the Concilium Bibliographicum ; Dr. William E. Kellicott, professor of biology in Goucher College, Baltimore; and Mr. Austin H. Clark, Assistant Curator of the Divi- sion of Marine Invertebrates, United States National Museum. Congress of Botany.—Dr. Frederick V. Coville, of the United States National Museum, and Dr. Joseph C. Arthur, of Purdue Uni- versity, were designated as representatives of the-Smithsonian Insti- tution to the Third International Congress of Botany held at Brus- sels May 14 to 22, 1910. Aeronautical Exposition—The Institution was invited to exhibit some models of the Langley flying machines at an aeronautical ex- position at Frankfort-on-the-Main July 10 to October 10, 1909, but it was impracticable to do more than send a series of photographs of the model machines in flight on May 6, 1896, and August 8, 1903, and some views of the full-size aerodrome on the launching ways near Widewater, Virginia. Inauguration of President Lowell—The President and Fellows of Harvard College invited the Smithsonian Institution to be repre- sented by a delegate at the inauguration on October 6 and 7, 1909, of Abbott Lawrence Lowell, LL. D., as the twenty-fourth president of Harvard University. It was my pleasure to attend the ceremonies REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 27 at Cambridge as such delegate and to present in engrossed form the greetings. and congratulations of the Institution. University of Oviedo—tThe Institution received from the Univer- sity of Oviedo, Spain, a copy of an address and a medal commemora- tive of the third centenary of that university. Russian Entomological Society—The Institution found it to be im- practicable to send a delegate to the fiftieth anniversary of the found- ing of the Entomological Society of Russia at St. Petersburg March 11, 1910, but forwarded its formal congratulations and good wishes. Conference of librarians—Mr. Paul Brockett, assistant librarian of the Institution, was authorized to accept the invitation of the secretary of the Institut International de Bibliographie to take part in and become a member of the Congrés International de Biblio- graphie et de Documentation to be held at Brussels, Belgium, August 25 to 27, 1910, and he was also designated to represent the Institution in the Congrés International des Archivistes et des Bibliothécaires at the same place on August 29 to 31, 1910. MISCELLANEOUS. George Washington Memorial Building.—At the February meeting of the Board of Regents I spoke of the movement of the George Washington Memorial Association to erect in Washington a memorial building, which would be used as a center for the scientific, literary, patriotic, and educational associations of the country. It is believed that such a building would afford a much-needed relief to the present crowded condition of the Smithsonian building, resulting in part by the accommodations offered to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Historical Association, and others. The proposed building would be erected by popular subscription. Preservation of American antiquities —Under the requirements of law (act of June 8, 1906), the Institution has continued its considera- tion of applications for permits to make archeological excavations or collections on the public domain of the United States, including requests for researches in the Aleutian Islands, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and California. Gifts—Among the gifts to the Institution during the year special mention may be made of the C. Hart Merriam collection of 5,800 specimens of skins of mammals and about 6,000 skulls, including 100 full skulls of mammals and 235 skulls of seals presented by Mrs. Edward H. Harriman. Additional gifts by Mr. Freer and others are referred to in con- nection with the National Gallery of Art. 98 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. NATIONAL MUSEUM. A summary of the operations of the National Museum is given as usual in the appendix to this report and full details are set forth by the Assistant Secretary in a separate volume, and need not therefore be fully treated here. New building—At the close of the year the exterior of the new Museum building had been practically completed. Several months’ work, however, remained to be done to, finish the south pavilion or rotunda. Provision has been made for the improvement of the grounds immediately about the building, including granolithic roads and walks, grading, and readjustment of roadways. The transfer of collections, laboratories, and workshops to the new building has progressed as rapidly as practicable considering that the floor area to be provided with furniture and other new equipment is about 10 acres. The collections of the National Gallery of Art, as mentioned below, were transferred to the middle hall of the new building and opened to the public in March, and in connection therewith some of the more interesting ethnological groups and historical exhibits were installed in the surrounding hall and adjacent ranges. It was not practicable to open any other portions of the building to the public, although more than half of the natural history collections, both re- serve and exhibition, had been transferred to their new quarters. Art textiles—The removal of the paintings from the old building has afforded more ample space for the display of the art textiles and fabrics, consisting of laces, embroideries, tapestries, brocades, and velvets; also fans, enamels, porcelains, jewelry, etc. As mentioned in my last report, these objects were brought together at the sugges- tion of Mrs. James W. Pinchot, who has given personal attention to their collection and arrangement. Accessions—The additions to the Museum during the year aggre- gated 970,698 specimens, as compared with 250,000 in the year pre- ceding. The most noteworthy collection of the year was several thousand specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles, batrachians, and other animals, besides several thousand plants, received from the Smithsonian African Expedition under the direction of Col. Theodore Roosevelt, more fully referred to on another page. Other important accessions in the several departments of the Museum are enumerated by the Assistant Secretary in the appendix to the present report. About 800,000 entomological specimens, received from the Depart- ment of Agriculture, were varieties of beetles and other insects injuri- ous to forest trees, which had been accumulated during investigations by the Bureau of Entomology. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 29 Distribution of spectmens.—The Museum has taken a special inter- est for many years, to as great an extent as appropriations would permit, in the preparation and distribution to educational establish- ments throughout the country of series of duplicate specimens per- taining chiefly to natural history. During the past year about 6,000 such specimens were distributed. National Herbarium.—The removal of the archeological collections from the large upper hall of the Smithsonian building has afforded an opportunity for furnishing adequate quarters for the National Herbarium, which for many years has occupied crowded and unsuit- able space in the galleries of the National Museum. Growth of Museum.—The national collections have so increased in size and value as to make them comparable with the similar collections of the greater European countries, and with the occupation of the new building they may now be housed and arranged in an appropriate and convenient manner. This expansion, however, involves a much greater annual expenditure than heretofore, the larger portion of which is called for in connection with the exhibition halls, maintained for the benefit of the public. The extent of these halls has been about trebled, thus offering an opportunity for the preparation and mounting for display of many additional specimens, a work that will be pushed as rapidly as available funds will permit in order that the operations of the Museum may be commensurate with their impor- tance to the public interests and to science. THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART. As stated in my last report the collections of the National Gallery of Art had then so increased that they could no longer all be accommo- dated in the old National Museum building, and Congress having failed to authorize the adaptation of the large hall of the Smithsonian building for their proper exhibition, it had become necessary to make preparations for their display temporarily in one of the halls in the new Museum building. The space selected was the central part of the middle hal!, 50 feet wide and about 130 feet long, with a central skylight. Screen walls were constructed, divided into seven rooms. An informal opening of the gallery was held on March 17, 1910, which was largely attended. The collections were increased during the year by the further gift from Mr. William T. Evans of 32 paintings and 1 fire etching on wood, and by a considerable number of loans from various indi- viduals. It became necessary at the close of the year to make prepara- tion for extending the limits of the gallery so as to include the entire space below the skylight in the middle hall. The history of the gallery and a catalogue of the collections was published during the year in a volume of 140 pages as Bulletin No. 30 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. 70 of the National Museum. This was prepared by the Assistant Secretary, Dr. Richard Rathbun, who has been most arduous in his efforts to promote the gallery’s growth. On the occasion of the first annual convention of the American Federation of Art, held in Washington May 17-19, 1910, I had the pleasure of presenting a brief account of the National Gallery, and a private view of the collections was extended to the members of the convention and friends on the afternoon of May 17. The subject is of such importance that it seems proper here to recall in a general way the origin of the gallery and its present condition and needs. In 1840, while the question of what should be done with the Smith- son bequest was under consideration in Congress, a few gentlemen organized the National Institute, which was in 1842 incorporated by Congress for a term of twenty years, at the expiration of which its collections were to be transferred to the Government. This institute collected a few works of art, which were subsequently transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. The act of 1846 creating the Smithsonian Institution provides that all objects of art belonging to the United States which may be in the city of Washington shall be delivered to such persons as may be authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them and that they shall be arranged and classified in the building erected for the Insti- tution. In 1849, under the authority of the Regents, Secretary Henry pur- chased the Marsh collection of engravings and works of art. In 1858 the collections in the Patent Office Museum were turned over to the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1862 the collections of the National Institute were transferred, on the expiration of its charter. These collections included a few paintings of merit and sundry art objects. In 1879 the Catlin collection of Indian paintings was presented to the Institution by Mrs. Joseph Harrison, of Philadelphia. A few additions were made from time to time up to 1906, but they were relatively of little importance, and, with the collections already in hand, were scattered about in the Smithsonian building and the National Museum building erected in 1879. In 1903, when the will of Harriet Lane Johnston was presented for probate, it was found that she had bequeathed her entire collec- tion of paintings and art objects to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, under certain specific conditions and subject to the provision that in the event of a national art gallery being established in the city of Washington they should be transferred to the said National Art Gallery and become the absolute property of that gallery. The Cor- coran Gallery declined the bequest under the conditions, and the REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. Syl executors of the Johnston estate asked the courts for a construction of the clause in the testament providing that the collection be given to a national art gallery. This suit was filed on February 7, 1905, in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, and by an order of the court dated July 18, 1906, the collections were delivered to the Smithsonian Institution on August 3, 1906, the court deciding that there had been established by the United States of America in the city of Washington a national art gallery within the meaning of Harriet Lane Johnston’s will. In 1904, Mr. Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, offered his art collection to the Smithsonian Institution, under certain specified conditions, and also offered to furnish the means for erecting, after his death, a suitable building to receive the collection. This collection was for- mally accepted by the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in 1906. It includes more than 2,250 objects, including paintings in oil, water color, and pastel, drawings and sketches, etchings and dry points, lithographs, oriental pottery, and other objects. The action of Harriet Lane Johnston and Mr. Charles L. Freer called the attention of all interested in art, to the fact that there was a national gallery, and that under the care of the Smithsonian Institu- tion it was making conservative and satisfactory progress. In March, 1907, Mr. Wilham T. Evans, of Montclair, New Jersey, announced to the Institution his desire to contribute to the National Gallery a number of paintings by contemporary American artists of established reputation. In transmitting the first installment of paintings, he wrote: I have every reason to believe that you will like my selections, but should any of the examples not hold well, others can be substituted, as it is my desire to have every artist represented at his best. As already intimated, I intend that the present gift may not be considered as final. Additions may be made from time to time as opportunities occur to secure exceptional works. Fifty paintings were enumerated in the list which accompanied this letter. Up to June 30, 1910, Mr. Evans had presented 114 selected paintings, representing 80 artists. These, with the paintings already in the possession of the Institution, bring the exhibit now installed in the large hall of the new Museum building to more than 160. The world-wide interest in the National Gallery has been increas- ing rapidly during the past three years, and we believe, without ques- tion, that the collections will grow quite as rapidly as facilities can be provided for their proper installation and exhibition. The col- lection, including the Freer collection, is particularly strong in pic- tures by American artists, and it is well that it should be so, in order that it may have a strong national tone. The Harriet Lane Johnston collection has given the Gallery fine examples of several of the mas- 32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. ters of European art, and we hope that this feature will be strength- ened from time to time as the years go on. The Charles L. Freer collection contains many beautiful paintings by Tryon, Dewing, Thayer, and the unexcelled series of Whistler paintings, pastels, drawings, and sketches; also the beautiful Pea- cock room. In oriental art the collection representing Japanese and Chinese paintings from the tenth to the nineteenth century can not be duplicated in any single gallery in the world, and the bronzes and pottery are beautiful, and to a large extent unique and of great histor- ical and artistic value. The question of a suitable building for the great Freer collection has been happily settled by Mr. Freer, but we still have to consider the problem of properly housing and exhibiting the collections now in the new natural history museum building, as their present instal- lation is of a temporary character. I have hope that some of our strong men or women who have the means will see the great opportunity that is now offered to present to the nation a suitable building that will be an epoch-making incident in the development of national art and a monument to the culture and patriotism of the one so wise as to take advantage of the oppor- tunity. The American people, as represented by Congress, have just pro- vided a large and beautiful building for the collections of natural history, and in due time it is expected that sufficient interest will be taken in the art collections of the Government to provide a suitable home for them. This, however, is not to be anticipated in the imme- diate future, although the collections now in hand and what will be inevitably received if accommodations are provided for them will make a most creditable showing. I have been frequently asked what effect the development of a national art gallery would have upon the Corcoran Gallery of Art at Washington, and in response I have quoted the effect of the estab- lishment of the Leland Stanford University, in California, upon the State University of California. Prior to the establishment of the Leland Stanford University the State University was a relatively small affair. Its friends, realizing that they must approach the standard set by the proposed new university, at once cast about for strong leaders and strong men for their faculty, and the result in a few years was that California had one of the great research universi- ties of the country in the Leland Stanford and one of the great state universities, with thousands of students. The Corcoran Gallery, with its splendid history, fine building, and beautiful collection of paintings and statuary, has an international fame, and will grow stronger and more rapidly under the stimulus of a greater art inter- est, caused by the development of the national gallery. One will REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 338 supplement the other, and anyone visiting Washington at all inter- ested in art will be obliged to visit both. The most sincere and hearty cooperation has existed in the past between the two institutions, and it will continue in the future, the only rivalry being that each will endeavor to hold to a higher standard and uplift the art ideals in America. In order to insure the maintenance of the gallery at a proper stand- ard there has been organized a permanent honorary committee of men competent to pass judgment on the quality of such works of art as might be presented for acceptance by the gallery and who are also so identified with the art interests of the country as to assure to the public and especially to the lovers and patrons of art the wholly worthy purpose of this movement on behalf of the nation. This advisory committee is constituted as follows: Mr. Francis D. Millett, president; Mr. Frederick Crowninshield, representing the Fine Arts Federation, of which he is president; Mr. Edwin H. Blashfield, representing the National Academy of Design; Mr. Herbert Adams, representing the National Sculpture Society, of which he is president; and Mr. William H. Holmes, of the Smith- sonian Institution, secretary of the committee. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. The Bureau of American Ethnology has in the past accomplhshed much in its study of the habits, customs, and beliefs of the American aborigines. The results of these researches have in considerable measure been permanently recorded in annual reports and bulletins that contain a mass of valuable information on aboriginal arts and industries, forms of government, religious and social customs, lan- guages, and mental and physical characteristics. Although a large body of material still awaits final study and arrangement and much remains to be done both in field and office work, yet the investigations of the Bureau have reached such a stage as to render it possible to summarize some of the results in the form of handbooks designed especially for the use of schools and nonprofessional students. The demand for the handbooks already issued or in preparation has been very large. The Indians form one of the great races of mankind, and the world looks to the Government for all possible knowledge that is still available concerning this race before it shall have vanished by assimilation in the great body of the American people. The Bureau has likewise done much in the exploration and pres- ervation of antiquities, especially the prehistoric ruins in the south- ern Rocky Mountain region, and will continue work in this direction and press it more rapidly while there is still opportunity to save them 97578°—sm 1910 2 o 34 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. from vandalism and to preserve them for the benefit of future gen- erations. There is present need of ethnological researches among the tribal remnants of the Mississippi basin, since the opportunities for making and preserving a permanent record of the aborigines which played such an important part in the early history of the Middle West are rapidly passing. Ethnological researches should also be made in the Hawaiian Islands and in Samoa. Little reliable information regarding the ethnology of these insular possessions has been recorded, and it is hoped that Congress may soon provide the means for initiating among their natives researches of the same general character as those now being conducted among the American Indian tribes. The various lines of ethnological studies carried on by the Bureau during the past year are presented in detail in the appendix to the present report. The removal of some divisions of the National Museum to the new Museum building afforded an opportunity for the transfer in Decem- ber last of the offices and library of the Bureau of American Eth- nology from rented quarters to the Smithsonian building. It was found desirable at the same time to reorganize the office force, Mr. Holmes, Chief of the Bureau for several years, having resumed the office of head curator of the Department of Anthropology in the National Museum. With a view to economy in the transaction of the routine business of the Bureau, much of the clerical and all the laboring work was concentrated by placing the routine correspondence and files, the ac- counts, the shipment of publications, and the care of supplies and other property in immediate charge of the office of the Smithsonian Institution. It was thus found possible to render a larger proportion of the annual appropriation available for research work. INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES. Several additional governments have entered into the immediate exchange of their parliamentary records during the past year, 26 countries now taking part in this exchange with the United States. A list of the countries to which the daily issue of the Congressional Record is sent will be found in the appended report on the exchanges. The Institution is still in correspondence with other governments re- garding this immediate exchange, and from time to time additions will no doubt be made to the list of those countries participating. It may be stated, in this connection, that the exchange here alluded to is separate and distinct from the exchange of official documents which has existed between the United States and other countries for a num- ber of years. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 35 While the number of packages handled during the past year was 7,250 less than during the preceding twelve months, there was a gain in weight of 8,515 pounds. The number of packages passing through the service was 221,625, and the total weight 484,684 pounds. The total available resources for carrying on the system of ex- changes during 1910 amounted to $36,646.74—$32,200 of which were appropriated by the Congress and $4,446.74 were derived from ex- change repayments to the Institution. His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s residency-general at Seoul having consented to act as the exchange intermediary between Korea and the United States, the interrupted exchange relations with that country have been resumed. Under the exchange arrangements entered into in 1898, through the Imperial Academy of Sciences, in Vienna, with the Statistical Central Commission, it has been necessary for the Smithsonian Insti- tution to bear all the expenses for freight on consignments both to and from Vienna. The government of Austria has now signified its willingness to assume its share of the cost of conducting the exchanges between the two countries, and in the future the Institution will, therefore, be relieved of this extra burden upon its resources. In bringing this matter to the attention of the Austrian Government, the Institution has had the assistance of the presidents of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and of the Statistical Central Commission, to both of whom thanks are due for their kind cooperation. During the past year the Institution discontinued sending ex- change packages to correspondents by registered mail. This step was taken with a view to reducing the work in the exchange office and also to relieving the Post-Office Department of the extra expense involved in handling the large amount of registered matter sent out by the exchanges. There were 975 more correspondents on the records of the exchange office than at the close of last year, the total now being 63,605. The circular containing the exchange rules has been revised during the year and a new edition printed. For the information of those who may wish to make use of the facilities of the service, the circular is given in full in the report on the exchanges. German bureau of eachanges.—As has been mentioned in previous reports, the German Government has never undertaken the distribu- tion of exchanges between Germany and the United States, and, in order to conduct the very large interchange of publications between the two countries, it has been necessary for the Smithsonian Institu- tion to maintain a paid agency in Leipzig. During the year 1907, Germany was again approached, through the Department of State, on the subject of the establishment of a governmental bureau of ex- changes in that country. It is gratifying to note here that the repre- 36 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. sentations of the department through the American ambassador at Berlin, have been given favorable consideration on the part of the German authorities, in connection with the establishment, under the direction of that Government, of the America Institute in Berlin— an institution for the fostering of cultural relations between Germany and the United States. While the Smithsonian Institution has not thus far received definite information of the actual establishment of this institute, it is learned through Dr. Hugo Miinsterberg—Harvard exchange professor to the University of Berlin, who is to be the first ~ director of this America institute, and who has taken a very active interest in the whole matter—that it is intended to have the institute assume, as one of is functions, the interchange of publications between Germany and the United States. NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. The National Zoological Park was established in 1890 “ for the ad- vancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the peo- ple.” The area covered by the park is 167 acres along the Rock Creek Valley, about 2 miles north of the center of Washington, in a region well adapted by nature for the purpose for which it is used. During the past twenty years improvements have gradually been made as appropriations have permitted by the laying out of drive- ways and walks and the construction of bridges to render access easy for visitors through connections with the city thoroughfares and with the roadways of Rock Creek Park to the north of the Zoological Park. From year to year likewise the comfort and care of the col- lections have been improved by the laying out of ponds and yards and the construction of bird cages, bear dens, and buildings suited to the habits of the various animals. Among the improvements of the past year I may mention that six new large cages were built for the lions and other large cats; the antelope house was enlarged by an extension 50 by 50 feet, furnishing 10 additional stalls with com- modious yards, and a new entrance to the building; and a suitable pool 47 by 96 feet was made for the sea lions and seals. There remains, however, much to be done to provide adequate accommodations for the collections that are gradually increasing in number and in value, as well as improved facilities for the great and increasing number of visitors to the park. To a large extent the animals still have to be kept in temporary quarters, which are insufficient and unsuitable, and are costly to maintain because of the repairs that are constantly required. This is especially true of the temporary building used for birds. The park has a fine series of birds, some of them of great rarity and interest, and they would make a most valuable exhibit if properly housed. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 837 Only a part of the collection can now be shown for lack of room, and it is practically impossible to maintain the birds in a healthy condi- tion when kept in such unsuitable quarters. The collections in the park were enriched during the year by the addition of a number of East African animals, including five lions, two cheetahs, a leopard, a Grant’s gazelle, a wart hog, and several smaller mammals and birds, which were the gift of Mr, W. N. Mc- Millan, of Nairobi; also a pair each of eland and Coke’s hartebeest, a Grant’s zebra, a water buck, and a Lophiomys, which were secured in the same region. These animals were of such interest and value as to render it desirable to send the assistant superintendent of the park to Africa to arrange for their safe transfer to Washington. ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY. The work of the Astrophysical Observatory during the year has brought two important results: (1) The first result is the establishment of an absolute scale of pyrheliometry within three parts in one thousand as the result of a long series of experiments with various pyrhelometers. The estab- lishment of this scale through Mr. Abbot’s standard pyrheliometer has been supplemented by the distribution abroad and at home of several secondary pyrheliometers constructed through a grant from the Hodgkins Fund. The constancy of the scale of these secondary pyrheliometers has been established and it is desirable to compare this scale with those in use elsewhere. It is hoped that finally all pyrhelometric observations will be made on the same scale as that used here. (2) The second result of the year’s work is the agreement within 1 per cent of the “solar-constant” observations obtained by Mr. Abbot at the Smithsonian Mount Whitney station in California at an elevation of 14,500 feet with those obtained simultaneously at the Mount Wilson station in California at an elevation of only 6,000 feet. This determination, in combination with the above-mentioned establishment of an absolute scale of pyrheliometry, gives 1.925 calo- ries per square centimeter per minute as a mean value, for the period 1905-1909, of the rate at which the earth receives heat from the sun when at its mean distance. Determinations made with various forms of apparatus show no systematic difference in this value of the “ solar constant.” In 1905 this “ constant,” according to various authorities, was stated at values ranging between 1.75 and 4 calories. It is improbable that observations would have been continued since 1902 on “ solar-constant ” work but for a suspected variability of the radiation sent to us from the sun. The laws governing this varia- bility are of extreme importance for utilitarian purposes apart from 38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. their interest to astronomers. While confident of the existence of variations of this value extending over somewhat long periods and of the probability of short-period variations as shown by the observa- tions obtained on Mount Wilson, yet, in order to establish full confi- dence in the minds of others of this variability of the sun’s heat, there is a very pressing need of observations made simultaneously at some other place where they could be made over a longer period than is possible at Mount Whitney. This new station should be so situated that observations could be continued there while the winter rainy season prevents them at Mount Wilson. A station in Mexico would best fulfill such conditions. INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. The purpose of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature is to collect and publish in 17 annual volumes a classified index of the current scientific publications of the world. This is accomplished through the cooperation of 32 of the principal countries of the world, which by means of regional bureaus, one in each country, prepare the data necessary to index all scientific publications issued within their domains. The material thus prepared is forwarded to a central bureau in London for publication in the annual volumes. The various subscribers throughout the world bear the entire cost of the actual printing and publication by the central bureau, but each country taking part in the enterprise bears the expense of indexing and classifying its own publications. The 17 annual volumes combined contain from 10,000 to 12,000 printed pages. The regional bureau for the United States furnishes yearly about 30,000 citations to American scientific literature, which is between 11 and 12 per cent of the total for the world. The bureau for this country was for several years maintained from the funds of the Smithsonian Institution, but is now supported through annual congressional appropriations. Millions of dollars are being spent each year in scientific investiga- tions, and many of the foremost men of the day are devoting their entire time to such work. The results of their labors find publicity through some scientific journal, of which there are over 5,000 that are regularly indexed by the various regional bureaus, over 500 of these journals being published in the United States. The titles of hundreds of books and pamphlets are likewise cited in this Inter- national Catalogue. There is thus furnished in condensed, accurate, and permanent form a minutely classified index to practically all the scientific literature of the world, for the method of classification actually furnishes a digest of the contents, as well as the usual bibli- ographical data, for each publication. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 39 Tt is interesting to mention that a plan for a work of this character was proposed by the Smithsonian Institution as early as 1855, when Secretary Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution, called the attention of the British Association for the Advancement of Science to the great need of an international catalogue of scientific works. In 1867 the Royal Society published its well-known “ Catalogue of Scientific Papers,” and the Smithsonian Institution from time to time has issued catalogues of the literature of special branches of science. In 1894 the Royal Society invited the governments of the world to send delegates to a conference to be held in London in 1896. At this and the following conferences in 1898 and 1900 a plan was formulated to start the work with a classified subject and author ° catalogue of all original scientific literature, beginning with January 1, 1901. Respectfully submitted. Cuartes D, Watcort, Secretary. Apprnpix I. REPORT ON THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the operations of the United States National Museum for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910: CONSTRUCTION AND OCCUPATION OF THE NEW BUILDING, The subjects of greatest concern during the past year have been those con- ’ nected with the erection and occupation of the new building. By the end of the year essentially all of the building except the interior of the south pavilion and the granite approaches had been structurally finished. The last stones in the approaches, however, were laid toward the end of July, 1910, leaving, at the time of writing this report, only the pavilion, or rotunda, which will require several months more for its completion on account of certain decorative features, though these are neither elaborate nor expensive. The auditorium, which occupies most of the ground floor of the pavilion, is expected to be in readiness by October. : In the general deficiency act passed near the close of the last session of Congress provision was made for the improvement of the grounds immediately about the building. This work includes granolithic roads and walks to the north entrance and along both sides of the building to the east and west en- trances, where coal, collections, and supplies are delivered; the grading of the embankment just south of the building and the construction of a narrow service road in the intervening area; the sodding or seeding of all surfaces intended to be kept as lawns; and the readjustment of one of the main roads of the Mall so as to cause it to pass directly in front of the south approaches. These im- portant matters will be attended to by the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds, in whose province they belong. The pressure for additional space on account of the emptying of the rented buildings and the rapid growth of collections made it imperative to begin the occupation of the new building before its completion. During May and June, 1909, the contents of the rented buildings were carried over and stored on some of the finished floors in the exhibition halls and in one of the open courts. Two months later possession of the third story was obtained from the superintendent of construction, although at that time none of the rooms were provided with doors and temporary expedients had to be resorted to for the protection of such material as was first moved. On November 9, 1909, the Museum accepted con- trol of all parts of the building aside from the south pavilion, and while there was still much work of a minor character in progress, operations were not mate- rially interfered with on that account. The transfer of the collections, labora- tories, and workshops has proceeded rapidly, but not as satisfactorily as was hoped for, owing mainly to delays in obtaining furniture, an undertaking of great magnitude, considering that the floor area to be provided for is in the neighborhood of 10 acres. It may be explained that the first and second floors of the building are designed wholly for exhibition purposes. There is one large exhibition hall 40 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 41 on the ground floor, which also contains the heating and power plant, and the wood and metal work shops. Otherwise, this floor, and the third floor and attic, are allotted to the immense reserve collections in all branches of natural history, the laboratories, preparators’ rooms and administrative offices. It is planned with reference to these three floors to use only metal furniture as far as possible, especially for the storage of specimens, since the fire risk is greater in the relatively small closed rooms than in the large exhibition halls, through which a clear view can be had at all times. The danger of fire or of its spread has, however, been reduced to a minimum, first through the use of metal doors supplementing the otherwise fireproof construction, and, second, through a system of alarms, fire plugs and fire extinguishers. While the metal as well as wooden storage cases are made in several styles to meet the re- quirements of different classes of specimens, the rule of construction along unit lines continues to be followed. The large demand created by the needs of the new building has given rise to a keen competition among manufacturers of steel furniture, and resulted in a quality of workmanship which is highly gratifying. A certain amount of fireproof storage furniture had been constructed during the year 1908-9, but it was not until the beginning of last year that the larger orders could be placed, and a considerable amount of work was also done in the Museum shops. As it was deemed most important to first com- plete the furnishing of the working quarters, very little has been done in the matter of exhibition cases, but the requirements of the public halls will be given active consideration during the current year. Considerably more than half of the natural history collections, both reserve and exhibition, were transferred during the year, and it is expected that the entire moving will be completed before winter. 'The only exhibition series opened to the public were those referred to below in connection with the National Gallery of Art, but the arrangement of other halls was in progress when the year closed. For the division of plants, the second story of the main part of the Smithsonian building is being fitted up. From what has been said it will be noted that with the readjustments now in progress all of the collections relating to natural history, including anthro- pology, but excluding the herbarium, will soon be segregated in the new building, which was specially planned for that branch of the Museum. The installation of the paintings of the National Gallery of Art in the middle wing of the build- ing, as described below, is virtually an intrusion, and it is expected that in due time more appropriate accommodations will be found for this important and rapidly growing department. The great difference in the amount of space required by each of the respective departments and their branches, dependent upon the size of their collections, has rendered impossible any exact division between them of the floor area of the building, and the claims of each has been decided according to the actual needs. In a general way anthropology has been given the middle part of the building, biology the western side, and geology the eastern side. This division of space extends essentially from the ground floor to the attic, and, in view of the many elevators and stairways provided, the arrangement is not inconvenient. It gives to each of the departments one of the large halls, and, as all of these halls open on the rotunda, a visitor entering by the main doorway may proceed directly to whichever department he desires. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART. Mr. William T. Evans contributed 32 paintings and 1 fire etching to his collec- tidbn of the works of contemporaneous American artists, which now numbers 17/ 42 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. well-selected examples by 80 painters. This important gift, which is attracting wide attention and receiving the highest commendation, has already done much toward advancing the interests of American art, and it is worthy of mention that one of its canvases was exhibited abroad in the early spring. It should also be stated that during a trip to the Orient Mr. Charles L. Freer secured many choice additions to his collection, still remaining in his custody in Detroit, the formal transfer of which, as the third supplement to the original gift, was made to the Institution in July, 1910. Early in July, 1909, it became necessary to move the Evans collection from the Corcoran Gallery of Art to the improvised picture gallery in the older Museum building, and this in turn required the temporary retirement from public view of many of the paintings which had previously been installed there. The importance of having the entire collection kept together and on exhibition, however, led to an arrangement for its maintenance in the new building, pend- ing the time when a more appropriate home can be found for the department of the fine arts. The location selected was the central skylighted part of the middle hall, which is 50 feet wide and has been utilized to a length of about 130 feet. This area was inclosed with screen walls of a suitable character for hanging paintings and was divided into 7 rooms of varying size. Here all of the paintings belonging to the gallery, together with many loans, were assembled in time to have an informal opening on the 17th of March, 1910, which was largely attended. Some of the more interesting ethnological groups and historical ex- hibits were also installed for the same occasion in the surrounding parts of the hall and adjacent ranges, and the first visitors to the new building were, there- fore, given the opportunity to judge of its advantages for exhibition purposes. At the close of the year preparations had been made for extending the limits of the gallery so as to include the entire space below the skylight. ART TEXTILES. With the removal of the paintings from the gallery in the older Museum building and of the large screens except the one at the east end, this entire hall became available for the collection of art objects commenced two years ago at the suggestion of Mrs. James W. Pinchot, who has continued to give her personal attention to its growth and arrangement. Consisting fundamentally of laces, it comprises other art textiles and fabrics such as embroideries, tapestries, bro- cades, and velvets; and also fans, enamels, porcelains, silver work, ivory carv- ings, jewelry, etc. Besides many loans there were two important donations during the year. One was from Mrs. Pinchot and consisted of 61 pieces of lace, purchased abroad expressly for the collection and with a view to its needs. The other was from Miss Anna R. Fairchild, and comprised 12 pieces of lace and 7 fans, formerly belonging to the late Miss Julia 8. Bryant, in whose memory they were presented. The laces are of several varieties, mostly of large size, dating back to the seventeenth century, and are of great beauty and value. Just be fore the close of the year additional cases were provided and the entire collec- tion was rearranged. It iS now one of the most attractive features in the Museum. COMMEMORATIVE TABLET. It is especially pleasing to note the acquisition of a large bronze tablet, inter- esting both historically and artistically, executed by the sculptor, Isidore Konti, for the Hon. Truxton Beale, who has recognized the National Museum as a fitting place for its installation. It symbolizes an act of heroism during the war with Mexico, by which the two participants, whose figures appear in relief on the tablet, namely, Passed Midshipman (afterwards General) Edward F. Beale REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 43 and Kit Carson, obtained succor for a band of American soldiers surrounded by the enemy. ‘This tablet, which measures 11 feet high by 7 feet wide, was erected in the north entrance hall of the new building, and unveiled, with simple cere- monies, on May 31, 1910. ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS, The total number of specimens received during the year was approximately 970,698, of which 933,998 were zoological and botanical, 17,979 were geological and paleontological, and 18,721 belonged to the several divisions comprised in the department of anthropology. The unprecedented record for biology resulted from the transfer of a special large collection from one of the government depart- ments, aS explained below. While North America was, as usual, most exten- sively represented in the additions, the accessions from abroad were exception- ally numerous and valuable, and in a notable degree furnished material for important contributions to science, The most noteworthy accession was that received from the Smithsonian African Expedition under the direction of Col. Theodore Roosevelt, who was accompanied by his son, Mr. Kermit Roosevelf, and, on the part of the Institution, by Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, U. S. Army, Mr. Edmund Heller, and Mr. J. Alden Loring. This expedition, which was entirely financed from private sources, reached Mombasa on April 21, 1909, spent eight months in British East Africa, and thence proceeded through Uganda and down the White Nile to Khartum, where it arrived on March 14, 1910. Field work was energetically prosecuted in all parts of the region visited and ample notes were made. The resultant collection, sent in several installments, reached Washington in excellent condi- tion, and constitutes the largest and most important single gift of natural history objects ever received by the Museum. A preliminary census indicates that it comprises about 4,897 mammals, 4,000 birds, 2,000 reptiles and batrachians, and 500 fishes, besides large numbers of mollusks, insects, crustaceans, and other invertebrates, and several thousand plants. The series of large and small mam- mals from East Africa is, collectively, probably more valuable than is to be found in any other museum in the world, its importance depending not so much on the number of new forms as on the fact that it affords an adequate basis for a critical study of the mammal fauna of Hast Africa and the establishment or rejection of the large number of forms which have been described, especially in recent years, from insufficient material. The series of birds, reptiles, and plants are also exceedingly valuable, and the material representing other groups is certain to furnish interesting results when studied. An exploration of certain parts of Java by and at the expense of Mr. Owen Bryant, of Cohasset, Massachusetts, assisted by Mr. William Palmer, of the Museum staff, resulted in the acquisition of a large and valuable collection, in which mammals and birds figure most prominently, though reptiles, insects, and marine invertebrates are extensively represented. Dr. William L. Abbott pre- sented an important collection of ethnological objects, together with interesting specimens of mammals, birds, and reptiles, obtained by him in Borneo. Nearly 400 specimens, representing 85 species of birds from the Polynesian Islands, were received as a gift from Mr. Charles H. Townsend, of New York, by whom they were collected several years ago. The transfers made by the United States Bureau of Fisheries, consisting mainly of material which had been studied and described, and containing a large number of types, were of great value. Of fishes there were about 30,000 specimens, of marine invertebrates about 8,000 specimens, and of reptiles and batrachians about 600 specimens. Except for many fishes from the fresh waters of the United States, the collections were derived almost wholly from the explorations of the steamer Albatross in different parts of the Pacific Ocean. 44 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. An extensive and very valuable series of crustaceans from the expedition of the British ship Sealark to the western Indian Ocean in 1905, and smaller series from the explorations of the French ship Travailleur and the German ship Talis- man in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, were presented to the Museum in return for services in working up the respective collections for publication. The Bureau of Entomology of the Department of Agriculture transferred to the Museum a most extensive and noteworthy collection, which has been in course of building up for a number of years in connection with investigations on insects injurious to forest trees. It comprises not less than 800,000 speci- mens, mainly beetles of the family Scotytidz, and remains in charge of Dr. A. D. Hopkins, of the Bureau, who has been designated as its custodian in the Musuem. The division of plants received over 33,000 specimens, including about 10,000 obtained during an expedition under the associate curator, Dr. J. N. Rose, to the southwestern United States and western Mexico; the material collected by the Smithsonian African Expedition; exchanges from the Philippine Islands, and transfers from the Department of Agriculture. In geology and mineralogy some interesting specimens from different parts of the world were secured. The accessions in invertebrate paleontology were not only extensive but also of special importance, having been mainly the re- sults of field work conducted during the year under the auspices of the Institu- tion, the Museum, and the Geological Survey, accompanied by stratigraphic observations, and furnishing material for investigations of exceptional value. The largest and most noteworthy collections consisted of Cambrian fossils ob- tained in Alberta, Canada, by the Secretary, and in Utah and Manchuria, China, by others under his direction. Next should be mentioned Ordovician and Silurian fossils from the Ohio Valley, Utah, and the island of Anticosti, Canada, in part collected by the curator of the division and in part secured by transfer and exchange. Interesting contributions were series of Tertiary fossils from North Carolina and the State of Washington. A number of remains of rare fossil vertebrates, some in excellent condition for mounting for exhibition, and valuable additions to the collection of mamma- lian remains from the Fort Union beds of Sweet Grass County, Montana, were obtained in connection with explorations by the Geological Survey and the Mu- seum. The types and figured specimens of Cretaceous plants from New York and New England recently described and published by the Geological Survey constituted the principal acquisition in paleobotany. Prominent among the accessions in ethnology was a large collection of objects illustrative of the Kanakas of Hawaii, gathered during a long period of years by Dr. N. B. Emerson, of Honolulu, and purchased by the Government for exhi- bition at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The most notable of many ad- ditions in prehistoric archeology were two collections from North America and one from South America. The former resulted from excavations by Dr. J. W. Fewkes, first at the “ Cliff Palace,’ Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, for the Department of the Interior, and subsequently at the ruins of the Marsh Pass region, Arizona, for the Bureau of American Ethnology. The latter repre- sents the ancient peoples of Argentina and was obtained by exchange. Through the courtesy and generosity of the officials of the Metropolitan Mu- seum of Art in New York Dr. AleS Hrdlitka was enabled to visit the excava- tions which that museum has for some time been conducting in Egypt and to secure from the tombs as they were uncovered several hundred remains of ancient Egyptians, which were carefully labeled and prepared for shipment under his personal supervision. The value of this collection, which is still to be worked up, is greatly enhanced by the fact that every specimen is well iden- tified chronologically. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 45 The technological collections were increased along many lines, the most impor- tant additions having been of firearms, including a number of historically interesting pieces, for which the Museum was chiefly indebted to the War De- partment. Also worthy of mention were series of sun dials and of watch and chronometer movements and the original machine, long in use, by which com- plete pins were first manufactured automatically. The division of history was greatly enriched. The bequest of Prof. Simon Newcomb to the nation for deposit in the Museum of many personal memorials comprised, besides his uniform and sword as a rear-admiral in the navy, gold and bronze medals, vases, including a large and fine example in jasper presented by the Emperor of Russia, and 118 diplomas and announcements of honors con- ferred on this distinguished astronomer by universities and other learned bodies for eminence in science. Among the gifts and loans were personal relics of Admiral Farragut and Rear-Admiral Charles Wilkes, and a number of pieces of china bearing the insignia of the Society of the Cincinnati, made in China in 1790 for David Townsend, of Massachusetts. MISCELLANEOUS, Of duplicate specimens from the collections of the various divisions, about 6,000 were distributed to educational establishments in different parts of the country, while about 24,000 were used in making exchanges with other institu- tions and with individuals, whereby much valuable new material was acquired. The number of specimens sent to specialists for study in behalf of the Museum or of work in progress for other purposes was about 16,000. The record of visitors to the public halls showed an average attendance, the total number of persons who entered the older Museum building during the year having been about 229,000. It is to be expected that the attendance at the new building when its exhibition collections have been fully arranged will be much greater than this, but not until Sunday opening has been effected, a step anticipated in the near future, can the Museum hope to meet its manifest obli- gations in popular education. The publications of the year, all but one of which were descriptive of material in the collections, comprised the annual or administrative report for 1909, one volume of Proceedings, one of Contributions from the National Herbarium, 8 bulletins, and 55 separate papers belonging to three uncompleted volumes. Because of the insufficient funds provided for the purchase of books the library of the Museum still serves very inadequately the purposes for which it is maintained, the classification of the collections, and important work is often much hindered on this account. At the close of the year it contained 38,300 volumes and 61,858 unbound papers. Mr. William H. Holmes, who has served as Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology since 1902, returned to the Museum in January to again take up the duties of head curator of the department of anthropology. It is with deep regret that I announce the deaths, at advanced ages, of two of the honorary associates of the Museum, Dr. Charles A. White and Dr. Robert E. C. Stearns, once active members of its staff, both of whom became widely known through their important contributions to science during many. years, the former especially in paleontology, the latter in zoology. Respectfully submitted. RICHARD RATHBUN, Assistant Secretary, in Charge of U. S. National Museum. Dr. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. AUGUST 27, 1910. AppEenpix II. . REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of the Bureau of American Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1910, con- ducted in accordance with the act of Congress approved March 4, 1909, authoriz- ing the continuation of ethnological researches among the American Indians and the natives of Hawaii, under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, aud in accordance with the plans of operations approved by the Secretary on June 1, 1909, and January 7, 1910. During the first half of the fiscal year the administration of the Bureau was under the immediate charge of Mr. William H. Holmes, who, on January 1, 1910, severed his official connection with the Bureau in order to resume his place as head curator of anthropology in the United States National Museum and to become curator of the National Gallery of Art, as well as to enable him to take advantage of the facilities afforded by the change for publishing the results of his various archeological researches. Mr. F. W. Hodge was designated on the same date to assume the administration of the Bureau under the title “ethnologist in charge.” In view of the approaching change and of the necessity for devoting much of his time to affairs connected with the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum and the National Gallery of Art and the administration of the Bureau, Mr. Holmes found it impracticable to give attention to field research during the remainder of 1909. Good progress was made in the preparation of the Handbook of American Archeology, to which he had devoted much attention during the year and to which reference has been made in previous reports. The systematic ethnological researches of the Bureau were continued as in previous years with the regular force of the Bureau, consisting of eight eth- nologists, increased to ten toward the close of the year by the appointment of two additional members of the staff, and finally decreased by the death of one member. In addition, the services of several specialists in their respective fields were enlisted for special work, as follows: Prof. Franz Boas, honorary philologist, with several assistants, for research in the languages of the American aborigines, particularly with the view of incorporating the results in the Handbook of American Indian Languages. Miss Alice C. Fletcher and Mr. Francis La Flesche, for continuing the revision of the proofs of their monograph on the Omaha Indians, to be published as the “accolnpanying paper” of the Twenty-seventh Annual Report. Miss Frances Densmore, for researches in Indian music. Mr. J. P. Dunn, for studies of the tribes of the Algonquian family residing or formerly resident in the Middle West. Rey. Dr. George P. Donehoo, for investigations in the history, geography, and ethnology of the tribes formerly living in western Pennsylvania and south- western New York, for incorporation in the Handbook of American Indians. Mr. William R. Gerard, for studies of the etymology of Algonquian place and tribal names and of terms that have found their way into the English language, for incorporation in the same work. 46 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 47 Prof. H. M. Ballou, in conjunction with Dr. Cyrus Thomas, for bibliographic research in connection with the List of Works Relating to Hawaii, in course of preparation for publication. The systematic ethnological researches by members of the regular staff of the bureau are summarized as follows: Mr. F. W. Hodge, ethnologist-in-charge, when administrative work permitted devoted his attention almost exculsively to the editing of the Handbook of American Indians (pt. 2), which was so far advanced toward completion at the close of the fiscal year that it seemed very probable the volume would be ready for distribution within about six months. As the work on part 2 was in progress, advantage was taken of the opportunity afforded by the necessary literary research in connection therewith to procure new data for incorporation in a revised edition of the entire work, which it is proposed to issue as soon as the first edition of part 2 has appeared. The demand for the handbook is still very great, many thousands of requests having been received which could not be supplied owing to the limited edition. With the exception of a brief trip, Mr. James Mooney, ethnologist, remained in the office throughout the entire fiscal year, occupied chiefly in the elaboration of his study of Indian population, with frequent attention to work on the Hand- book of American Indians, and to various routine duties, especially those con- nected with supplying information to correspondents. The investigation of the former and present population covers the entire territory north of Mexico, from the discovery to the present time, and involves the close examination of a great body of literature, particularly documentary records of the various colonies and of the official reports of French and Spanish explorers and commanders, to- gether with such special collections as the Jesuit Relations and the annual Indian reports of the United States and Canadian governments from the beginning. It is also necessary, first, to fix and differentiate the tribe, and then to follow the wasting fortunes of each tribe and tribal remnant under change of name and habitat, further subdivision, or new combination, to the end. For better han- dling, the whole territory has been mapped into fifteen sections, each of which has its own geographic and historical unity, and can thus be studied separately. The investigation includes a summary of the Indian wars, and notable epidemics within the same region from the discovery. No similar investigation has ever before been attempted, even the official Indian reports being incomplete as to identity of tribes and number of Indians not directly connected with agencies. In January, 1910, by request of those organizations, Mr. Mooney was desig- nated to represent the Bureau of American Ethnology at the joint meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association and the Nebraska State Historical Society, held at Lincoln, Nebraska, and delivered several addresses, with par- ticular reference to the utilization of the methods and results of the Bureau in local ethnologie and historical research. At the request of the Secretary of the Interior, Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, ethnol- ogist, continued the excavation and repair of the prehistoric ruins in the Mesa Verde National Park, in southern Colorado, begun in the previous year. Doctor Fewkes commenced work on Cliff Palace in May, 1909, and completed the excavation and repair of this celebrated ruin in August. He then proceeded to northwestern Arizona, and made a reconnoissance of the Nayaho National Monument, visiting and studying the extensive cliff and other ruins of that section, knowledge of the existence of which he had gained many years ago during his ethnological researches among the Hopi Indians. At the close of this investigation Doctor Fewkes returned to Washington and prepared for the Secretary of the Interior a report on the excavation and repair of Cliff Palace, which was published by the Department of the Interior in November. A more 48 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. comprehensive illustrative report on the same ruins, giving the scientific results of Doctor Fewkes’s studies during the progress of the excavation of Cliff Palace, was prepared for publication as Bulletin 51 of the Bureau of American Eth- nology and is now in press, forming a companion publication to his descrip- tion of Spruce-tree House, published earlier in the fiscal year as Bulletin 41. Doctor Fewkes prepared also a report on his preliminary researches in the Navaho National Monument, which is in type and will be published as Bulletin 50. During the remainder of the winter and spring, Doctor Fewkes was oc- cupied in the preparation of a monograph on Casa Grande, an extensive ruin in Arizona, excavated and repaired by him during previous years. He gave some time also to the elaboration of an account of antiquities of the Little Colorado Valley, a subject to which he has devoted considerable study. This work was interrupted in May, 1910, when he again departed for the Navaho National Monument for the purpose of continuing the archelogical studies commenced during the previous field season. At the close of the year Doctor Fewkes was still at work in this region. Owing to the large amount of material in process of publication as a result of his own researches or assigned to him by reason of his special knowledge of the subjects involved, Dr. John R. Swanton, ethnologist, devoted the year entirely to office work. Much of this time was spent in proof reading (1) Bulletin 48, Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the result of personal field investigations and historical study; as well as in proof reading (2) Bulletin 46, a Choctaw Dictionary, by the late Cyrus Byington; and (3) Bulletin 47, on the Biloxi Language, by the late J. Owen Dorsey, arranged and edited by Doctor Swanton, who incor- porated therein the related Ofo material collected by him in 1908 and added a brief historical account of the Ofo tribe. In connection with his researches on the Southern tribes or tribal remnants, Doctor Swanton has revised and rear- ranged the Attacapa, Chitimacha, and Tunica linguistic material collected by the late Dr. Albert S. Gatschet and has put it almost in final form for the press. With the aid of several texts recorded in 1908, Doctor Swanton has spent some time in studying the Natchez language, preparatory to further in- vestigations among the survivors of this formerly important group, now in Oklahoma. The remainder of his energies has been devoted chiefly to re- searches pertaining to the Creek Confederacy, with the aid of books and docu- ments in the library of the Bureau and in the Library of Congress, in anticipa- tion of field investigation among the Creek tribes to be undertaken, it is expected, later in 1910. Mrs. M. C. Stevenson, ethnologist, continued her researches among the Pueblo tribes of the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico, giving special attention to the Tewa group. As during the previous year her studies were devoted chiefly to the pueblo of San Ildefonso, which offers better facilities for eth- nologie investigation than the other Tewa villages, although her inquiries were extended also to Santa Clara and Nambe. Owing to the extreme conservatism of the Tewa people, Mrs. Stevenson found great difficulty in overcoming their prejudices against the study of the esoteric side of their life, but with patience she succeeded finally in gaining the warm friendship of many of the more in- fluential headmen, and by this means was enabled to pursue a systematic study of the Tewa religion, sociology, and philosophy. Like most Indians, the Tewa are so secretive in everything that pertains to their worship that one not familiar with their religious life is readily misled into believing that the ceremonies held in the public plazas of their villages which, with few excep- tions, are more Mexican than Indian in outward character, constitute the sole rites of these people, whereas it has been found that the Tewa adhere as strictly REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 49. to many of their ancient customs as before white men came among them, although some of their ceremonies are now less elaborate than they were in former times. While the creation myth of the San Ildefonso Indians differs somewhat from that of the Zuni and of other Pueblo tribes, it is the same in all essentials. According to their belief they were created in an undermost world, and passed through three other worlds before reaching this one. The tribe is divided into the Sun or Summer, and the Ice or Winter people, the former having preceded the latter in their advent into this world, and their final home was reached on the western bank of the Rio Grande almost opposite the present pueblo. This place is marked by an extensive ruin. Every mountain peak, near and far, within sight of San Ildefonso is sacred to the Tewa people, and they make pilgrimages at prescribed intervals to lofty heights far beyond the range of their home. The names of these sacred mountains, with a full description of each, were procured. The philosophy of all the Pueblos is closely related in a general way, yet there are marked differences in detail. Although Mrs. Stevenson has pene- trated the depths of the Tewa philosophy, she has not been able to discover any distinctive features, it being a composite of Zuni, Sia, and Taos beliefs. The great desire of all these people, and the burden of their songs and prayers, is that rain, which in their belief is produced by departed ancestors working behind the cloud-masks in the sky, should come to fructify the earth, and that they may so live as to merit the beneficence of their deities. The entrance to this world is believed to be through a body of water, which the Tewa of San Ildefonso declare existed near their village until certain Zunis came and spirited the water away to their own country. Further studies, no doubt, will shed more light on these interesting beliefs, and render clearer the origin and relations of Tewa and Zuni concepts. There are but two rain priests among the Tewa of San Ildefonso: one per- taining to the Sun people, the other to the Ice people, the former taking © precedence in the general management of tribal affairs. ‘The rain priest of the Sun is the keeper of the tribal calendar and is the supreme head of the Sun people. The governor of San Ildefonso, who is chosen virtually by the rain priest of the Sun people, is elected annually, and has greater power than that accorded a Zui governor. The war chief, whose religious superior is the war priest, who holds the office during life, is also elected annually, and also is a person of great power. There are three kivas, or ceremonial chambers, at San Ildefonso, one belonging to the Sun people, another to the Ice people, and one used jointly for certain civic gatherings, for rehearsal of dances, and for other purposes. The religion of the Tewa of San Ildefonso consists in worship of a supreme bisexual power and of gods anthropic (embracing celestial and ancestral) and zoic, the latter especially associated with the sacred fraternities. The fundamental rites and ceremonies of these fraternities are essentially alike among all the Pueblos. Their theurgists are the great doctors, whose function is to expel disease inflicted by witchcraft, and those of San Ildefonso have as extensive a pharmacopeia as the Zuni theurgists. The belief of the Tewa in witchcraft is intense, and is a source of great anxiety among them. Accused wizards or witches are tried by the war chief. Many of the San Ildefonso ceremonies associated with anthropic worship are identical with those of Taos, while others are the same as those observed by the Zui, although neither the ritual nor the paraphernalia is so elaborate. Some of the songs used in connection with the dances at San Ildefonso are in the Zuni tongue. It is to be hoped that further comparative study among these people will reveal to what extent the ceremonies have been borrowed, like that of the 97578°—sm 1910——4 50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. Koh’-kok-shi of the Zuni, which is asserted to have been introduced by way of Santo Domingo generations ago by a Laguna Indian who had visited Zuii. Mrs. Stevenson devoted much attention to a study of Tewa games, finding that those regarded as of the greatest importance to the Zufi in bringing rain have been abandoned by the San Ildefonso people. The foot race of the latter is identical with that of Taos, and is performed annually after the planting season. As complete a collection and study of the Tewa medicinal plants were made as time permitted. The material culture of the Tewa also received special attention. Weay- ing is not an industry at San Ildefonso, the only weaver in the tribe being a man who learned at Laguna to make women’s belts. Basketry of various forms is made of willow. The San Ildefonso people, like other Pueblos, have deterio- rated in the ceramic art, and they have now little or no understanding of the symbols employed in pottery, except the common form of cloud and rain. Their method of irrigation is the same as that observed by the neighboring Mexicans, who, having acquired extensive tracts of land from the San Ildefonso land grant, work with the Indians on the irrigating ditches for mutual benefit. The San Ildefonso people raise a few cattle and horses, but no sheep. Much of their land is owned in severalty, and their chief products are corn, wheat, and alfalfa. The women raise melons, squashes, and chile. While marriages, baptisms, and burials are attended with the rites of the Catholic Chureh, a native ceremony is always performed before the arrival of the priest. While their popular dances of foreign admixture are sometimes almost depleted by reason of intoxication, no such thing happens when a purely Indian ceremony is performed, for the dread of offending their gods prevents them from placing themselves in such condition as not to be able to fulfill their duty to the higher powers. Mrs. Stevenson not only prepared the way for a close study of the Tewa of Nambe by making a warm friend of the rain priest of that pueblo, but found much of interest at the Tigua pueblos of Taos and Picuris, especially in the kivas of the latter village. It was in an inner chamber of one of the Picuris kivas that the priests are said to have observed their rites during the presence of the Spaniards. Another interesting feature observed at Picuris was the hanging of scalps to a rafter in an upper chamber of a house, the eastern side of which was open in order to expose the scalps to view. At Picuris the rain priests, like those of Zuni and San Ildefonso, employ paddle-shaped bone imple- ments (identical with specimens, hitherto undetermined, found in ruins in the Jemez Mountains and now in the National Museum) for lifting the sacred meal during their rain ceremonies. ' During a visit to Taos Mrs. Stevenson obtained a full description of an elab- orate ceremony performed immediately after an eclipse of the sun. After her return to Washington, in February, Mrs. Stevenson devoted atten- tion to the preparation of a paper on the textile fabrics and dress of the Pueblo Indians. For comparative studies it was necessary to review a large number of works on the general subject and to examine collections pertaining thereto. Mrs. Stevenson also prosecuted her studies of medicinal and edible plants. During the entire fiscal year Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt, ethnologist, was engaged in office work devoted chiefly to studies connected with the Handbook of American Indians, especially part 2. A number of articles designed for this work had been prepared by other collaborators, but were recast by Mr. Hewitt in order to embody in them the latest views regarding their subject-matter. Mr. Hewitt ‘also conducted extensive researches into the history of the Indians of the Susquehanna River during the seventeenth century, and their relations with REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 51 neighboring peoples, resulting in the discovery that a number of important tribes were designated by the names Susquehanna, Conestoga or Andastes, Massa- womek, Erie, Black Minquas, Tehotitachsae, and Atrakwayeronon (Akhrak- wayeronon). It is proposed to incorporate this material into a bulletin, with several early maps, in order to make it available to students of the history of the Indians of Pennsylvania and New York, and their relations with white people. Mr. Hewitt also devoted about two months to the translation of Onon- daga native texts relating to the New Year ceremony, and began work on the classification of the late Jeremiah Curtin’s Seneca legends, with a view of pre- paring them for publication by the Bureau. As custodian of the linguistic manuscripts in the Bureau archives, Mr. Hewitt spent considerable time in installing this material, comprising 1,704 items, on its removal from the former quarters of the Bureau to the Smithsonian building. He was frequently occupied also in receiving manuscripts and in searching and charging those required by collaborators either for temporary or for pro- longed use. Much time and labor were also devoted by Mr. Hewitt to the collec- tion and preparation of data of an ethnological character for replies to corre- spondents. Dr. Cyrus Thomas, ethnologist, while not engaged in revising the proofs of Bulletin 44, Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America and their Geo- graphical Distribution, prepared by him with the assistance of Doctor Swanton, devoted his attention to the elaboration of the List of Works Relating to Hawaii, with the collaboration of Prof. H. M. Ballou. Toward the close of the fiscal year, this work having been practically finished, Doctor Thomas undertook an investigation of the relations of the Hawaiians to other Polynesian peoples, but unfortunately this work was interrupted in May by illness which terminated in his death on June 26. Doctor Thomas had been a member of the Bureau’s staff since 1882 and, as his memoirs published by the Bureau attest, one of its most industrious and prolific investigators. As the result of a special civil-service examination held March 3, 1910, the staff of the Bureau was increased by the appointment, as ethnologists, of Dr. Truman Michelson on June 1 and of Dr. Paul Radin on June 38. Doctor Radin immediately made preparations to resume his researches among the Winnebago Indians in Nebraska and Wisconsin, commenced under personal auspices three years before, and by the close of the fiscal year was making excel- lent progress toward completing his studies of this important Siouan group. About the same time Doctor Michelson departed for Montana with the purpose of studying the Blackfeet, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho, Algon- quian tribes, whose relations to the other members of the stock are not definitely known. It is the intention that Doctor Michelson obtain a view of the relations of the Algonquian tribes generally, in order that he may become equipped for an exhaustive study of the Delaware and Shawnee tribes, so impor- tant in the colonial and later history of the United States. Doctor Michelson reached the Blackfoot country on June 16, and within a few days had recorded a considerable body of ethnological, mythological, and linguistic material relat- ing to the Piegan division. The special researches of the Bureau in the linguistic field were conducted, as in the past, by Dr. Franz Boas, honorary philologist, whose work during the fiscal year resulted in bringing nearly to completion the first volume of the Handbook of American Indian Languages. The whole matter is in type, 735 pages were in practically final form at the close of the fiscal year, and the sketches of only three languages remained to be revised before paging. Besides the purely technical work of revising and proof reading, the most important work on the 52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. first volume was a thorough revision of the Algonquian sketch by Dr. William Jones, who had planned to make certain additions to the manuscript, but whose unfortunate death in the Philippine Islands left his researches on the Algonquian languages incomplete. The revision was assigned to Dr. Truman Michelson, who made a careful comparison between Doctor Jones’s description of the lan- guage and his published collection of texts. Considerable progress was made on the preparation of the second volume of the Handbook of American Indian Languages. Owing to the increase in size of a number of the original sketches, which was due to the lapse of time since they were first recorded, the first volume had increased so much in size that it became necessary to relegate the Takelma to the second volume. At the beginning of the fiscal year Dr. Leo J. Frachtenberg carried on investi- gations under the direction of Doctor Boas among the Coos Indians of Oregon. He succeeded in collecting a considerable body of texts from the survivors, and at the same time revised the material collected several years ago by Mr. H. H. St. Clair, 2d. Doctor Frachtenberg completed his studies of the grammar of the language, and the manuscript of this sketch for the second volume was deliv- ered and is partly in type. Toward the end of the year Doctor Frachten- berg made preparatory studies on the Alsea language of Oregon, based on man- uscript texts collected a number of years ago by Prof. Livingston Farrand on an expedition due to the generosity of the late Mr. Henry Villard. The comple- tion of the ethnological research work among the Alsea has been provided for by a contribution of funds by Mrs. Villard, which will make it possible to com- plete also the linguistic investigation of the tribe during the field season of 1910. In June Doctor Frachtenberg visited two survivors of the Willopah tribe who were said to remember the language, but unfortunately only about 300 words eould be obtained, and practically no grammatical forms. Further preparatory work on the second volume of the Handbook of American Indian Languages was carried on by Mr. James Teit, who elucidated the details of the distribution of the Salish dialects of the State of Washington. Part of this work was supported by the generosity of Mr. Homer E. Sargent, of Chicago. The special researches in Indian music were continued in behalf of the Bureau by Miss Frances Densmore, who has done so much toward preserving the vanishing songs of the Indians. The principal new phase that has arisen in Miss Densmore’s work is the importance of the rhythmic unit in Chippewa songs. Her observations indicate that the rhythmic phrase is the essential ele- ment of the song; indeed Miss Densmore is inclined to think that the first idea of the song may be a mental rhythm assuming the form of a short unit, and that its expression follows the overtones of a fundamental which exists somewhere in the subconsciousness of the singer. The tabulated analyses show that 99 out of 180 songs to appear in Bulletin 45 (in press) begin on the twelfth or fifth, and 34 begin on the octave—a total of 183 out of 180 beginning on the principal overtones. Of 180 songs, 120 end on the tonic, and yet the tonic does not usually appear until near the close of the song. Melodic phrases are seldom recurrent. In the oldest songs the words are sung between repetitions of the rhythmic unit, and have a slight rhythm and small melody progressions. Rhythm varies less often than earlier words or melody in repetition, especially when the rhythm is comprised in a definite unit. All these facts emphasize the importance of the rhythm, and also have a bearing on the problem of the development of primitive music, which it is designed to treat in a practical rather than in a theoretical way. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 53 The independence of voice and drum noted by Miss Densmore in previous studies was further shown by the data collected during the year; also the prominence of the descending interval of the minor third, and the marked use of overtones in the choice of melodic material. The songs collected comprise a group of 40 secured at Ponima, a remote village on the Red Lake Reservation, Minnesota, and the series of war songs which Miss Densmore is now completing and which she expects to finish before the close of the calendar year. It is the intention to combine the analyses of these with the analyses contained in Bulletin 45 of the Bureau, always bringing forward previous work, in order that the results may be cumulative. It is Miss Densmore’s desire, before leaving the Chippewa work, to analyze about 500 songs collected from a representative number of localities, as the data derived from systematic analyses of that number of songs should be a safe basis for what might be termed a scientific musical study of primitive song. Miss Alice C. Fletcher and Mr. Francis La Flesche have continued the proof revision of their monograph of the Omaha Indians to accompany the Twenty- seventh Annual Report, a part of which was in page form at the close of the fiscal year. Mr. J. P. Dunn pursued his studies of the Algonquian tribes of the Middle West under a small] allotment of funds by the Bureau, but comparatively little progress was made, as it was found advisable to hold the investigations some- what in abeyance until two important manuscript dictionaries—one of the Peoria, the other of the Miami language—known to exist, could be carefully examined, with a view of avoiding repetition of effort. Mr. Dunn was enabled, however, to revise and annotate completely a text in the Miami and Peoria dialects recorded by the late Doctor Gatschet. PUBLICATIONS. The editorial work of the Bureau was conducted by Mr. J. G. Gurley, who from time to time, as pressure required, had the benefit of the aid of Mr. Stanley Searles. All the publications of the Bureau have passed under Mr. Gurley’s editorial supervision, with the exception of part 2 of Bulletin 30 (Hand- book of American Indians), which has been in special charge of Mr. F. W. Hodge, editor of the work, assisted by Mrs. F. S. Nichols. In order to facilitate progress in the publication of the Handbook of American Indian Languages, the editor thereof, Dr. Franz Boas, assumed entire charge of the proof reading in January, thus enabling Mr. Gurley to devote more time to the numerous other publications passing through press. In all, the manuscripts of seven publications—Bulletins 37, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, and 51—were prepared for the Government Printing Office, while proof reading was continued on nine publications—the Twenty-seventh Annual Report and Bulletins 30 (part 2), 88, 39, 40 (part 1), 41, 48, 46, and 47, which were in hand in various stages of progress at the beginning of the fiscal year. The number of publications issued was five—Bulletins 38, 39, 41, 48, and 49. The Twenty-seventh Annual Report is in tyne and a substantial beginning was made toward putting it into page form. The proof of the “accompanying paper” on the Omaha Indians, by Miss Fletcher and Mr. La Flesche, was critically read by the authors and is in condition to be completed in a few months. Bulletins 37 and 43 are practically ready for the bindery, and Bulletins 40 (part 1) and 45 are nearly as far advanced. Bulletin 44 had the benefit of revision by the prin- cipal author, Dr. Cyrus Thomas, shortly before his death, and a second galley proof was received. The first galley proof of Bulletins 50 and 51 was placed 54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. in the hands of the author, Doctor Fewkes, for revision. Owing to the con- dition of the Bureau’s allotment for printing and binding, as reported by the Public Printer, and on his suggestion that the work for the fiscal year be cur- tailed, Bulletins 46 and 47 were not carried beyond the first galley stage. Ap- pended is a list of the publications above mentioned, with their respective titles and authors: Twenty-seventh Annual Report (1905-6), containing accompanying paper entitled ‘‘ The Omaha Tribe,” by Alice C. Fletcher and Francis La Flesche. Bulletin 37. Antiquities of Central and Southeastern Missouri, by Gerard Fowke. Bulletin 38. Unwritten Literature of Hawaii, by Nathaniel B. Emerson, A. M., M. D. Bulletin 39. Tlingit Myths and Texts, by John R. Swanton. Bulletin 40. Handbook of American Indian Languages (Part 1), by Franz Boas. Bulletin 41. Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Spruce-tree House, by J. Walter Fewkes. Bulletin 48. Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, by John R. Swanton. Bulletin 44. Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America, and their Geographical Distribution, by Cyrus Thomas, assisted by John R. Swanton. Bulletin 45. Chippewa Music, by Frances Densmore. Bulletin 46. Choctaw Dictionary, by Cyrus Byington, edited by John R. Swanton. Bulletin 47. A Dictionary of the Biloxi Language, accompanied by thirty-one texts and numerous phrases, by James Owen Dorsey; arranged and edited by Jobn R. Swanton. Bulletin 48. The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, by David I. Bushnell, jr. Bulletin 49. List of the Publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Bulletin 50. Preliminary Report on a Visit to the Navaho National Monu- ment, Arizona, by Jesse Walter Fewkes. Bulletin 51. Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff Palace, by Jesse Walter Fewkes. The preparation of the illustrations for the publications of the Bureau and of photographs of Indian types continued in charge of Mr. DeLancey Gill, illustrator, assisted by Mr. Henry Walther. This material consists of 97 Indian portraits from life, 121 negatives and 29 drawings for the Bureau publications, 15 copies of negatives, and 676 photographic prints. As in the past, special attention was devoted to the photographing of the members of visiting deputa- tions of Indians, since by this means favorable opportunity is afforded for per- manently portraying the features of many of the most prominent Indians be- longing to the various tribes. LIBRARY, The library of the Bureau continued in immediate charge of Miss Ella Leary, librarian. During the year about 1,500 volumes and about 600 pamphlets were received and catalogued; and about 2,000 serials, chiefly the publications of learned societies, were received and recorded. One thousand five hundred volumes were sent to the bindery, and of these all but 600 had been bound before the close of the fiscal year. In addition to the use of its own library, it was found necessary to draw on the Library of Congress from time to time for the loan of about 800 volumes. The library of the Bureau now contains 16,050 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 55 volumes, about 11,600 pamphlets, and several thousand unbound periodicals. Although maintained primarily as a reference library for the Bureau’s staff, its value is becoming more and more known to students not connected with the Smithsonian Institution, who make constant use of it. During the year the library was used also by officers of the executive departments and the Library of Congress. MANUSCRIPTS. During the first half of the fiscal year the manuscripts were under the custo- dianship of Mr. J. B. Clayton, and on his indefinite furlough at the close of 1909 they were placed in charge of Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt, as previously noted. Nineteen important manuscripts were acquired during the year, of which seven are deyoted to Chippewa music and are accompanied with the original grapho- phone records, five relate to the history of the Indians, and seven pertain to Indian linguistics. This enumeration does not include the manuscript contri- butions to the Handbook of American Indians and the Handbook of American Indian Languages, nor the manuscripts submitted for publication by the members of the Bureau’s regular staff. REMOVAL OF OFFICES, Quarters in the Smithsonian building having been assigned by the Secretary for the use of the Bureau, and funds having been provided by the sundry civil act for the removal of the Bureau’s property, the work of transfer was com- menced on December 10, 1909, by removing the library from the third floor of the Adams Building, 1833 F street NW., to the eastern gallery of the bird hall on the main floor of the Smithsonian building. The task was made difficult owing to the necessity of removing the old stacks and the books at the same time, but order was fairly established in about a fortnight and the library again put in service. Not only is more space for the growing library afforded by the new quarters, but increased light and facilities for research make the new library far superior to the old. The northern half of the gallery was made more attractive by painting and by carpeting with linoleum. It is yet lacking in neces- Sary Space, but this difficulty will be overcome when that part of the south- eastern gallery still occupied by the National Museum is vacated. The offices and photographic laboratory of the Bureau were removed between December 20 and 31, the former to the second, third, and fourth floors of the north tower of the Smithsonian building and one room (that occupied by the ethnologist-in-charge) on the third floor of the northeastern range; the labo- ratory to one of the galleries of the old National Museum building, while the stock of publications was given space on the fourth floor of the south tower. Although the quarters of the Bureau are now somewhat scattered, the facilities for work are far superior to those with which the Bureau in its rented offices was obliged to contend, and there is less danger of loss by fire. The cost of the removal, including the taking down and rebuilding of the library bookcases, necessary painting of walls and woodwork, linoleum floor covering, and electric wiring and fixtures, aggregated $1,000, the sum appropriated for the purpose. PROPERTY. In addition to the books and manuscripts already referred to, the property of the Bureau consists of a moderate amount of inexpensive office furniture, chiefly desks, chairs, filing cases, and tables, as well as photographic negatives, apparatus, and supplies, typewriters, phonographs, stationery, and the undis- tributed stock of its publications. The removal of the Bureau and the assign- 56 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. ment of its members to less crowded quarters made it necessary to supply a few additional articles of furniture, especially for the library. ‘The entire cost of the furniture acquired during the fiscal year was $248.17. ADMINISTRATION. Pursuant to the plans of the secretary the clerical and laboring work of the Bureau was concentrated after the removal to the Smithsonian building by placing the routine correspondence and files, the accounts, the shipment of pub- lications, the care of supplies and other property, and all cleaning and repairs, in immediate charge of the office of the Smithsonian Institution. This plan has served to simplify the administration of the affairs of the Bureau, has pre- vented duplication of effort, and has resulted in a saving of time and funds. Respectfully submitted. EF. W. Hope, Ethnologist-in-Charge. Dr. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Apprenpix ITT. REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES. Sir: I have the honor to submit a report on the operations of the International Exchange Service during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1910. There was given in the last report a list of the countries to which copies of the daily issue of the Congressional Record were forwarded direct by mail in accord- ance with the resolution of the Congress approved March 4, 1909, setting aside a certain number of copies of the Record for exchange, through the agency of the Smithsonian Institution, with the legislative chambers of such foreign govern- ments as might agree to send to the United States, in return, current copies of their parliamentary record or like publication. The governments of Baden, Cape of Good Hope, New Zealand, Transvaal, and Western Australia have since en- tered into this exchange. A complete list of the countries to which the Record is now forwarded is given below. Australia. Greece. Roumania. Austria. Guatemala. Russia. Baden. Honduras. Servia. Belgium. Hungary. Spain. Brazil. Italy. Switzerland. Canada. New South Wales. Transvaal. Cape of Good Hope. New Zealand. Uruguay. Cuba. Portugal. Western Australia. France. Prussia. There are therefore at present 26 countries with which the immediate exchange is conducted. To some of these countries, however, two copies of the Congres- sional Record are sent—one to the upper and one to the lower house of parlia- ment—the total number transmitted being 31. The number of copies of the daily issue of the Congressional Record provided for this purpose is 100, the same as the number of copies of official documents set apart for international exchange. The Institution is still in correspondence with other governments regarding this immediate exchange, and the list of those countries participating will no doubt be added to from time to time. The number of packages handled during the past year was 221,625—a decrease from the number for the preceding year of 7,250. The total weight of these packages was 484,684 pounds—a gain of 8,515 pounds. Regarding the falling off in the number of packages handled, attention should be called to the fact that the increase in 1909 was the largest in the history of the service. Had the increase for that year been normal, the total number of packages for 1910 would have shown a gradual increase over the preceding year. The gain in weight may, to a great extent, be taken as an indication that consignments containing more than one publication were more numerous than during the preceding year. This circumstance is especially true in. the case of consignments for the Library of Congress, 38 boxes having been received during the past year for that library and counted as single packages. 57 58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. The appropriation by Congress for the support of the service was $32,200 (the same amount as was granted for the fiscal years 1908 and 1909), and the sum collected on account of repayments was $4,446.74, making the total ayail- able resources for carrying on the system of international exchanges $36,646.74. The exchange office continues to render assistance to the Library of Con- gress in obtaining foreign government documents needed to complete its sets, It is gratifying to state that the exchange relations with Korea, which were interrupted during the late Russo-Japanese war, have been renewed, His Im- perial Japanese Majesty’s residency-general at Seoul having consented to act as the exchange intermediary between the two countries. The number of publi- cations exchanged between Korea and the United States was never very large, and it is hoped that the establishment of an official medium through which con- signments may be forwarded will result in a fuller interchange. While the K. K. Statistische Central-Commission in Vienna has been acting as the exchange intermediary between Austria and the United States since 1898, it has been necessary for the Smithsonian Institution, under the arrange- ments entered into through the Imperial Academy of Sciences with the com- mission, to bear all the expenses for freight on consignments both to and from Vienna. The Government of Austria has now signified its willingness to assume its share of the cost of conducting the exchanges between the two countries, and in the future the Institution will therefore be relieved of this extra burden upon its resources. The exchange work on the part of Austria will continue to be carried on by the Statistical Commission. The thanks of the Institution are due to the president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and to the president of the Statistical Commission for assistance in this matter. I am very glad to be able to report that it now seems assured that the Insti- tution will shortly be relieved of the expense of conducting the paid agency which it has maintained for many years in Leipsic to attend to the transmission and distribution of exchanges between Germany and the United States. It is expected that in a few months there will be established in Berlin, under the auspices of the German Government, an institution to further the cultural relations between the two countries. This establishment will be known as the America Institute, and it will assume as one of its functions the transmission and distribution of German exchanges. While the America Institute has not yet begun active operations, it is expected that it will be organized at an early day, and that it will be prepared to take over the work of the exchange agency by the end of the calendar year. Dr. Hugo Munsterberg will be the first director of the America Institute. It has been the practice of the Institution to forward by registered mail packages received from abroad for distribution in the United States. With a view to reducing the work in the Exchange Office and also to relieving the Post-Office Department of the extra expense entailed in handling this regis- tered matter—numbering annually about 21,000 packages, aggregating a total weight of over 120,000 pounds—the custom of registering exchanges was dis- continued on October 17, 1909, consignments now being forwarded by ordinary mail. It should be added in this connection, that the Institution is informed by the Post-Office Department that in the ordinary mail there is an average loss of only 1 package in 15,000. Exchange consignments form part of the cargo of almost every fast steam- ship which leaves New York for a foreign port. It is therefore not surprising that occasionally a case is lost through the wrecking of a steamer. During the year a case containing exchanges for miscellaneous addresses in the Transvaal was destroyed while en route to Pretoria, the steamship Norse Prince, by which REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 59 it was transmitted, having been burned while off the coast of South Africa. The loss at sea during the latter part of 1908 of a case of exchanges for dis- tribution in Egypt should also be noted here. This consignment was forwarded in care of the Egyptian Survey Department under date of October 22, 1908, but definite information concerning its loss has only recently been received. The senders of the packages contained in the consignments referred to were com- municated with, and it is gratifying to state that, except in one or two instances, it was possible for them to supply copies of the lost publications. It may be of interest to add here that, so far as reported to the Institution, these are the only instances during the past five years in which the entire contents of exchange consignments have been lost. INTERCHANGE OF PUBLICATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES. The statement which follows shows in detail the number of packages received for transmission through the International Exchange Service during the year ending June 30, 1910: Packages. Packages. Country. Country. For. From. For. From. ADYSSUN Vee cae en saeec an acee es i eae DBnMAnke 3. Seas owe ee cere Mee 2, 082 377 JAS ie ei ale ae 156 257 Dominica so.2 I). Pees eee eae SHEER oe AT OO ARIE RUNS tival UF reek ar tues TGs ccuses Dutch Giese) eos eee 35h | aes tees ATPIOU Ae asa eee soe eee seas AON nee ee CHA OTe een soiree ence mere DAS le se eee Ara Diemedas saath ce nascar Zi Neisweks. § PVD betel eSoe ec el ATA Ie 464 3, 806 PREP OMEIND a = Meee aS Sete fee ease 3, 500 BUA |e Di a te este ey ae aia ee ermeeeiae 5 oak 1 ih Ree SE Austria-Hungary .............- 8, 522 5,265 || Falkland Islands.............. Ph eee IOTES soc aae ron Sacecl lone see AM Sera cae Wijiislandse oso 2 cease dse es. By Se eeae ones (Bahamas teen see nase crete eee G (jl | aga ps PATI CO nese meee teh wearer ree 12, 850 4, 802 IBALDEM OS: see sacra rine accisee IDO AE ae French Cochin China....._.... G52 pe eee Ora ee see ere scence eck oescee file Se ee ee Bronchi@wianas sass. sence: et eee SS Belelum: sees e es «sees 4,377 3,572 || German East Africa........... RPP Peers bee IBArmudgsserre= +. See ee eee ART ewes Lose Germsnye eee nee 24, 057 | 8, 032 Bismarck Archipelago......... ie eer Gibraltany 22 oes 5 se a 1 eee PB Olivia eens s.r, ce 8 178 O24 eGoldi Coast «39 sa 4: Ae es ee ctl eee aes IBOINGO- a1 Sa ago one och oe (| ee Grensd ates. thor see eee Gileaseceees ayes Valles ee ee Se ee eee 2, 692 385 || Great Britain and Ireland... 22,197 6, 896 Bris AUMen Casaae cea sees © 7, 847 SAS nT GReeCe tae o. ea cota ae ree 1, 649 4 BritiShiBueminernceccite se cecee 20 649 |@Greenland*s oes sce. sacee ee a Pees British Central Africa.......... lp ae ie Guadeloupe ses sans ee soe ee LON Pete oe British East Africa...........- D2) lactone oars (Gli reat Pie eee ein Sa eee py See BriiShiGuians sess ee aes (a2) pe eaeseeee te 1B EN ie ple i a so ih a eh et aT I: Ir fees eee British Honduras.............. Co ie sae Hawaiian Islands.............. Ss el len eal tein British New Guinea__......... Su aes ak Ton durasysey 2. esa 2ee ene SSO. Fate Bil arias onaeeea rates eee 206 OU | Elongikone= ase sseeses aR ee ae th aS y/R [eee Ue SS Canary, Tslands=---- 5-2 52-5525 1S Seestce Tealand ee ewes see Mea see 52 | 325 Capei@olony~ 22. 5...02c= aeaaeee 1, 830 2A} 5|| 1 dee bE asf eg Se td oo Sea 2,793 633 @eylone os. 2. es case = Aesee ese = ZAOT eee Lisl y Sees see ee ee 7, 282 2, 253 Chilove 2%... 2 a 2,251 BO2h| (PaaMaica as. fre cet Aah | k 253 2 China: {200% al | eee 1, 720 ATA Fea SRE RULED AD” EY 3, 462 63 Colombia SAS oie has 198 leer ye ei ee EASE RI OT SSP Rieu tag arn A ihNy 274 85 GCosiapRicny 2 22. pee edule 2c 1, 463 3 || Kongo Free State.............- Bi eso sere Cubase. eel sos 1, 825 TO By PRON D8 See tare A WE ek 71 15 Curscaot.2 2 nae ee ates ya use O27 ae ee TR POSAIES Chee cy as RNR A) nie Gi gee seccos Cy DrUses =a. 2 eeece cess aaeceoe Galera eee PADGTI AG ye eis Na such ee el 162 1 60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. Packages. Packages. Country. oT Country. : For. From. For. From. Loureng¢o Marquez.......-.--- LOD) ees secre slip OE AS Sees Seaseasoscees LS ee oe es TEXeMDUTD Aas c meses eee a O70 saemseae Sto Martinis oot soos ceccccce se 1G Ae ee Mad acascanneee meee ee eee 3 te ie oa St. Pierre and Miquelon......-. 16) Sco seeee IMadeirate seete ceca e seeceaoe LP eee eee Ste DHOmas seen Heer eae 1AM eee aoc Matta bees ee keh See ee OO) |PEseecee St Vincente 2ee: othe ates On ES H tees Martinique ete ccths 428 o2c55.% 1 aS Salvadorsi.c5 2 oe es ee 169 5 Mains =s252 ee = ass sees TB se aes. Samoaaseee [esse sass essere LSs) soos Me xi Cos saan ass cetaceans 1, 783 255 |!) SantosDomingoess.s sen. == 2 -c 19))| ee eee Montenegro...... ate ee Seal Be a 79 123 \Sarawakies Ae PNA eseee Ay sueeses IMontsermate coc seecancueceenes Suey ee Senegal. toe eects os Bi Ae eee IMOrOCCORy- Semmes ietete as Benctser 203): Fees sey Serviasrs: eee coe atau 1, 429 12 IN eb ale oe a ae ooh A hala iayeeatnere = 203 “6 51 Siam oh ts 2 ee. cei ee oe P Aly fal esate ee Netherlandse voc sesceccice ss 3, 276 1488" || Sierra Weone.---5-..2 224s. === PAWS eis 5 ones ING VIS See metine eoced enn ectins LB El escort Society Wslands ee scs-2-- se sas: 1 | see INewioundland2s:-22.2-2<- 2222. 152 i MSsoutheAustraliaess eos. seen oe 2,021 39 New South Wales...........-- 2, 896 734i Spaineseweee aia: frat. Weostell 2, 853 26S New: Zealand ae. << sja= < Galina EE ai nike ei? Ve ie. robin Praag ot oes F cio al ay asad Be fa REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION For THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1910. To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: Your executive committee respectfully submits the following report in relation to the funds, receipts, and disbursements of the Institution, and a statement of the appropriations by Congress for the National Museum, the International Exchanges, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the National Zoological Park, the Astro- physical Observatory, and the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature for the year ending June 30, 1910, together with balances of previous appropriations. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. Condition of the fund July 1, 1910. The permanent fund of the Institution and the sources from which it has been derived are as follows: DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES. BSqHIVent Ol SMilb Moony Lea ee tet re At nt Ret Oey eee ve nes $515, 169. 00 Residuacylesiey di Smitsons 1867220200. dee ects 26, 210. 63 Deposit irom savines.ol mcome” 1867. 5. .o22 ss. coos de we = = eo 108, 620. 37 Bequest, of James Hamilton, 1875....2-..2.-22 2.22022. 22-2: $1, 000. 00 Accumulated interest on Hamilton fund, 1895............... 1, 009. 00 sa 2, 000. 00 iBequesiol Simeon Habel Vest. isis oe esas es. oo nse cae eee 500. 00 Deposits from proceeds of sale of bonds, 1881.....................-.+-- 51, 500. 00 Gittor EhomasG- Plodp kis slGi acc tees oe wes oe Seen ee ee 200, 000. 00 Part of residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins, 1894................- 8, 000. 00 Depositadrom. savangs of smcomes 1903.2 79a Pe ER 25, 000. 00 Residuany, lesacy of Thomas G. Hodgking?: 0... sb ee 7, 918. 69 Total amount of fund in the United States Treasury............. 944, 918. 69 91 92 REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, OTHER RESOURCES. Registered and guaranteed bonds of the West Shore Railroad Company, part of legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins (par value)...............--.-- $42, 000. 00 otal permanent Mung =o. 542 soo eee eee eee os See = at 986, 918. 69 Also four small pieces of real estate bequeathed by Robert Stanton Avery, of Wash- ington, D. C. That part of the fund deposited in the Treasury of the United States bears interest at 6 per cent per annum under the provisions of the act of August 10, 1846, organizing the Institution, and act of Congress approved March 12, 1894. The rate of interest on the West Shore Railroad bonds is 4 per cent per annum. The real estate received from Robert Stanton Avery is exempt from taxation and yields only a nominal revenue from rentals. Statement of receipts and disbursements from July 1, 1909, to June 30, 1910. RECEIPTS. Wash om deposit July 1 19092 ors. sees ore ee ere eee es eee oe oes lame Interest on fund deposited in United States Treasury, due Jalal: 1909. and January Jy Vols crass pyrgset eek ees. SEE $56, 695. 12 Interest on West Shore Railroad bonds to January 1, 1910... ... 1, 680. 00 Repayments, rentals, publications, etc............---------- 5, 877. 61 Contributions from various sources for specific purposes....-..- - 43, 230. 95 —_—_——— 107, 483. 68 139, 660. 38 DISBURSEMENTS. paildings:“eare and! Tepaltss s..2s5— cen ee = ee ee eo caine tea $4, 701. 28 Puinadhire and: fxtubes: she he

. 489m. tata ee ee seer aeere 1,175. 47 1.15 ATHETICR TE LOMOLO RY, AQLO Mes ace enn cece oe oe semen ee eRe een eer 43, 000. 00 3, 890. 50 IASTTOPHY SICH ODSERVALOIY? NOUS scec 222s none rosa ee yee eee an cee eae 81.19 a81.19 ‘Astrophysical Obbsenvatorny:,, LQ0SS Rte Sees 282 EL cee: = onan. sees osseee 1,571.01 314. 50 Asiropliysicali Observatory, 19) 0k ssa- oe eee aeee eae ae eae eee eee eeie 13, 000. 00 699. 01 International Catalogue, 1908: o.- seeps eee; Pee aee ese So 6. 44 a6. 44 International Catalogue, 19094. 4.2 S285 se ae Poe: Scheer oes ne 75.11 2.97 Intemational Catalogue, i910 sae ae ate Pen et cee ere eee 6, 000. 00 212.51 Riainvof CasaiGrande:W9082e 225 5 see on2 5 eee inc seco esceee 7.98 a7. 98 National Museum— BArniGUreend tiexouTes OOS 55-6 sen ea a eee eee eee ee 30. 98 a 30. 98 Murnitureand fix-hures, W909 2+ - eens ae eee = ae eee eee 22,397.16 66. 61 I}ibonahnbegeirnove Beb.qnbi ge spe ilOh NS at ee ko eer Ae Msc se SMES ene AEC O 200, 000. 00 87, 885. 97 Jee ynuatcarenate bea ey ust MLO) pe ea a crease abode asus sea acee 43. 89 a 43. 80 Heating andiligh ting 909: se sess ea sey ee oem aap actec cen 2, 967. 48 137.16 eating and wdiehtine yl QlOs sce sce. eee ae eo = Seeman eee eer cine, ee 60, 000. 00 14,526. 90 IPTeSeLVe MODONCOMEE MOUS wlGU Ser sate -er sete i eee ete ee ete ee 496. 78 @ 446.17 Preservation oncollections 9092 see eer = geeaeeene ee oe eee ee eae 4,869. 31 322. 30 Preservationot collections 1910 peas sees sone nae ee ea eee sere 250, 000. 00 23, 790. 15 BOOKS 1908 3st cate moc matastek See se oniece eee berm anclk ast eeeeemeee seme 92. 21 258.77 HS OOKSs 1OOD te te ee eee ale Ba ae Rr eRe eos weg Me 1, 083. 34 77.05 BOOKS 1OLO Sete ee aes eek en et saosin 2 Beles uae. Geen peace 2,000. 00 1,302. 08 ROstageiOliOc sere le. SEES Ba Le SS ET Ss Se Se SOOLOO)} EL HSUTE Sets ek Building repairs 1908 sz tf. os. 9e ae ee ise ees Sek See 5. 83 a5. 83 Building repairs, 1909ssA-e¢ ecto aetee Js eS pee estes he eee 6, 028. 68 26. 62 Building mepains Ol. 4.8 ese pA Ao: oer ges eceyas Mats eee 15, 000. 00 6, 486. 30 en tiOlawOnkShoOps: i908. ese pees meas ements ee em eee Sere - 08 a.08 Rent of warkshops, 900 see cess incinee eee cite eee ee ene aes .09 . 09 Transfer of Greenough statue of Washington.................---...- 409. 74 409. 74 Temporary occupancy of government buildings for tuberculosis con- PT OSS aren iceicmaie = tle Cae ae Stk ee ee tre Silos eee 15, 678. 92 15, 678.92 - Moving collections, etc., to new building >........................-.. 4, 000. 00 24.73 National Zooldrical Bark 19084 pe 55. Sere ee ee 11. 41 | @11.18 National Zoological Park 1900s 38: 4225 eS = Sakae Me. oo ee ee 2, 443. 69 13.25 National Zoolopicalve anki) Oia aso ee Nae) ee ane a) ees Dek 95, 000. 00 5,276. 60 a Carried to credit of surplus fund. b Act of March 4, 1909, immediately available. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 95 Statement of income from the Smithsonian fund and other revenues, accrued and pros- pective, available during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1911. Balanced Samer se woe). sew nee ss. 4 eee Soe est ses sis Jey eh sl ELE $35, 364. 88 Interest on fund deposited in U. 8. Treasury, due July 1, 1910, SmOuimmperny Me TON 8 pr S22 ok Fos = salsa eee eis <523 5s $56, 695. 00 Interest on West Shore Railroad bonds, due July 1, 1910, and JS) EAS OLN Tp Sa oe A 2 2 ae eee ee ke ee ee ae 1, 680. 00 Exchange repayments, sale of publications, rentals, ete... .-- 5, 600. 00 Heposits for'specifie purposes. 2252.0 2525.25.22 At. Sle 8, 000. 00 ee 75-00 Total available for year ending June 30, 1911........-....-.... -.-- 107, 339. 88 Respectfully submitted. J. B. HENDERSON, JOHN DALZzELL, Executive Committee. WasuineTon, D. C., November 25, 1910. ; PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITH- SONIAN INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 110: At a meeting of the Board of Regents held February 10, 1909, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That hereafter the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution shall hold their annual meeting on the Tuesday after the second Monday in December, and another meeting on the second Thursday in February. In accordance with this resolution the board met at 10 o’clock a. m. on December 14, 1909, and on February 10, 1910. ANNUAL MEETING, DECEMBER 14, 1909. Present: Hon. Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the United States (chancellor) in the chair; Hon. James S. Sherman, Vice-Presi- dent of the United States; Senator Shelby M. Cullom; Senator Henry Cabot Lodge; Senator Augustus O. Bacon; Representative John Dalzell; Representative James R. Mann; Dr. James B. Angell; Dr. Andrew D. White; Dr. Alexander Graham Bell; Mr. Charles F. Choate, jr., and the secretary, Mr. Charles D. Walcott. RESOLUTION RELATIVE TO INCOME AND EXPENDITURE. Doctor Bell offered the following resolution, which was adopted: Resolved, That the income of the Institution for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1911, be appropriated for the service of the Institution, to be expended by the secretary, with the advice of the executive committee, with full discretion on the part of the secretary as to items. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Doctor Bell presented the report ot the executive committee for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909, which, on motion, was adopted. PERMANENT COMMITTEE. In behalf of the permanent committee Doctor Bell reported con- cerning the Andrews estate that since the last annual meeting a writ of error had been allowed by Mr. Justice Peckham, of the Supreme Court of the United States, to the supreme court of the State of New 96 PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 97 York, on the ground that the court of appeals did not give full faith and credit to the constitution of Ohio, in respect to prohibiting the general assembly of that State from passing such acts conferring cor- porate powers. The Supreme Court of the United States decided against the contention of the Smithsonian counsel, under date of May 17, 1909. Doctor Bell also reported that no change had occurred in the con- ditions existing in connection with the Avery estate and the Sprague and Reid bequests at the time of the last report. On motion the report was accepted. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. The secretary submitted his report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909, explaining that it had been transmitted to the members of the board prior to this meeting. On motion the report was accepted. THE LANGLEY MEDAL. The secretary stated that at the meeting of the board held February 10, 1909, the Langley medal had been awarded to Messrs. Wilbur and Orville Wright. Notification of this action was transmitted to them in France through the American ambassador, and the following acknowledgment was received: Pau, March 15, 1909. Dear Sir: We have received through the American ambassador, Mr. White, your letter of February 18, 1909, informing us of the action of the Board of Regents awarding to us the Langley medal. The honor of such recognition at the hands of an institution of such high standing and unique character is one which we naturally appreciate most highly. We beg that you will communicate to the board our very sincere thanks and remain, Yours truly, WiLBuR WRIGHT. ORVILLE WRIGHT. Mr. Cxas. D. Watcortt, Washington, D. C. The secretary added that the Wright brothers had accepted an invitation to be present at the board meeting of February 10, 1910, and receive these medals in person. THE LANGLEY MEMORIAL TABLET. The secretary said that at a previous meeting Senator Bacon suggested that a tablet in memory of Secretary Langley be erected in a suitable portion of the Smithsonian building, and the board had requested a report upon the subject. He presented a report which contained a reppemignd ations that a committee be appointed with power to select the tablet and assign a 97578°—sm 1910——7 98 PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS, position for it. On motion, the recommendation was adopted, and the chancellor appointed as the committee Senator Lodge, Senator Bacon, and Secretary Walcott. B STREET MARKET PLACE. The secretary said: ‘The board adopted a resolution in relation to the objectionable features incident to the use of B street north of the National Museum as a market place. The wishes of the board to have this condition remedied were conveyed to the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and I have to report that they have acted favorably, and that the sidewalk immediately north of the new building is now free from hucksters, who have been moved over to the north side of B street in front of the vacant lot known as “‘Haymarket Square.” DARWIN CELEBRATION. The secretary said: “By resolution of the board I attended the ceremonies in commemoration of the centenary of Charles Darwin’s birth, which were held at the University of Cambridge from June 22 to 24, when f presented the Institution’s greetings in a formal address. I was honored by having conferred upon me the title of doctor of science.” CHANGE OF DATE FOR ANNUAL MEETING. The secretary brought up the matter of a suitable date for the annual meeting, stating that difficulty was experienced in selecting a day of the week that would be most convenient for all the members of the board. After discussion Senator Cullom offered the following resolution, which was adopted: Resolved, That hereafter the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution shall hold their annual meeting on the second Thursday in December and a supplementary meeting on the second Thursday in February. THE SECRETARY'S STATEMENT. Progress on the new building for the National Museum.—The failure on the part of several contractors to properly fulfill their agreements has not only greatly delayed the completion of the building, but has so increased the cost of construction that it has been necessary to proceed with extreme caution in the effort to keep within the limits of the appropriation. The entire exterior of the building has been finished, except the aying of the main approaches, for which, however, the granite has been cut and delivered. Of the interior practically all the halls and PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 99 ranges for the exhibition and storage of collections and for the labo- ratories and workshops are now in use. The moving of the col- lections was begun last summer, and the occupation of the ground floor and third story should be completed by the end of the winter. The fitting up of the two great exhibition floors will require a much greater length of time, but it is expected that some parts of the exhibition collections can be made accessible to the public before the year is ended. The heating and electrical plant already installed has developed sufficient capacity to also meet the requirements of the two older buildings. The economy thus effected will be very appreciable. Congress failed to supply means for adapting the upper hall of the Smithsonian building to the purposes of the National Gallery of Art, and a portion of one of the skylighted halls in the new building will be temporarily assigned to the paintings. Art collection.—After discussion Senator Lodge offered the follow- ing resolutions, which were adopted: Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution hereby author- ize the Secretary of the Institution to issue in their name invitations for a private view of the paintings of the National Gallery of Art upon the completion of their temporary installation in the new building for the National Museum. Resolved, further, That the expenses connected with this reception be charged against the funds of the Institution. Mount Whitney and Mount Wilson operations.—Under an allot- ment from the Hodgkins fund for the building of a stone and steel hut or shelter on Mount Whitney, California, at an elevation of 14,502 feet, the structure has been completed for the use of scientific observers who desire to avail themselves of the unusually favorable atmospheric conditions on that summit. On September 3 Mr. Abbot, director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, made suc- cessful observations there for the determination of the solar constant of radiation. A small cottage has also been erected on Mount Wilson, close to the Smithsonian observatory shelter on that moun- tain, to be used as quarters for the observers. Inauguration of president of Harvard University.—Iin connection with the inauguration of Dr. Abbott Lawrence Lowell as president of Harvard University on October 6 I visited Cambridge as the representative of the Smithsonian Institution and presented its formal greetings. International Congress on Hygiene and Demography.—The secretary stated that the International Congress on Hygiene and Demography would be held in Washington from September 26 to October 1, 1910, and he had received a communication from the secretary-general of the congress, Dr. John S. Fulton, stating that a committee of three had 100 PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. been appointed for the purpose of arranging for the housing of the congress, of which committee the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- tution had been designated chairman. This brought up the question of a suitable building for such pur- poses. There was no place now convenient, and it had become nec- essary, if the United States Government were to continue inviting foreign bodies to hold their conventions in Washington, that provi- sion be made for their reception in suitable quarters of a permanent character. In accordance with the policy announced in the secre- tary’s report of June 30, 1907, the Smithsonian Institution was doing what it could to help in this manner. Senator Cullom remarked that if the Government were not willing to provide suitable accommodations for its guests it ought not to invite them. Representative Mann agreed with this view and said that the Gov- ernment was saved from disgrace at the time of the tuberculosis con- gress only by the fact that the new building for the National Museum was sufficiently far advanced in construction to permit its use for meetings and exhibits. He asked if the Government should provide for the erection of such a building as was being discussed and placed it under the control of the Smithsonian Institution, would it be possi- ble to prevent it from being used permanently by the various organi- zations. The secretary replied that that would depend entirely upon the policy of the Board of Regents; that if they decided against such permanent occupation the secretary would undoubtedly see that their wishes were regarded. Death of Dr. Anton Dohrn.—For over sixteen years, as detailed in the annual reports of the secretary to the board, the Institution has supported a table at the Naples Zoological Station for the use of American biologists. ‘The founder and director of the station, Dr. Anton Dohrn, has extended many courtesies to the Institution in this connection and has always shown entire sympanthy with the wishes of the Institution in arranging for the convenience of its appointees. It has seemed fitting, therefore, to announce to the board the death of this gentleman, which occurred on September 29 last. At the request of the Institution the Department of State designated the American consul at Naples to represent the Institution officially at the funeral. [have already communicated the Institution’s sympathy to the son of Doctor Dohrn, and have received from him a letter announcing his appointment to succeed his father and his hope to continue the rela- tions which have existed between the Institution and the station for so many years. PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 101 SMITHSONIAN AFRICAN EXPEDITION. The secretary said that he was glad to report that the Smithsonian African expedition in charge of Colonel Roosevelt was proceeding on the plan originally adopted, and that it would continue until the expe- dition reached Khartoum, probably about May, 1910. He said that funds had been secured from 25 subscribers to the amount of $40,500 and that he expected to obtain about $10,000 more. The total number of skins of large and small mammals and birds taken up to December 10, was 6,663. In addition, there were many skulls and skeletons, and about 2,500 sheets of plants. Up to the present time four shipments of specimens had been received from the expedition, numbering over 3,000. The material yet to come comprised rather more than half of the collections made to date and included about 6 elephants, 2 Somali giraffes, a complete group of ostriches (young and eggs, as well as adults), and also many antelopes and other animals not previously taken. Inve anvmals for the National Zoological Park.—As a result of the expedition, Mr. W. N. McMillan, of Juja farm, near Nairobi, had presented the National Zoological Park with a collection of living lions and other African animals. <1010 7 34, 47 4.923 39. 45 4.931 bo yoy www no wo bo pe Nw © o bo ~ 9 44. 42 4. 936 no cS) 10 49. 41 4.941 39. 45 2 59.12 4.927 9 44. 42 10 49. 41 11 53. 92 4.902 00 6O Colm c SI GO © SS ee Ne a won woroeawnd Ww _ G= 22.80 1) WY r—) 10 49. 41 4.941 44, 42 4.936 10.7 4. 927 Pee “Im © _ 11 53. 92 4. 902 14 | 68.65 4.904 17 | 83.22 4.894 wwnn bv vy NWwnwn wv oo © to & 0 16 78. 34 4. 897 Siete Age igi C2) SOOM INS 14 68. 65 4.904 NO ww hr WY W bY 13 63. 68 4. 900 to (eX) to go) Soe an > 12 59.12 4, 927 bo oie on,” Fe Ot a o 13 63. 68 4. 900 G= 23.14 F= 9.57 iw} bo co e BmSHno1H0 DS 9 0 © © < 12 59.12 4. 927 ANDADARAONAABAAN © Ww 14 68. 65 4.904 3] = t J H cH 5 J — P wo ww — = 5 ' WwNnNN! to bw t ¢ NwWn: mom oOo: oo i SONNRZ IN DOO WNW © © —— ee oor —— _ bo io} or © el to ISOLATION OF AN ION—-MILLIKAN. oon TABLE I.—Negative drop—Continued. G sec. F sec. n €nX1010 €,< 1010 23.0 12.3 F= 12.25 ae see 11 53. 92 4. 902 eka ae 1251 23.2 12.4 | Change foreed with radium. 23.4 72.4 F= 72.10 22.9 72. 4 23. 2 72.2 5 24. 60 4.920 23.5 HIS 23.0 lod! 23.0 39.2 V=7800 23. 2 39. 2 | : (Ga0993, 92'S: 2 Eee | 27.4 7 34. 47 Bractee 20.7 8 39. 38 4, 922 wih ee 26.9 eed, no | Th 34. 47 4. 923 23.3 39.5 23.3 39.2 F= 39.20 sa aa 6 29. 62 4. 937 vee! 39.1 PERO) 71.8 5 24. 60 4.920 23. 4 382. 5 | ‘ GERD) 374.0 23. 4 71.0 pics ee | 5 24. 60 4. 920 V=7760 23.4 38.5 i G= 23.43 23.1 39.2 23.5 70.3 23. 4 70.5 23.6 71.2 Bh aig 5 24. 60 4. 920 23.6 71.0 23.4 71.4 23.5 380. 6 23.4 384. 6 23.2 380.0 F= 379.6 23. 4 375. 4 4] 19.66 4.915 23.6 380. 4 23.3 374.0 23.4 383. 6 ASE AS Rie 2 ie 3082 F= 39.18 23.5 39.2 V=7730 Wop 23.5. | 0.0 ie pe Shea tor G= 23.46 PRG) eB was 70. 8 = (70:65 00 y||| 22: 25454 70. 4 5 24. 60 4.920 deol des: 70. 6 23.6 378.0 4 19. 66 Saw it, here, at end of 305. sec.. pick up two negatives. 23. 6 39.4 6 29. 62 4. 937 23.6 70.8 5 24. 60 4. 920 Mean of all e;s=4.917 238 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. DIFFERENCES. 24.60—19.66= 4.94 29.62—24.60= 5.02 34.47—29.62= 4.85 39.38—34.47= 4.91 Mean dif.=4.93 by the constancy during all this time in the value of the velocity under gravity. This constancy was not attained without a consider- able amount of experimenting. It is sufficient here to state that. the heating effects of the illuminating are were eliminated, first by filter- ing the light through about 2 feet of water, and, second, by shutting off the light from the arc altogether except at occasional instants, when the shutter was opened to see that the star was in place or to make an observation of the instant of its transit across a cross hair. Further evidence of the complete stagnancy of the air is furnished by the fact that for an hour or more at a time the drop would not drift more than 2 or 38 millimeters to one side or the other of the point at which it entered the field. The observations in Table I are far less accurate than many of those which follow, the timing being done in this case with a stop watch, while many of the later timings were taken with a chrono- graph. Nevertheless this series is presented because of the unusual length of time over which the drop was observed and because of the rather unusual variety of phenomena which it presents. The column headed G shows the successive times in seconds taken by the droplet to fall, under gravity, the distance between the cross hairs. It will be seen that, in the course of the four and one-half hours, the value of this time increases very slightly, thereby showing that the drop is very slowly evaporating. Furthermore, there are rather marked fluctuations recorded in the first 10 observations, which are probably due to the fact that, in this part of the observa- tion, the shutter was open so much as to produce very slight convec- tion currents. The column headed F is the time of ascent of the drop between the cross hairs under the action of the field. The column headed é, is the value of the charge carried by the drop as computed from (4). The column headed 7 gives the number by which the values of the preceding column must be divided to obtain the numbers in the last column. The numbers in the e, column are in general averages of all the observations of the table which are designated by the same numeral in the » column. If a given observation is not included in the average in the e, column, a blank appears oppo- site that observation in the last two columns. On account of the slow change in the value of G, the observations are arranged in groups and the average value of G for each group is placed opposite that group in the first column. The reading of the voltmeter, taken at ISOLATION OF AN ION—MILLIKAN. 239 the mean time corresponding to each group, is labeled V and placed just below or just above the mean G corresponding to that group. The volts were in this case read with a 10,000-volt Braun electrom- eter which had been previously calibrated, but which may in these readings be in error by as much as 1 per cent, though the error in the relative values of the volts will be exceedingly slight. The PD was applied by means of a storage battery. It will be seen from the readings that the potential feil somewhat during the time of observa- tion, the rate of fall being more rapid at first than it was later on. MULTIPLE RELATIONS SHOWN BY THE CHARGES ON A GIVEN DROP. Since the original drop in this case was negative, it is evident {hat a sudden increase in the speed due to the field—that is, a de- crease in the time given in column F—means that the drop has caught a negative ion from the air, while a decrease in the speed means that it has caught a positive ion. If attention be directed, first, to the latter part of the table, where the observations are most accurate, it will be seen that, beginning with the group for which G=23.43, the time of the drop in the field changed suddenly from 71 to 380 seconds, then back to 71, then down to 39, then up again to 71, and then up again to 380. These numbers show conclusively that the positive ion caught in the first change— i. e., from 71 to 380—carried exactly the same charge as the negative ion caught in the change from 380 to 71. Or again, that the negative ion caught in the change from 71 to 39 had exactly the same charge as the positive ion cavght in the change from 39 to 71. Furthermore, the exact value of the charge caught in each of the above cases is obtained in terms of mg from the difference in the values of én, given by equation (1), and if it be assumed that the value of m is approximately known through Stokes’s law, then the approximately correct value of the charge on the captured ion is given by the difference between the values of e, obtained through equation (4). The mean value of this difference obtained from all ithe changes in the latter half of Table I (see Differences), is 4.93 10-2, | Now it will be seen from the first observation given in the table that the charge which was originally upon this drop and which was obtained, not from the ions in the air, but from the frictional process involved in blowing the spray, was 34.4710-°. This number comes within one-seventh of 1 per cent of being exactly seven times the charge on the positive, or on the negative, ion caught in the obser- vations under consideration. In the interval between December, 1909, and May, 1910, Mr. Harvey Fletcher and myself took observa- tions in this way upon hundreds of drops which had initial charges 240 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. varying between the limits 1 and 150, and which were upon as diverse substances as oil, mercury, and glycerine and found in every case the original charge on the drop an exact multiple of the smallest charge which we found that the drop caught from the air. The total number of changes which we have observed would be between 1,000 and 2,000, and in not one single instance has there been any change which did not represent the advent upon the drop of one definite invariable quantity of electricity, or a very small multiple of that quantity. These observations are the justification for assertions 1 and 2 of the introduction. For the sake of exhibiting in another way the multiple relation- ship shown by the charges on a given drop the data of Table I have been rearranged in the form shown in Table IT. TABLE IT. n. |4.917Xn. ee n. |4.917Xn. | As |p rant Vee koe 1o°'| * 4o:a7° |." a9. 41 pt) iateoesand) tLe 2 11 | 5409 | 53.92 Sohalatyh, ieees ep 12 | 59.00 | 59.12 4 | 19.66 19.66 || 13 | 63.92 | 63.68 Bole zene 24.60 || 14 | 68.84 | 68.65 6 | 29.50 age. Was [ties 75, eel. tie 7 | 34.42 34.47 || 16 | 78.67 | 78.34 8 | 39.34 39.38 || 17 | 83.59 | 983.22 9 | 44.25 Ug sell igee|* Aaa a Meee ee es No more exact or more consistent multiple relationship is found in the data which the chemists have amassed on combining powers, and upon which the atomic theory of matter rests, than is found in Tables I to XITI. DIRECT OBSERVATION OF THE ENERGY OF AGITATION OF A MOLECULE. Before discussing assertion 4 it is desirable to direct attention to three additional conclusions which can be drawn from Table I: 1. Since the time of the drop in the field varied in these observa- tions from 380 to 6.7 seconds, it will be seen that the resultant moving force acting upon the drop was varied in the ratio 1 to 55, without bringing to light the slightest indication of a dependence of e, upon the velocity. Independently of theory, therefore, we can assert that the velocity of this drop was strictly proportional to the moving force. The certainty with which this conclusion can be drawn may be seen from a consideration of the following numerical data. A1- though we had upon our drop all possible multiples of the unit 4.917X10-7° between 4 and 17, save only 15, there is not a single value of e, given in the table which differs by as much as 0.5 per cent from the final mean e,. It is true that the observational error in a ISOLATION OF AN ION——MILLIKAN. 941 few of the smaller times is as much as 1 or 2 per cent, but the observational error in the last half of the table should nowhere exceed 0.5 per cent. In no case is there here found a divergence from the final value of e, of more than 0.4 per cent. 2. Since the charge on the drop was multiplied more than four times without changing at all the value of G, or the apparent value of e,, the observations prove conclusively that in the case of drops like this, the drag which the air exerts upon the drop is independent of whether the drop is charged or uncharged. In other words, the apparent viscosity of the air is not affected by the charge in the case of drops of the sort used in these experiments. 3. It will be seen from the table that in general a drop catches an ion only when the field is off. Were this not the case there would be many erratic readings in the column under I’, while in all the four and one-half hours during which these experiments lasted there is but one such, and the significance of this one will presently be dis- cussed. A moment’s consideration will show why this is. When the field is on, the ions are driven with enormous speed to the plates as soon as they are formed, their velocities in the fields here used being not less than 10,000 centimeters per second. Hence an ion can not be caught when the field is on unless the molecule which is broken up into ions happens to be on the line of force running from the plates through the drop. With minute drops and relatively small ionization this condition is very unlikely to occur. When the field is off, however, the ions are retained in the space between the plates, and sooner or later one or more of them, by virtue of its energy of agitation, makes impact upon the drop and sticks to it. These considerations lead up to assertion 4 in the introduction. It will be seen from the readings in the first half of the table that even when the drop had a negative charge of from 12 to 17 units it was not only able to catch more negative ions, but it apparently had an even larger tendency to catch the negatives than the posi- tives. Whence, then, does a negative ion obtain an amount of energy which enables it to push itself up against the existing electrostatic repulsion and to attach itself to a drop already strongly negatively charged? It can not obtain it from the field, since the phenomenon occurs when the field is not on. It can not obtain it from any explo- sive process which frees the ion from the molecule at the instant of ionization, since again in this case, too, ions would be caught as well, or nearly as well, when the field is on as when it is off. ere, then, is an absolutely direct proof that the ion must be endowed with a kinetic energy of agitation which is sufficient to push it up to the surface of the drop against the electrostatic repulsion of the charge on the drop. 97578°—sm 1910——16 242 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. This energy may easily be computed as follows: As will appear later the radius of the drop was in this case 0.000197 centimeter. Furthermore, the value of the elementary electrical charge obtained as a mean of all of our observations is 4.891<107°. Hence the energy required to drive an ion carrying a unit charge up to the surface of a charged sphere of radius 7, carrying 16 elementary charges, is oe e tO Bol Oe) pare 0.000197 Now the kinetic energy of agitation of a molecule as deduced from the value of e herewith obtained, and the kinetic theory equa- tion, p=4nmu’*, is 5.75X10"* ergs. According to the Maxwell- Boltzmann law, which doubtless holds in gases, this should also be the kinetic energy of agitation of an ion. It will be seen that the value of this energy is approximately three times that required to push a single ion up to the surface of the drop in question. Tf, then, it were possible to load up a drop with negative electricity until the potential energy of its charge were about three times as great as that computed above for this drop, then the phenomenon here ob- served, of the catching of new negative ions by such a negatively charged drop, should not take place, save in the exceptional case in which an ion might acquire an energy of agitation considerably larger than the mean value. Now, as a matter of fact, it was regu- larly observed that the heavily charged drops had a very much smaller tendency to pick up new negative ions than the more lightly charged drops, and in one instance we watched for four hours another negatively charged drop of radius 0.000658 centimeter, which carried charges varying from 126 to 150 elementary units, and which therefore had a potential energy of charge (computed as above on the assumption of uniform distribution) varying from 4.6X%10 to 5.471014, and in all that time this drop picked wp but one single negative ion, and that despite the fact that the ionization was sev- eral times more intense than in the case of the drop of Table I. This is direct proof independent of all theory that the order of mag- nitude of the kinetic energy of agitation of a molecule is 510", as the kinetic theory demands. =1.95x10™ ergs. THE QUESTION OF VALENCY IN GASEOUS IONIZATION. The correctness of assertion 5 in the case of the ionization existing in the observing chamber at the time at which the data in Table I were taken is directly proved by the readings shown in that table, since the great majority of the changes recorded in column 4 corre- spond to the addition or subtraction of one single elementary charge. There are, however, some changes which correspond to the addition or subtraction of two or three times this amount and which therefore seem at first sight to indicate the existence of multiply-charged ions. ISOLATION OF AN ION—MILLIKAN. 243 The conclusion, however, that valency is exhibited in gaseous loniza- tion is not to be so easily drawn. During the observations recorded in the first half of the table, a closed tube of radium, containing 500 milligrams of radium bromide of activity 3,000, stood about 5 feet away from the testing chamber, so that its y rays and a portion also of its B rays could enter this chamber. At the end of the observations in the group in which G=23.14, this radium was brought up to within a few inches of the testing chamber, and six elementary charges were forced upon the drop. The radium was then taken entirely out of the room, so that the changes recorded in the last half of the table are entirely due to such ionization as exists in air under normal atmospheric conditions. Now, so long as changes take place only when the field is off there | is no way of telling whether an observed change of two units is due to the addition to the drop of a double ion or to the successive addi- tions of two single ions. It might be possible to account, therefore, for all the multiple changes which occurred when the field was off on the theory of successive single changes. There is, however, one single change recorded in the last part of Table I, which is not to be so easily accounted for upon this hypothesis. It will be seen that the drop made one particular trip up in 3878 seconds, then one down (recorded in the same horizontal line) in 23.6 seconds. Immediately thereafter it was being pulled back again under the influence of the field at the 880-second rate—a rate so slow that it could scarcely be seen to be moving at all if observed for a short time. After the lapse of 305 seconds, during which time the shutter had been opened every 30 seconds or so to see that the star was still in view it changed instantly while I was looking at it, the field being on, from the 380- second to the 89-second speed skipping entirely the 71-second speed. This sort of a multiple change, when the field was on, has been observed a dozen or more times when the ionization was so weak that it seemed very improbable that two or three different molecules could have been simultaneously ionized in the minute tube of force having for its diameter the diameter of the drop. In fact, at the time at which the preliminary report upon this work was made it was thought that these changes constituted pretty good evidence that the ionization produced by radium does not always consist in the detachment of one single elementary charge from a neutral molecule, but consists in occasional instances, in the separation of two or three such charges from a single molecule. The method of studying ionization herewith presented is capable of furnishing a definite answer to the question here raised in the case of any particular ionizing agent. Recent work which will be reported in detail in another paper has shown that if either radium radiations or X rays of the intensities thus far used ever produce multiply- 244 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. valent ions in air, the number of such ions formed can not exceed 1 or 2 per cent of the number of univalent ions formed. At the present time therefore it seems probable that, despite the contrary evidence presented by Townsend! and Franck and Westphal,’ the process of gaseous ionization by both radium and X rays always consists in the detachment from a natural molecule of one single elementary electrical charge. MECHANISM OF THE CHANGE OF CHARGE OF A DROP. It has been tacitly assumed thus far that the only way in which a drop can change its charge is by the capture of ions of one sign or the other from the air. When a negative charge increases there seems to be no other conceivable way by which the change can be produced. But when it decreases there is no a priori reason for thinking that the change may not be due as well to the direct loss of a portion of the charge as to the neutralization of this same amount by the capture of a charge of opposite sign. Table I shows conclusively, however, that if direct losses occur at all they take place with exceeding infrequency as compared with the frequency with which ions are captured from the air, even when there is no ex- ternal source of ionization whatever. For if there were two com- parable processes tending to diminish the charge (viz, direct loss and capture of opposite ions) and only one tending to increase it (viz, capture of ions of the same sign) and that one of approxi- mately the same efficiency as one of the first two, the drop, instead of maintaining as it did in these experiments for three and one-half hours after the radium was removed from the room, essentially the same mean charge despite its repeated changes, would have quickly lost its charge and gone to the lower plate. The fact that it did not do this furnishes perhaps the most convincing evidence which has yet been brought forward that the process of evaporation, which must have been going on continuously at the surface of the drop, does not have the power of removing at all an electrical charge which resides upon an evaporating surface.® There is but one more comment to be made upon Table I. Ata point indicated in the table by the remark “change forced with radium,” it will be noticed that the charge was suddenly changed from eleven negative units to five negative units—i. e., that six posi- tive units were forced upon the drop. This sort of a change was one which, after the phenomenon had once been got under control, we could make at will in either direction—1. e., we could force charges 1J,. Townsend, Proc. Roy. Soc., 80, p. 207, 1908. 2 J. Frank u. Westphal, Verh. d. D. Phys. Ges., vol. 2, pp. 146 and 276, 1909. 3This question has been considerably discussed in the past and the experiments of Henderson (Phil. Mag.. 50, p. 489, 1900) and at Schwalbe (Ann. de Phys., 1, p. 295, 1900) strongly support the conclusions here reached, despite the opposite evidence brought forward by Pellat (Jour. de Physique, 8, p. 225, 1899). ISOLATION OF AN ION—MILLIKAN. 245 of either sign or in any desired number, within limits, upon a given drop. We did this as follows: When it was desired to load the drop up negatively, for example, we held it with the aid of the field fairly close to the positive plate, and placed the radium so that it would produce uniform ionization throughout the chamber. Under these conditions if the positive and negative ions were alike in both num- ber and mobility the chance that the drop would catch a negative ion would be as many times its chance of catching a positive ion as the distance from the drop to the negative plate was times the distance from the drop to the positive plate. Similarly, if we wished to load the drop positively it was held by the field close to the nega- tive plate. On account of the slightly greater mobility of the nega- tive ion, and also on account of the somewhat greater numbers in which they occur, we found, in general, a greater tendency of the drops to take up negative than positive charges. In view, there- fore, of the greater ease with which negative drops could be held for long intervals without being lost to the plates most of the drops studied have been of negative sign. THE FAILURE OF STOKES’S LAW. When the values of e, were computed as above for different drops, although each individual drop showed the same sort of consistency which was exhibited by the drop of Table I, the value of e, at first came out differently, even for drops showing the same value of the velocity under gravity. This last irregularity was practically elimi- nated by blowing the drops into air which was strictly dust free, but even then drops of different sizes, as determined by v,, always gave consistently different values of ¢,. This is illustrated by the observa- tions shown in Tables IIT, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII. TABLE III.—Negative drop No. 5. [Distance between cross hairs=1.303 em. Temperature=24.6°C. Density of oil at 25.0° C.=.9041.] G sec. F see. n é€nX1019 | e100 120.8 26. 2 2 10.98 5. 490 ip 11.9 121.0 11.9 4 21.98 5. 495 1212 16.5 3 16. 7 120.1 16.3 oe ea F= 26. 40 120.2 26.4 PA ee oe eee ees 119.8 67.4 1 5. 495 5. 495 G=12007 120.1 26.6 2 WOPOSt ales see WES LC MAGTY Tee Se 16.6 r= 16. 50 120. 2 16.6 3 TGS4P a eet ee os ip a ae 16.5 WSS GYRE 120.1 68.0 1 AGS Stee ys 4 119.9 67.8 QGP Feoaae WOES: HALE. 2 Fe v1=.01085. Mean e; (weighted)= 5.490. 246 TABLE IV.—Negative drop No. 8. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, [Distance between cross hairs =1.033 em. Temperature= 20° C.] G sec. F sec. n €nX10 | | X1010 SBE Oodle here sete ecisicrall Sie aereereg hele | Cimerseenel V=3512 88.8 95.3 2 10.98 5.490 G= 87.85 87.8 31.0 ] 4 21.93 5. 482 F= 30.9 87.4 30.8 || i 87.8 47.0 3 16.41 5.470 Sisal parece se esos eeites tel bee as v1=.01176. Mean ¢€; (weighted)= 5.482 TABLE V.—Negative drop No. 2. [Distance het ween cross hairs=1.005em. Temperature=24.3° C.] G see. F sec. | n én X10 | eX1010 F= 49.15 53.8 aaee| im ri ; : 4 21.46 5.365 53.7 49.1 | G= 53.80 54.0 95.2 | V=3990 95.5 3 16. 5.333 53.7 96.6 1-00 ee F= 95.78 53.7 95.8 | v\= .01868 Mean ¢)=5.349 TABLE VI.—Positive drop No. 15. [Distance between cross hairs=1.033 em. Temperature=20° C.] G sec. F sec. n é€nX1019 | €,<1010 30.4 12.8 10 52.06 5. 206 30.5 7.9 8 41.61 5. 200 30.6 43.8 5 26.08 5.216 30.2 85.9 G= 30.48 30.5 85.9 V=9010 30.7 86.4 30.5 85.6 4 20. 84 5, 210 30.7 86.2 F= 86.09 30.5 86.2 == 86.4 30. 2 2520.0 3 15.55 5.183 U1= .04265 Mean ¢; (weighted )=5.208 The drops shown in Tables III and IV were of almost the same size as is seen from the closeness of the values of the two velocities under gravity, and although the field strength was in one case double that in the other the values of e, obtained are almost iden- ISOLATION OF AN ION——-MILLIKAN. 247 tical. Similarly Tables VII and VIII are inserted to show the con- sistency which could be attained in determining the values of e, so long as the drops used were of the same size. On the other hand, the series of Tables III, V, V1, and VII, or IV, V, VI, and VIII, show conclusively that the value of e, obtained in this way diminishes as the velocity of the drop increases. This means of course that Stokes’s law does not hold for these drops. TaBLE VII.—Positive drop No. 16. [Distance between cross hairs=1.317 cm. Temperature=27.6° C.] é€nX10' | e,Xx1010 25.75 5. 150 36. 03 5. 147 41.07 5. 134 56. 25 5. 114 v= .05360 Mean e; (weighted)=5.143 TABLE VIII.—Negative drop No, 17. [Distance between cross hairs=1.305 em. Temperature=26.8° C.] G sec. F sec. n | €nX10 |} eX 1010 23. 8 31.5 KP aljoceiee 23. 6 31.3 8 41.10 5. 139 23. 4 31.2 23.7 43.8 (is PARR 23. 7 43.6 Vi= 8075 e rene 23. 8 43.7 7 36. 09 5. 156 Ws adeno 23. 5 43. 4 23. 2 43. 4 = | 2426282 23. 5 24. 2 9 46. 29 5.144 01 = .05534 Mean ¢; (weighted)=5.145 1The reading carried to hundredths of a second were taken with a chronograph, the others with a stop watch. The mean @ from the chronograph readings is 24.567, that of the stop-watch readings 24.583. In order to find in just what way this law breaks down we made an extended series of observations upon drops the velocities of which varied in the extreme case 360 fold. These velocities lay between 248 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. the limits .0013 cm. per sec. and .47 cm. per sec. Complete records of a few of these observations are given in Tables IX, X, XI, and XII. [|The reader may consult these tables in the original article, but they are here necessarily omitted for lack of space. | The readings shown in these tables are merely samples of the sort of observations which we took on between 100 and 200 drops between December, 1909, and May, 1910. The sort of consistency which we attained after we had learned how to control the evapora- tion of the drops and after we had eliminated dust from the air may be seen from Table XIII which contains the final results of o x) $00 s000 1500 2000 2500 3000 300 400) (4500. $000 x0" Fig. 2. our observations upon all of the drops except three which were studied throughout a period of 47 consecutive days. The three drops which have been excluded all yielded values of e, from 2 to 4 per cent too low to fall upon a smooth e,v, curve like that shown in figure 2 which is the graph of the results contained in Table XIII. It is probable that these three drops corresponded not to single drops, but to two drops stuck together. Since we have never in all our study observed a drop which gave a value of e, appreciably above the curve of figure 2, the hypothesis of binary drops to account for an occasional low value of e, is at least natural. Before we elimi- nated dust we found many drops showing these low values of e@,, but after we had eliminated it we found not more than one drop in ISOLATION OF AN ION—MILLIKAN. 949 ten which was irregular. The drop shown in Table I is perhaps the best illustration of the case under consideration which we have observed. It yields a value of e, which is 4 per cent too low to fall on the curve of figure 2. This is as large a departure from this curve as we have thus far obtained. TABLE XIII. No. | Velocity. Radius. e: 1012. eabeP le cm. sec. cm. Per cent. 1 0.001315 | 0.0000313 7.384 6 2 . 001673 358 6. 684 4 3 . 001927 386 6.142 2.5 4 . 006813 755 5. 605 1.5 5 . 01085 967 5. 490 5 6 . 01107 979 5. 496 7 7 . 01164 - 0001004 5. 483 4 8 . 01176 1006 5. 482 4 9 . 01193 1016 5. 458 8 10 - 01339 1084 5. 448 5 11 . 01415 1109 5, 448 4 12 . 01868 1281 5. 349 5 13 - 02613 1521 5. 293 5 14 . 03337 1730 5. 257 5 15 . 04265 1954 5. 208 5) 16 . 05360 2205 5. 148 4 17 . 05534 2234 5.145 5 18 . 06800 2481 5.143 7 19 . 07270 2562 5. 139 5 20 . 08843 2815 5. 102 3 21 . 09822 2985 5.107 4 22 . 1102 3166 5. 065 4 23 . 1219 3344 5. 042 D 24 . 1224 3329 5. 096 5 25 . 1267 3393 5. 061 5 26 . 15145 3712 5. 027 5 27 . 1644 3876 5. 050 3 28 . 2027 4297 4.989 7 29 ~2175 4447 5. 046 4 30 . 3089 5315 4.980 1 31 . 3969 6047 5. 060 1 32 . 4074 6104 5. 033 i 33 4735 6581 4,911 1.5 THE CORRECTION OF STOKES’s LAW. The simple form of Stokes’s law, which has been used in obtaining the values of ¢, involves the assumption that there is no slip at the bounding surface between the medium and the drop, or that the coefficient of external friction between oil and air is infinite. From the standpoint of the kinetic theory this surface slip, though in general very small, is, strictly speaking, never zero, and to take it into account a term must be introduced into the equation of motion which is proportional to the ratio between the mean free path of the 250 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. gas molecule and the radius of the drop.’ Since it is conceivable, however, that there is some other cause for slip than that assigned by the kinetic theory, it will be well to make this discussion as independent as possible of all theoretical considerations. From whatever point of view, then, the phenomenon of external slip be regarded, it is clear that the very existence of any surface effect of this sort between the medium and the drop must tend to produce an actual velocity higher than that computed from the simple form of Stokes’s law, i. e., it must tend to produce departures from Stokes’s law of the kind actually shown in the experiments herewith recorded. Furthermore, it will be evident from the analysis underlying Stokes’s law that any surface effect whatever between oil and air which might modify the velocity given by Stokes’s law must be more and more effective in so modifying it the more the radius of the drop is diminished, and that when the radius is taken sufl- ciently large the term which represents this surface effect must be- come negligible. We could then write a corrected form of Stokes’s law, which would take into account any kind of surface phenomenon which might alter the speed, in the general form X= bryan} A 4G (5) in which 7 is a constant of the medium and a the radius of the drop. If we were in complete ignorance of the form of the function f we could express it in terms of the undetermined constants, A, B, C, etc., thus y 7 2? 723 ne Fei a ag Ba T Co ot (6) and so long as the departures from the simple form of Stokes’s law were small, we could neglect the second order terms in //a and have therefore eer X=6xpa0j1+ Ay (7) or ign) ‘9 Using this form of equation to combine with (1) and denoting now by e the absolute value of the elementary charge and by e,, as here- tofore, the value of the charge obtained from the use of (4), there results at once Z\3 fs l Ai ate A“) =é, or a(a aie a‘) =e,3. (9) 1See O. H. Meyer, Kinetische Theorie der Gase, p. 211, for the correction of Poiseuille’s law for slip, and Cunningham, Proc. Roy. Soc., 83, p. 57, 1910, for the corresponding correction of Stokes’s law. ISOLATION OF AN ION—MILLIKAN. 951 [The author then determines the value of the correcting term a a and confirms his result by reference to independent work of other observers. For these discussions the reader should consult the origi- nal article. ] 4000" $000 6000: qoao Fig. 3. 3000 19° ' 2000 *y BeyggeszZ THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF @. Oo gkesus Taking the value of A as 0.817 the value of e was determined from (9), and the values of e,, a, and ¢7 obtained as explained above. 252 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. The next to the last column of Table XIV gives the results of this computation of e for all of the observations recorded in Table XIII TABLE XIV. + Tem- | Dew : aan penis No. | pera- . 7X108. | Velocity. | a(=radius) Ua. €1X101°.| obser- | eX101°. ture, | Point. vational on error. : “1G; CG: Cm. | Cm. sec. Cm. Per ct. ‘Perick. 1 24.0 5.3 945 | 0.001315 | 0. 0000313 0. 3020 7. 384 6.0 2 26.0 10.8 954 | .001673 - 0000358 . 2664 6. 864 4.0 3 23.8 9.3 944 | .001927 . 0000386 - 2446 6. 142 225 4 19.9 1.8 929 | .006813 . 0000755 . 1280 5. 605 1.5 5| 246 3.7 948 | .01085 - 6000967 . 0980 5. 490 5 4.892 | 0.20 6 26. 4 6.0 955 | .01107 . 0000979 - 0975 5. 496 ol 4. 889 - 26 7 24.0 .0 945 | .01164 . 0001004 . 0941 5. 483 4 4. 903 - 03 8 20.0 1.8 929 |} .01176 . 0001006 . 0923 5. 482 4 4.916 - 28 9 24.8 .0 949 | .01193 . 0001016 . 0934 5. 458 -8 4. 891 Ave 10 26.3 6.0 955 | .01339 . 0001084 - 0883 5. 448 o5 4. 908 -10 il 23. 6 3.7 943 | .01415 . 0001109 - 0850 5. 448 4 4.921 - 42 12 24.3 11.0 947 | .01868 - 0001281 - 0739 5. 349 5 4. 900 - 03 13 24.0 0 945} .02613 | .0001521 - 0621 5. 293 5 4.910 ay 14 27.0 6.0 959 | .03337 . 0001730 - 0554 5. 257 5 4.918 . 34 15 23.2 | — 1.2 942 | .04265 . 0001954 . 0483 5. 208 5 4,913 21 16 27.6 122 959 | .05360 . 0002205 - 0435 5. 143 4 4. 884 36 “17 26.8 6.0 958 | .05534 . 0002234 - 0429 5.145 -5 4. 885 . 34 18 25.2 4.0 951 | .06800 . 0002481 - 0384 5. 143 SZ 4, 912 Al 19 23. 8 5.0 944 | .07270 . 0002562 . 0369 5.139 5 4.913 - O01 20 23.2 13.5 942 | .08843 - 0002815 - 0325 5. 102 -3 4.901 - O01 21 24.6 a bs 7 948 | .09822 - 0002985 - 0318 5.107 4 4.915 nel 2 25.0 9.2 950 | .1102 - 0003166 . 0300 5. 065 4 4. 884 - 36 23 PAE LE 15.0 959 | .1219 . 0003344 - 0287 5. 042 ie) 4. 882 - 40 24 22.6 1.6 939 | .1224 - 0003329 - 0282 5. 096 5 4. 923 - 44 25 24.0 3.7 944 | .1267 - 0003393 - 0278 5. 061 -5 4. 894 15 26 23 8 5.0 944 | .15145 . 0003712 . 0254 5. 027 5 4. 880 . 44 27 25. 2 -3 948 | .1644 . 0003876 - 0245 5. 050 3 4. 903 - 03 28 22.3|— .7 938 | .2027 - 0004297 . 0218 4.989 aid 4. 858 85 29 21.8; — .1 936 | .2175 . 0004447 . 0211 5. 046 4 4.918 36 30 22.3 4.2 938 | .3089 - 0005315 - 0177 4. 980 1.0 31 24.4 1.0 947 | .3969 . 0006047 - 0157 5. 060 1.0 32 22.8 1.0 940 | .4074 . 0006104 - 0154 5. 033 1.0 33 25. 2 Zod 951 | .4735 . 0006581 . 0144 4.911 1.5 Mean e=4.901 Six months after the original work on this table was done the laboratory obtained a very reliable Weston laboratory standard voltmeter which made it possible to obtain a more perfect calibration curve of the Kelvin and White electrostatic instrument than ~ had been made at first. With the aid of this new calibration curve every value of e, in the above table was recomputed, with the result that the final value of e was reduced 0.06 per cent. Furthermore, in the computation of the above table the m of equation (1) was through oversight treated as the real mass instead of as the apparent mass. This necessitates a further-reduction of e amounting to 0.14 per cent, so that the most reliable value obtainable from the work thus far done is e=4.891X10-. except the first four and the last four. These are omitted not because their introduction would change the final value of e, which as a mat- ISOLATION OF AN ION——MILLIKAN. ne 53 ter of fact is not appreciably affected thereby, but solely because of the experimental uncertainties involved in work upon either exceed- ingly slow or exceedingly fast drops. When the velocities are very small residual convection currents and Brownian movements intro- duce errors, and when they are very large the time determination becomes unreliable, so that it is scarcely legitimate to include such observations in the final mean. However, for the sake of showing how completely formula (9) fits our experimental results throughout the whole range of the observations of Table XIIT, figure 3 has been introduced. The smooth curve in this figure is computed from (7) under the assumption of e=4.891107° and the experimentally de- termined values of e, are plotted about this curve, every observation contained in Tabie XIII being shown in the figure. The probable error in the final mean value 4.891 & 10-*°, computed by least squares from the numbers in the last column, is four hundredths of 1 per cent. If there is an error of as much as 3 per cent in the determination of A the final value of e would be affected thereby by only about 0.2 per cent. Since, however, the coefficient of viscosity of air is involved in the formula, the accuracy with which e is known is limited by that which has been attained in the measure- ment of this constant. There is no other factor involved in this work which has not been measured with an accuracy at least as great as 0.2 per cent. The value of 4; which has been used in the computation of all of the preceding tables, viz, 0.00017856, is in my judgment the most probable value which can be obtained from a study of all of the large mass of data which has been accumulated within the past 40 years upon this constant. It represents not only the result of what seems to me to be the most reliable single determination of # which has thus far been made, viz, that of Stokes and Tomlinson’ who deduced it from the damping of oscillating cylinders and spheres, but it is ex- actly the mean of the three most recent and very concordant values obtained by the outflow method (Table XV), and it is furthermore the mean of all of the most reliable determinations which have ever been made. These determinations are as follows: [The discussion of the determinations of the coefficient of viscosity of air is here omitted. ] We have devised two modifications of this method of determining e which do not involve the value #. It is scarcely likely, however, that the necessary experimental error in these methods can be re- duced below the error iny# It is probable, therefore, that any in- creased accuracy in our knowledge of e is to be looked for in in- creased accuracy in the determination of 4. 1 Stokes, Math. and Phys. Papers, v. 5, p. 181. 254 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. EXPERIMENTS UPON SUBSTANCES OTHER THAN OIL. All of the preceding experiments except those recorded in Table I were made with the use of a specially cleaned gas-engine oil of density 0.9041 at 25° C. Those in Table I were made with the use of a similar, though more volatile, mineral oil (machine oil) of den- sity 0.8960. The reason that we worked so continuously upon a single substance was that it was found that in order to maintain a drop of constant size it was necessary, even with these very nonvolatile sub- stances, to have the drop in equilibrium with its saturated vapor. This is shown by the following observations. The inner surfaces of the condenser plates had been covered with a very thin coat of machine oil in order that they might catch dust particles. Drops blown from a considerable number of nonvolatile substances were introduced between the plates and were found in the main to evap- orate too rapidly to make accurate observing possible. This was true even of so nonvolatile substances as glycerine and castor oil, as the following observations show: Glycerine, density Castor oil, density 1.25, 0.975. G. F. G. F. 28.3 11.5 73.8 18.0 32.5 9.8 75.8 12.9 38.7 77.3 18.0 45. 6 8.4 78.7 102.2 59.2 79.6 17.8 84.8 30. 2 87.7 DET 90.7 18.1 In order to get rid of this continuous increase in G, the drops were next blown from the least volatile liquid at hand, viz, gas-engine oil, and the behavior of a given drop showed immediately that it was growing in size instead of evaporating. This can be seen from the following readings: Gas-engine oil. G. F 17.6 6.1 17.4 76.2 17.2 82.0 16.9 87.2 16.8 92. 4 aly 97.8 16.7 104. 6 ISOLATION OF AN ION——MILLIKAN. 255 This behavior was shown consistently by all the drops experi- mented upon (six or eight in number) throughout a period of two days. Imagining that the vapor from the more volatile machine oil upon the plates was condensing into the less volatile but similar oil of the drop I took down the apparatus, cleaned the plates care- fully, and oiled them again, this time with the gas-engine oil. Every gas-engine oil drop tried thereafter showed the sort of constancy which is seen in Tables III to XII. Series of observations similar to that made upon gas-engine oil and tabulated in Tables XIII and XIV will ultimately be made upon other substances. Thus far the aim has been to take enough observations upon other substances to make sure that the results obtained from these substances are sub- stantially in agreement with those obtained from gas-engine oil and to concentrate attention upon an accurate series of observations upon one substance. As a matter of fact, we have a fairly complete series upon machine oil and a number of observations upon watch oil, eastor oil, and glycerine, all of which are in agreement within the limits of observational error, in some cases as much as 2 or 3 per cent, with the observations upon gas-engine oil. * * * * * co * The conclusion to be drawn from all of the work thus far done on substances other than oil is merely that there is nothing in it to cast a doubt upon the correctness of the value of e obtained from the much more extended and much more accurate work upon gas-engine oil. COMPARISONS WITH OTHER DETERMINATIONS. The value of e herewith obtained is in perfect agreement with the result reached by Regener? in his remarkably careful and consistent work in the counting of the number of scintillations produced by the particles emitted by a known amount of polonium and measur- ing the total charge carried by these same particles. His final value of this charge is 9.58 X 10°, and upon the assumption that this is twice the elementary charge—an assumption which seems to be jus- tified by Rutherford’s experiments*—he finds for e 4.79 x 10, with a probable error of 3 per cent. Since the difference between this value and 4.89 X 10° is but 2 per cent the two results obviously agree within the limits of observational error. * * * [The author then discusses several other determinations of e, and explains some discrepancies which appear. | Tn conclusion there is presented a summary of the most important of the molecular magnitudes, accurate values of which are made 1. Regener, Sitz. Ber. d. k. Preuss. Acad. d. Wiss., 37, p. 948, 1909. 2 Rutherford, Phil. Mag., 17, p. 281, 1909. 256 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. possible by an accurate determination of e. The Faraday constant is taken as Ve = 9,655 absolute electromagnetic units. e = 4.891 & 107° E.S.U. the smallest quantity of electricity canvable of sepa- rate existence. N75. 922,64 207 the number of molecules in one gram molecule of . any substance. = DEES Oe the number of molecules in 1 cubic centimeter of any gas at 0° C. and 76 centimeters. a = 2.106 X 10716 ergs. the constant of molecular energy. Molecular en- ergy e = aT’. €) = 5.750 X 10 ™ ergs. the kinetic energy of agitation of a single molecule at 0° C. and 76 centimeters. &=273a. rm == 1102, K10-"* ems, the weight of the hydrogen atom. Weights and diameters of molecules. Substance. eight z See Diameter.1 aoa Grams. Centimeter. G. em. 1s hie ee oe eo Sage cenenae BO dSSee IUeoPEDOCeeEBEEGe 2 3.40104 | 2.28x10-8 0.55 DEEN UM eee Semen to ni cite aeaiace Ste ee ae a oe ye ee 4 6.81X10-*4 | 2.0010-8 1. 63 Carbonimonoxidess cassees. shee cecete: So cee tues 27.8 47.4 10-4} 2.8910-8 3. 76 Mth yleniG\ ceed < os sete ee essen eciecme pee ctrlgeiae mer 27.8 47.4 x10-*4 | 3.40X10°8 2.34 INTTTOS ON. mencncecwiaccccwisewecahccs seb senses cease 27.8 47.4 <10-%4 | 3.06108 317 AGES, SUC ase. REBEL EEL OR. coins enact. «See teoeeaes 28.9 49.2 X10-%4 | 2.99108 3.53 ING C ORIG FoF 5. eties then one eae ere ape eam che 29. 81 50.8 X10-4 | 2.69>10-8 5. 00 OXY LEON Santee Sec aswowcides =e Sessa esos Soe eee 31.8 54.2 K10-%4 | 2.8910-8 4.30 ATE ODE acer ccens cc ciccheeee sac ne scectie eae cee eerie 39.6 67.5 X10-4 | 2.78108 6. 01 Garbom(@loxide= ooowcecsescen sacs noosesteesceeeose oe 43.7 74.4 X10-4 | 3.11x10°% 4.73 Nitrous iOKIdE 2. - a's seis ajay. -leseemenergeeeres Seieeae 43.7 74.4 X10-*4 | 3.48103 3.39 Chilorine’. 5S eiac socn cnc ac aetwee Sete sine ise eiewmeeoeeaeee 70.4 119.8 10-4 | 3.01x10-8 3. 90 Wa termvapotie.cciataost aes cosnce sce es ee eee 17.9 30.5 10-4 | 3(?)x10-8 HMthyl Chloride ss ssi. ccc ck ace So eee e soe ee seen 64.0 108.9 X10-%4 | 4(?)x10-8 My thanks are due to Profs. Crew, Carman, and Guthe for loaning to me tubes of radium when my own supply met with an accident. I wish also to acknowledge my great indebtedness to Mr. Harvey Fletcher who has most ably assisted me throughout the whole of this investigation. 1These diameters have been obtained from the above value of m and the viscosity equation —350pC 27D? ; Sutherland’s correction for cohesional force (Phil. Mag., 17, p. 320, 1909) and Jean’s correction for persistence of velocities being added. This procedure is thought to yield more reliable results than applying the above corrections to means of D obtained from viscosity, diffusion, heat conduction, and departures from Boyle’s law, since computa- tions based on the last three phenomena inyolve both theoretical and experimental uncertainties of large magnitude. THE TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS, WIRELESS AND BY WikES [With 2 plates.] By T. THORNE BAxkeEr, Esq., F.C.S., A. I. H. H. It frequently happens that when two alternate processes are avail- able for certain work, and one of them is considerably less practical than the other, the less practical one is possessed of much higher scientific interest. This may certainly be said of the telegraphy of pictures and photographs. The whole of the methods of transmis- sion can be classed as either purely mechanical, or dependent on the physical properties of some substance which, like selenium, is sensi- tive to light. The latter methods are of no little scientific interest, and, although very delicate and for the moment obsolete, there is every likelihood of their coming into more extended use later on. The telegraphy of pictures differs only from the transmission of ordinary messages in that the telegraphed signals, recorded by a marker on paper, must essentially occupy a fixed position. In the case of an ordinary telegram it matters little whether the received message occupy two, three, or more lines when written out on paper, but when a picture is telegraphed every component part of 1t must be recorded in a definite position on the paper. Suppose you greatly enlarge a portrait, and divide it up by ruled lines into a thousand square parts. Suppose also that the photo- graph is printed on celluloid, so that it is transparent. If, now, the portrait be held in front of some even source of illumination, it will be seen that each square—each thousandth part—is of different density. The light parts of the photograph will consist of squares of little density, the dark parts, of squares of greater density, and so on. In this way the photograph is analyzed into composite sections, each section corresponding precisely to a letter in a message; letters and 1 Lecture before the Royal Institution of Great Britain, at the weekly evening meeting, Friday, Apr. 22,1910. His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, K.G., Ce Mi Cia Eley, ¥.R.S., president, in the chair. Reprinted by permission from author’s copy published by the Royal Institution. Printed also in Nature, No. 2129, Aug. 18, 1910. OnT 97578°—sm 1910——17 25% 258 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. spaces recombined form words and messages; squares of different densities recombined, in correct position, form a photograph. I propose to deal with the more practical system first, which, as already pointed out, is perhaps the less interesting from the theo- retical point of view. The telectrograph system has been employed by the Daily Mirror for the transmission of photographs since July, 1909, and has been worked very regularly between Paris and London, and Manchester and London. Instances of its use may be recognized in the publication of photo- graphs taken in court in the recent Steinheil case at Paris, when photographs of witnesses or prisoners were sometimes received in London actually before the court rose at which they were taken, a clear day being gained in the time of publication. The method of telegraphing photographs that has been employed on a large scale by the Daily Mirror may be called a practical modi- fication of several early attempts. The effeet of an electric current to discolor certain suitable electrolytes or to set free an element or ion that can be used to form with a second substance a colored product was employed in many early forms of instruments for telegraphing writing, etc. If we break up a photographic image in the way already described into lines which interrupt the current for periods depending on their width, these interrupted currents can be used at the receiving station to form colored marks which join up en masse to form a new image. My telectrographic process is thus briefly as follows: At the sending station we have a metal drum revolving under an iridium stylus, to the drum being attached a half-tone photograph printed on lead foil. Current flows through the photographic image to the line and thence to the receiver. The receiver consists of a similar revolving metal drum over which a platinum stylus traces. Every time the transmitter style comes in contact with a clear part of the metal foil current flows to the receiver, and a black or colored dot or mark appears on the chemical paper. But you will readily understand that if our reproduction—built up of these little marks, which have to be made at the rate of some 200 per second—is to be accurate, each mark must be only exactly as long, in proportion, as the clear metal space traversed by the stylus. It will be easier to explain the system by means of the rough diagram shown in figure 1. The transmitting instrument is shown on the left, the receiver on the right. A metal drum is revolved by a motor, one revolution every two seconds; over this a metal stylus or needle traces a spiral path in the same way as a phonograph. On the drum is fixed a half-tone photograph broken up into lines, and printed in fish glue upon a sheet of lead foil. I will show one of these line photographs on the screen, and you will see that the light TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS—BAKER. 259 and shade of the picture is made up of masses of thinner or thicker lines, with clear spaces in between. As the stylus traces over such a photograph, its contact with the metal base is interrupted every time one of these fish-glue lines comes beneath it, and for such a time as depends, of course, on the width of the line. The transmitting instrument thus sends into the telegraph lines a series of electric currents whose periods of duration are deter- mined by the width of the lines composing the photograph. A similar stylus, S,, traces an exactly similar path over a revolving drum in the receiving instrument, but round this drum is wrapped a piece of absorbent paper impregnated with a colorless solution, which turns black or brown when decomposed by an electric current. What happens then is that every brief current which passes through the paper causes a mark to appear on it. The width of the mark depends on the duration of the current—or should so do—so that Sending Battery you will see that these marks gradually combine to recompose the photographic image. This method is all very well in the laboratory, but when we come to try it over a long distance the capacity of the line at once causes serious interference. It is well known that if a current be sent to some apparatus, such as a telegraph, from a distance, the current having to pass through long wires the capacity of which is appre- Spi a certain time is Bios for the current to charge the line, and the line discharges itself into the apparatus with comparative slow- ness. If the circuit be closed by means of a Morse key, the time of contact at the key being a sixth of a second—a common time of dura- tion of a short tap—the discharge of current from the cable would be considerably longer than one-sixth of a second. When, therefore, we are sending signals through the line at the rate of 175 per second, it is not difficult to see that every signal will run into the next thee 260 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. or so at the receiving apparatus, and the result will be a hopelessly confused mass of overlapping marks. Thisis well illustrated in plate 1, figure 1, where A shows a series of taps passed through a cable of high capacity into the telectrograph receiver; instead of getting a series of sharp dots or short lines, we get elongated lines ending off in tails. Without the capacity, we get the short lines as shown in the B series. These short, definite lines are again obtained, even when the capacity is present, in series C; but in this case I had shunted on to the receiver what I have termed the line balancer, a modified form of shunt apparatus embodying the principles of wip- ing out residuary currents from the cable in the way frequently made use of in duplex telegraphy. The use of this apparatus has rendered commercial the old ideas of telegraphing by the electrolytic method, and as many as 300 sharply defined chemical marks can be recorded in one second by its means. The method of application will be seen if we have the last slide shown again (fig. 1); here, shunted on to the line (which is closed by the stylus S, and the metal drum), is a cireuit containing two batteries, B, and B., and the two sections of a divided 1,000-ohms resistance, W, and W,. Shunted across the variable contacts of the resistances is a variable condenser K. By varying the resistances, W, and W., we can vary the power of the current used to sweep out the residuary charges in the line; the current can, of course, flow through the chemical paper on the drum, but the pole of the battery B,, connected to the style, is of opposite sign to that of the line unit connected to it. When the leakance on the line is great and evenly distributed, less reverse current from the balancer is necessary, this being quite in ac- cordance with Heaviside’s formule for telephony over lines with capacity and inductance. It is interesting to note, also, that by in- creasing the voltage of the reverse batteries B, and B,, considerably greater contrast can be obtained in the pictures; the finer the half- tone screen employed in splitting up the photographs into lines, the higher, again, must the voltage of B, and B, be made. I should like to take up a few moments in referring to the actual utility of phototelegraphy. The demand by the public for illustra- tions in their daily papers must be admitted. News is telegraphed in order to expedite its publication, and photographs illustrating this news can therefore be telegraphed advantageously. But where a large installation and establishment, with accumulators, a large in- strument, and an operator to work it are required, the cost of tele- graphing every individual picture becomes quite out of propor- tion to its value. It is therefore desirable to direct special attention to the portable instruments, the first one of which is shown for the first time to-night. A photographer going to obtain pictures of some Smithsonian Report, 1910.—Baker. PLATE 1 Ae a ee es, ae = — ee a = me Oo Le ee ee et = Llectrical Lggigeerigg 2, PHOTOGRAPH SHOWING A PORTION OF THE PHOTO-TELEGRAPHIC APPARATUS. TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS—BAKER. 261 important function or interesting event can take the machine with him, prepare his pictures, and telegraph them to his head office, and when the event is over he simply returns with the apparatus. For criminal investigations, the portable instrument will, I feel sure, be- come of considerable value also. ‘Through the continued courtesy shown by the Postmaster General and Maj. O’Meara, the engineer in chief, we have been given every facility for developing the work, and I believe that the uses of the portable instrument will before long have been amply demonstrated. If a picture revolving beneath a tracer has to redraw itself, as it were, on a piece of paper perhaps hundreds of miles away, it is obvious that each mark redrawn must occupy a precisely similar spot on the new paper as it does in the original picture. As cylinders or drums are used in picture telegraphy, this means that they must re- volve in perfect unison. If one drum were to gain on the other we should have, in the case of a portrait, a nose being recorded where the eye ought to be, or something equally disastrous; in fact, if the two machines get the least bit out of step, the received picture is com- pletely ruined. The method of synchronising used by Prof. Korn has proved very satisfactory, and has been adopted in practically all systems of phototelegraphy. The motors which drive each drum are run at about 3,000 revolutions per minute, and geared down very con- siderably, so that the drums themselves revolve, perhaps, at 30 revo- lutions per minute; the motors are run from secondary batteries of ample capacity to insure smooth working, and should be run for a sufficient time before beginning a transmission to allow of their warming up. The speed of each motor is controlled by a regulating resistance in series with the field magnets, and the speed is ascertained by means of a frequency meter, which indicates the number of revolutions per second. The dial of this meter is shown on the screen. A set of tuned steel tongues are fixed in front of a magnet, which is supplied with alternating current obtained from slip rings on the motor, and each tongue has a different period of vibration. When the alternations in magnetism correspond with the period of vibration of any one spring, that spring vibrates, and thus serves as an indication of the speed of the motor. The receiving drum is revolved a little quicker than the transmit- ting drum. It consequently completes its revolution before the trans- mitter. It is then stopped by a steel check, and is obliged to wait until the other drum has caught it up. When the transmitting drum has completed its turn, a fleeting contact comes into play, a reverse current is sent to the receiving instrument; this is led into a polar- ized relay, which actuates an electromagnet, and this magnet re- moves the check. 262 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. Thus, however much one drum gets out of step with the other, the fault is limited to each revolution, and both drums must always start off in unison for each new revolution. I have found that where each operator endeavors to keep his motor running uniformly by regu- lating the resistance according to the fluctuations recorded by the frequency meter, the personal element makes itself visible in the re- sults; straight lines appear wavy, and the synchronism is not at all good. I therefore tried very carefully calibrating the motors by timing first, and then arranged that, once started, the motors should not be touched; the gain in speed of each is approximately the same if both motors are run from secondary batteries of the same ampere- hour capacity, and in this way we have obtained the most perfect re- sults as regards synchronization. The great advantage of this process is that the whole operation is in full view, whereas with systems in which the received picture is obtained on a photographic film one has to develop such film before it is possible to discover whether anything is wrong. With the re- ceiver described, the operator keeps his hand on the sliding contact of the resistances, and merely adjusts their position during the first two or three seconds, according to the condition of the electrolytic marks, i. e., whether crisp and concise or not. The transmitting cyl- inder can be used as the receiving cylinder, and the apparatus is thus reduced to the limits of simplicity. Toward the end of last year I designed a portable machine, two of which Mr. Sanger-Shepherd has just completed, embodying in them a number of improvements of his own, and these machines, which have worked successfully on their trials, are shown on the lecture table to-night. They are suitable for line or wireless work, and will, I believe, prove of great value in naval and military operations. The Daily Mirror inaugurated the Paris-London photographic service in November, 1907, with Prof. Korn’s selenium instruments, which I shall briefly describe, as Korn is now making two new selenium apparatus with the view of transmitting photographs from New York to London. In this system use is made of the fact that the electrical resistance of the metal selenium varies according to the strength of illumination to which it is subjected, a beam of hght passed through the light and dark parts of a photograph in succes- sion being used to vary the strength of an electric current sent to the receiving apparatus. In Korn’s selenium transmitter fants is concentrated from a Nernst lamp to pass through a revolving SBS cylinder, round which a trans- parent photograph (printed on celluloid) is fixed, the beam travers- ing the film at its brightest part, where the rays come to a focus (fig. 2). The light which passes through the picture is reflected by a TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS—BAKER. 263 prism inside the cylinder on to the selenium cell, through which the current passes. Across the circuit is shunted a galvanometer of the Kinthoven pattern, containing two fine silver strings free to move laterally in a strong magnetic field. These are represented by AB, the magnet poles being MM. When a bright part of the photograph admits of light falling on the sensitive cell, current passes through AB, and it shifts aside, allowing light from a Nernst lamp N, to enter the prism P, whence it is reflected on to the second cell SS. The tele- phone lines connecting the two instruments go direct to the wires of a similar galvanometer, which is in series with the galvanometer of the transmitting instrument. If we imagine MM to be the receiving galvanometer, then we remove the prism P, and the light acts on a sensitive photographic film attached to the drum C, which revolves synchronously with the glass cylinder of the sending instrument. The inertia of selenium once overcome, the metal immediately be- comes of great use for many purposes. Prof. Korn’s method of com- Sensitrve Cell. Fig. 2. pensation is to let the hight fall at the same time on two cells of op- posite characteristics; one has great inertia and small sensitiveness, the other low inertia and great sensitiveness. By using the two cells on opposite sides of a Wheatstone bridge, dividing the battery into two parts for the other sides, the deflection in the galvanometer is very rapid. You will see the effect from the two curves now shown on the screen. That above the axis along which exposure is measured is the sensitive cell; that below this axis the cell of low sensitiveness. Clearly the current passed through the galvanometer is that obtained by joining the sums of the ordinates. This gives the small curve shown as the shaded portion. When the illumination is thrown on the cell the current rises very rapidly instead of gradually, whilst when it is suddenly shut off (at P in the upper curve) it drops to zero almost instantly instead of falling gradually. I shall now show, by means of a meter, an image of the pointer of which will be projected on to the screen, how the inertia of selenium 264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. is overcome. You will first see that if I take away the screen so as to allow light to fall on the selenium cell, current passes into the galvanometer, and the needle slowly deflects several degrees. Now, I quickly shut off the light by intercepting it with the screen, and the needle comes slowly backward. Such sluggish movement would be impossible for the purposes of photo-telegraphy, where at least half a dozen changes per second are required to be recorded abruptly even in transmitting the simple portraits to which the selenium process is limited. Now, using two cells of different characteristres and a Wheatstone bridge arrangement, I will once more allow light to fall suddenly on the two cells simultaneously, and you will see that the galvanom- eter needle records the change in resistance of the combination quite quickly; the combination is even more noticeable when the light is suddenly shut off again, the needle returning to zero with great rapid- ity. This compensated arrangement of selenium cells at once renders their use of practical value for various physical and optical measure- ments. Prof. Korn has found that for an increase in the Ulumina- 1 —ft —_— — tion oI, the current obtained is given by the equation y= a.dL.e Thay where y is the current, @ the sensitiveness of the cell, 2 and m its inertia constants, and e the basis of Naperian logarithms. For two cells to be combined to the greatest advantage we must have them such that if their equations are respectively a1 —Bim G y,= 4, 61.e and = —Pam t Y= 4,0 Le then UY, —Y2) _ 9 dt : This makes the condition for good compensation that a,f,= o,f. m is usually almost constant, and with suitable Giltay cells is about 4. In practical language, the condition for compensation is that the principal cell should have great sensitiveness and a small inertia con- stant, the compensation cell low sensitiveness and a high inertia con- stant, the product of sensitiveness.and inertia constant being the same in the case of both cells. The physical properties of selenium are of such importance that I feel I may be allowed to digress for a few moments to show one TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS—BAKER. 265 way in which they may be utilized to solve a problem that has long occupied many investigators, viz, the satisfactory measurement of the beam of heterogeneous rays from an X-ray tube. Whenever a new tube is used in radiographic work, a different voltage, or different interrupter or coil, the time of exposure for the photographic plate has to be determined anew. The strength of the tube under any con- ditions can, however, be determined by means of a simple piece of apparatus which I have constructed, the working of which I shall now be able to show you. If the X rays fall on a fluorescent screen of barium platino-cyanide, the screen absorbs them and emits yellowish-green visible rays; this transformed energy is capable of affecting a very sensitive selenium CURVE SHOWING EFFCT OF FEEBLE ILLUMINATION ON THE “ ¢ RES/STANCE of SELENIUM © May 1910 % 23 Resistance of unilluminated Gxtkay ale $ ceu 395,000 ohms’ S oy Be 2% * 4 a rR Si ee 28 y x cs > Ss O24EEWRHK BI Mm UW 32 36 40 5p bo & 70 Distance in Inches of Secewium Cert from Source of INumination, x 2. Fig. 3. cell when placed in contact with the screen, the resistance becoming less the greater the fluorescence. You will see here a selenium cell of approximately 395,000 ohms resistance, over which is placed a small fluorescent screen of the same size; the cell is put in series with a battery of 100 volts and a milliampere meter, the divisions of which may be made to correspond to some arbitrary scale or to the time necessary for the exposure of a given make of photographic plate. The dividing of the dial depends on two things: First, the char- acteristic curve of the selenium cell connecting its resistance with the strength of illumination, the linear distance of the source from the cell being, in this case, the most convenient to employ. Second, this characteristic curve must be modified to meet the case of illumina- tion by the rays from the antikathode, which do not necessarily 266 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. diminish in their power to make the screen fluoresce as the square of the distance from it. You will see on the screen the character- istic curve of a selected selenium cell for feeble illumination, the maximum being of about the same wave length as that of the fluores- cence, showing the relation between resistance and distance separating the source of illumination and the cell, and also the modified curve showing a similar relation between resistance and distance between antikathode and cell, with the screen in contact. The portion of the first curve most nearly asymptotic is best to employ for the work, and from the second curve the dial scale of the meter can be easily calibrated. If, now, I vary the height of the X-ray tube from the measuring apparatus, you will see that the meter needle is deflected less as the distance between tube and cell is increased. The actual instrument is provided with a scale divided so as to show compara- tive times of exposure, and by its use radiographic work can be greatly facilitated. It is interesting to note that the effect of the rays on the fluorescent screen, as estimated by the selenium cell, differs less with increasing distance the farther the antikathode is from it: Distance of anti- | kathode from Current recorded. | Difference. apparatus. | — ey Inches. Milliamperes. 6 0.38 we 8 27 0. 06 10 wad . 05 12 . 20 . 02 14 .18 - 02 16 .16 . 02 A good deal of time has, I am afraid, been taken up in giving de- tails of apparatus, but I will now show some of the results that have been obtained in practice. The selenium machines already referred to were operated between Paris, Manchester, and London until the end of the year 1908. The first photograph received (slide) was of King Edward, and was received at the Daily Mirror installation in November, 1907. Several results will now be shown in the lantern, and you will observe that they are all composed of parallel lines, which widen or “thin” according to the density of the picture. These lines correspond to the movement of the shutter attached to the strings of the Einthoven galvanometer, which regulates the thick- ness of the spot of light focused on the revolving sensitive film. This spot of light traces a spiral line around the film, which, when de- veloped, is laid flat, and the spiral becomes resolved into so many parallel lines. TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS—BAKER. 267 Late in 1908 Prof. Korn introduced his telautograph, in which a Caselli transmitter, such as already described for the telectrograph, is used, and a line sketch or half-tone photograph is attached to the drum. The receiver is similar to that used in the selenium machines, a spot of light cast on a revolving sensitive film being shut off every time current flows through the wire of the galvanometer NO COMPENSATION and displaces it. When dis- placed the shadow of the wire falls over a fine slit placed in front of the film, and so prevents the lght from passing through to it. A line sketch transmitted from Paris to London in this way is now shown (pl. 2, fig. ie dale tes tics eit 2). The methods of syn- chronizing the sending and recelving cylinders is the COMPENSATION same as that used in the telec- trograph; but Prof. Korn’s work was done prior to mine, and his arrangements were therefore copied by me. Sim- ilar methods have — been adopted for many years, how- ever, in certain systems of ordinary telegraphy. There is a great deal of interesting matter connected with the efficiency of the gal- vanometer-receiving appata- tus, and the vast amount of careful work done by Prof. Korn to increase it, which time quite forbids my men- tioning, and I will therefore pass on to the latest phase of phototelegraphic work—the experiments now being carried out to effect wireless transmissions. The wireless apparatus for transmitting sketches, writing, or simple photographic images over distances up to about 50 miles may perhaps be looked upon as rather rudimentary, but I shall be able to show, from actual results, that it is at any rate practicable, and it is certainly more simple than any method based on later wireless re- searches. CCR RTE 1 oi ——— SSS ———— EXPOSURE CURRENT Fie. 4. 268 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. I will first show you an experiment, for the simplicity of which I must ask your pardon; but it illustrates so clearly how easy it really FLUORESCING POWER OF X-RAYS AS MEAS UIRIE DS BY, SE GTEMIOM, n WwW & y Q x SS te N N ~ = DISTANCE (IN INCHES OF ANTICATHODE FROM CELL acual Mercury interrey P tey earth Hie. 6. is to transmit a photograph by wireless under ideal conditions. I have here a small electric lamp, coupled up with the local side of a relay and battery, the relay being actuated by means of a coherer de- Smithsonian Report, 1910.—Baker. PLATE 2. 1. PHOTOGRAPH WIRED FROM PARIS TO LONDON BY THE AUTHOR'S TELECTOGRAPH. 2. FASHION PLATE TRANSMITTED BY PROFESSOR KORN’S TELAUTOGRAPH. TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS—BAKER. 269 tector. At the other side of the platform there is a Morse key, which, when depressed, closes the primary circuit of an induction coil, the secondary being coupled up in the usual way to give oscillations. When I press the key, and thereby send a signal, you see that the lamp at once lights up. If the coherer be tapped, the lamp is ex- tinguished, and another tap of the Morse key causes it to light again. Now suppose that the taps of the Morse key were controlled by the lines in a photograph or sketch, and that the hght from the lamp were concentrated on a revolving photographic film, and you will see at once how a photograph could be transmitted by wireless teleg- raphy. Such a process would be utterly impracticable commercially, but my telectrographic system can be used with success in its place. A line picture prepared in the way already described is attached to the drum of the transmitter, and the intermittent current, which is ordinarily passed into the telephone line, goes into an electromagnet, M in figure 6, which then attracts a soft iron diaphragm attached to brass springs, which are fixed to two rigid supports. Every time current flows through the magnet coils this diaphragm is attracted to it, and the platinum contacts PQ are brought together; when the current flows, and PQ are in contact, the primary circuit of a transformer is closed, and the secondary having a spark gap and being inductively coupled to the aerial and earth, a signal is transmitted into space. Thus in the wireless transmitter the only difference from ordinary telegraphy hes in the fact that the length of the signals and their distance apart are regulated by the lines composing the sketch or photograph. When working with high voltages in the primary, such as 110, arcing is liable to take place, and hence the distance between P and Q when not attracted must be considerable. This means that the distance between the diaphragm clamps must be short, and the German-silver spring of which the diaphragm is made must be thick, these two conditions making the natural period of vibration very short. I have, however, found that by interposing a mercury motor-interrupter in the primary circuit, arcing is almost entirely avoided, as if an are be formed the current is interrupted an instant later, and the arcing ceases in consequence. The receiving apparatus is very simple, and depends, for short- distance work, upon a coherer cymoscope, the decohering apparatus being of a particular character. Every time an oscillation passes to the antenna, the coherer becomes conductive in the ordinary way, and a relay is actuated; this relay is usually made to start a hammer vibrating, the hammer hitting the coherer, and thus causing it to lose its conductive power. But a vibrating hammer is useless for the photo-telegraphic receiver, and it is essential to have one strike only on the coherer for each signal detected. 270 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. The form of apparatus I have employed for this purpose is seen diagramatically in the next lantern slide (fig. 7). EE is the magnet which is actuated by the relay R. It then attracts an arma- ture MN, which moves toward the magnet poles and brings a resili- ent hammer H, fitted with a platinum contact p, against the coherer. The coherer AB is also fitted with a collar F and contact pin, so that in the act of striking the coherer the hammer closes a local circuit, and so causes a black mark to appear on the chemical paper. Suc- cessive distinct marks can be obtained in 0.017 second in this way, which is considerably more rapid, I believe, than a decoherer was given credit for. There is not sufficient time to show an actual transmission by wire- less, and I should like to make it clear that only sketches of the simplest character are at present being transmitted; but, as you will see from the result thrown on the screen—a simple portrait of His Majesty the King—the images are recognizable, and merely require shghtly more detail to make them quite comparable with the early results in line obtained by Prof. Korn’s telautograph. Another result shows a plan transmitted by wireless; here an island is seen represented, and a lighthouse—or it might be a fort— and by means of letters the positions of sections of an army on the island are supposed to be designated, while the shaded portion might mean that the “enemy” is in that part of the island. Such plans as these could be drawn direct in shellac ink on a slip of metallic foil, placed upon a portable machine coupled to a portable military wire- less set, and communicated from one section of an army to another. The small portable machines I have already shown are used for the wireless transmissions, and they possess the advantage that “tap- ping” of the communications would be quite impossible. It is for this reason that I think the method would be of such value for mili- tary and naval purposes; even supposing that anyone wishing to TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS—BAKER. NL intercept a plan or written message were to have an exactly similar instrument, with the same dimensions, screw threads, and so on, by merely altering the rate of running by 5 or 10 per cent, according to prearranged signals, the picture as received by the intercepting party would be quite unintelligible and confused. We have already seen that in the telegraphy of a picture by any system, accurate synchronizing of the sending and receiving appa- ratus is essential. Where a metallic circuit links the transmitting and receiving instruments together, the matter is an easy one, and we have seen in what way it is effected. But when dealing with wireless work, the question of synchronism becomes more serious. I have employed two methods, each of which appears to answer CHRONOMETRIC SYNCHRONISER FOR WIRELESS APPARATUS. Fig. 8. satisfactorily, and as they are very important I will devote a few moments to their description. The first method secures accurate synchronism independently of any wireless communication. You have already seen how, in the ordinary telegraphic work, the receiving cylinder is driven rather faster than the sending one, and when it finishes up a complete turn too soon it is arrested until the sending cylinder has caught it up, when the latter sends a reverse current, which is responsible for its release. But in the wireless apparatus both sending and receiving cylinders are driven too fast, so to speak—that is, they are made to revolve in four and three-fourths seconds instead of a nominal five. A check comes into play at the end of the revolution, and the cylinder is stopped until the five seconds are completed, the motor working 272 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. against a friction clutch in the ordinary way during the stop. At the end of the fifth second each cylinder is automatically released by chronometric means, in the manner shown in the next diagram (fig. 8). Here you will see that a special form of clock is used, with a center seconds’ hand which projects beyond the face by about an inch, and to the end of it is attached a brush of exceedingly fine silver wires. At every twelfth part of the circumference of the clock dial is fixed a platinum pin, and consequently every five seconds the little brush wipes against the convex surface of one of them. Each of these pins is connected with one terminal of a battery B, the other side of the battery leading to the relay R, as does also the center seconds’ hand. Therefore each time the brush wipes against a pin the circuit is closed, and the relay throws into action the local circuit connected up with the terminals TT. This circuit excites an electromagnet, which attracts an armature and pulls away the check which is holding back the cylinder. At the end of each five seconds the cylinders consequently recommence turning. Well-calibrated clocks of the pattern used will keep good time for the period taken to transmit a picture, one gaining on the other quite an inappreciable amount, depending on the friction of the brush against the pins. By this means the two cylinders are kept in very fair synchronism independently of any wireless communication, and the less the interval between the stopping and restarting of the cylin- ders be made, the more accurate and satisfactory will be the effect. The other method of synchronizing is controlled by electromag- netic oscillations. Let us suppose that a coherer is being used as cymoscope; the transmitting cylinder is kept running without any interruption, but by means of a fleeting contact it sends out a wave at the conclusion of its turn, a bare space in the picture being neces- sary about half a second beforehand, so that no waves are sent out for the half-second previously. The receiving cylinder is driven too quickly, and checked at the end of the revolution. It then, by means of a cam pressing down a spring lever, throws out of circuit the marking current, and brings into circuit the relay which actuates the electromagnetic release. Consequently, when the synchronizing wave is received, the coherer causes the relay to work, the release is effected, and the receiving cylinder starts a new revolution in unison with the transmitter. This means of synchronizing is only possible in cases where a cymoscope is employed that is capable of actuating a relay, and you will therefore see that it is out of the question, except for short dis- tances. I am therefore using the chronometric system already de- scribed in the apparatus, and it is being embodied in the quartz fiber apparatus I am now about to describe. I must first remark that the TELEGRAPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHS—BAKER. Die wireless work has been greatly facilitated by the courteous assistance so readily given by the Marconi Company. The general form of the Einthoven galvanometer is well known, and the modified type of it used by Prof. Korn for phototele- graphic purposes has been already shown. If, now, we make the magnetic field very much more intense by building the field magnets heavier, and using a large number of ampere turns in the winding, and also employ a “string,” which is very much more elastic than the silver ribbon, the displacement of the string will be correspondingly greater. The silvered quartz fiber used by Duddell for this purpose gives an extremely sensitive instrument, and very appreciable dis- placement is obtained with the current from one dry cell passing through 35 to 90 megohms resistance. It is not long since Prof. Fleming explained at this Institution the valve receiver for detecting wireless oscillations; in ordinary wire- less telegraphy, the minute alternating currents are rectified, and sounds are heard in the telephone in circuit owing to small unidi- rectional currents. If these currents be passed through the silvered quartz string of the galvanometer, the string is shifted. If, there- fore, we cause a shadow of the string to lie over a fine slit, any dis- placement will cause the slit to be opened, as it were; the shadow will be shifted off the slit, and light will be free to pass through it. Oscillations corresponding to the lines in a photograph or sketch could therefore be utilized to cause shifting of the shutter in the manner I have already described for Korn’s telautograph, and a sensitive photographic film could be revolved on a drum behind the slit to receive the picture. Such an apparatus is now in course of preparation; but the amount of light that passes through the slit is extremely small, owing to the fineness of the fiber. Mr. Sanger- Shepherd has therefore attached a minute shutter to the fiber, cross- ing the optic axis; this enables me to use a very much wider slit, and also to adopt the alternative procedure for reception, which you will now see represented in the diagram on the screen, For photographic reception, the oscillation is passed into the valve detector, and thence to the quartz fiber AB, which is stretched across the field of the magnets (not shown), the poles of which are bored with a tunnel, through which the beam of light is directed. When the fiber is displaced, light is enabled to pass through a fine sht W, and so act on the photographic film. Where, however, the shutter is attached to the fiber, a much wider slit can be used, and then a pair of narrow compensated selenium cells SS are placed behind the sht W, a positive lens being interposed. When a signal corresponding to a dot in the photograph (i. e., the traversal of a line by the stylus) is received, the fiber shifts, ight falls on the cells SS, and their resist- 97578°—-sm 1910——18 274 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. ance is decreased sufficiently to enable the battery E to actuate the relay R. This closes a local circuit, in which the telectrograph re- ceiver is included, and a mark appears on the paper. In this way a visible record is obtained, which greatly facilitates the process. Wireless phototelegraphy may eventually prove of more utility than the closed-circuit methods, because it would bring America within reach of this country, and would enable communication to be made where telephone or telegraph lines did not exist. It is not limited to photographs—banking signatures, sketches, maps, plans, and writing could be transmitted. But I would point out most par- ticularly that the work is as yet in the very earliest stages, and that in giving you some account of it to-night I may be bringing before your notice methods and systems on which a few years hence you will look back with a smile—as curious merely from a historical point of view. MODERN IDEAS ON THE CONSTITUTION OF MATTER. By JEAN BECQUEREL, Professor at the National Museum of Natural History, Paris. For a number of years past physicists have been laying the foundations of a new theory of matter. A series of bold concep- tions, based on unlooked-for facts, has worked a deep-seated trans- formation in the previously accepted ideas concerning the constitu- tion of bodies. ; Everyone knows that substances in general are divided into two groups, simple bodies or elements and complex bodies made up by the combination of these elements. For a long time these bodies have been considered as composed of atoms which have combined and formed molecules, the atom being the most minute quantity of matter characteristic of an element and capable of entering into chemical combinations, while the molecule of a body, simple or com- plex, is the smallest particle of this body which is capable of exist- ing in a physical state. Let us consider an example: The molecule of water, the smallest quantity of water which can exist in a physical state, is the result of the combination of two atoms of hydrogen with one of oxygen. I shall repeat before you the classic experiment of decomposing water by an electric current; oxygen is set free at the positive pole and hydrogen at the negative pole, the two gases coming off in the proportion of two volumes of hydrogen to one volume of oxygen. The molecule of a complex body is always made up of the atoms of at least two elements. The molecule of an element may be made up of only a single atom, as is the case with monatomic bodies such as helium, zinc, cadmium, or mercury, while in other cases the molecule of a simple body may be a group of several atoms of this body, for instance, hydrogen and oxygen are diatomic, while phos- phorus and arsenic are tetratomic. The discovery of Gay Lussac concerning the laws of the compo- sition of gases led Avogadro and Ampere to declare that gases con- 1Lecture delivered at the Museum, Apr. 10, 1910. Translated by permission from the Revue Scientifique, Paris, 48, No. 14, Oct. 1, 1910. 275 276 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. tained in equal volumes the same number of molecules, and that the definite proportions in which they combined represented the ‘invari- able relation between the weights of the atoms which were in juxta- position. The theory is that in the interior of bodies the constituent mole- cules are perpetually animated by a movement which becomes cor- respondingly greater as the temperature becomes higher. If the swiftness of these thermic movements could be gradually reduced to zero, temperatures would be obtained which would approach more and more closely to the limit of temperature found at about —273° C. This temperature, the lowest conceivable, since it corresponds to a state of repose of the molecules, is called absolute zero. The principles of mechanics which apply to this conception of molecules in movement takes account of all these laws to which gases and dissolved bodies are subjected. I can not enlarge here on the methods which have made it possible to count in a cubic centi- meter of gas at ordinary temperature and pressure, thirty billion billions of molecules, and to evaluate the dimensions of one of these molecules. The diameter of a molecule of oxygen, for example, is a few ten-millionths of a millimeter. These figures give some idea, however, of the extreme divisibility of matter. In connection with this divisibility of matter it is interesting to recall that accord- ing to Berthelot the odor of one hundred-thousand-millionth of a gram of iodoform per cubic centimeter of air is perceptible to the sense of smell. You are all aware that matter attracts matter, in accordance with the universal law of gravitation which rules the movements even of the stars. The invariability of the constant of gravitation has sug- gested the idea that the atoms of all bodies can be formed by the unequal condensation of a single principle and the relations dis- covered by chemists between the different elements lend themselves favorably to this hypothesis. . The idea of a single principle as the ultimate constituent of all things, dates in reality from the most ancient times. Twenty-five centuries ago, Thales propounded the existence of a primordial fiuid to which he attributed a sort of soul and a power of attraction. Anaximander, Anaximines, and Herodotus spoke of a universal prin- ciple, and Pythagoras located above the air “ether, a celestial sub- stance free from all perceptible matter.” Five hundred years before our era Leucippus and Democritus had conceived of atoms indi- visible and eternal which moved about in infinite space; Lucretius a little later expounded similar doctrines. Finally Descartes and Leibnitz developed for themselves an idea of matter which led them to similar conclusions. CONSTITUTION OF MATTER—BECQUEREL. 277 About the end of the last century an English chemist, Prout, pro- pounded the hypothesis that all elements could be made up by the progressive condensation of hydrogen, the lightest of all the bodies. Several years ago, however, modern physicists took a still further step; they now attribute an atomic structure not only to matter, but to electricity as well, and consider matter as composed of electricity. We shall see as a fact that electrified corpuscles have been isolated which themselves appear to be composed of electricity, entirely free from anything that can properly be termed matter, whose mass is of electro-magnetic origin and is nearly two thousand times as small as that of an atom of hydrogen. These atoms of electricity are called electrons. They are present in all bodies; they are the atoms which are at the source of all phe- nomena of light, and again they are those atoms which allow the conduction of heat and of electricity. The electron appears to be in the nature of a universal constituent of matter, without being itself matter, in the ordinary sense of the word. The first conception of an atom of electricity is a result of the phenomenon. of electrolysis, of which you may see an example in the decomposition of acidified water by an electric battery. A solu- tion which is a conductor of electricity and is decomposible by a current is termed an electrolyte. Every molecule of an electrolyte is separable into two atoms or atomic groups, called ions, which possess charges of equal quantity and opposite signs; thus, when sodium chloride is dissolved in water a certain number of molecules dissociate into negative chlorine ions and positive sodium ions. Under the influence of the molecular movements which go to make up heat and consequently from the shocks resulting therefrom there is a constant recombination of the ions and fresh decomposition of the molecules. In a very dilute aqueous solution, however, nearly all the sodium chloride is found to be in a state of dissociation. Now, if two electrodes connected to the poles of a battery are dipped into the solution, the negative ions (chlorine) are carried to the positive pole (anode) and the positive ions (sodium) to the negative pole (cathode). The laws of electrolysis, established by Faraday and worked out completely by Edmond Becquerel have led to the conclusion that all the wnivalent ions, such as hydrogen, chlorine, sodium, and _ potas- sium, always carry the same charge (negative or positive), while the bivalent ions (copper and the like) carry a charge just double the preceding, and so on. The charge of the univalent ion is the smallest charge that has ever been observed, and when separated from its material support constitutes the electron or atom of elec- tricity. 278 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. This elementary charge has been susceptible of measurement. It is easy to evaluate the quantity of electricity necessary to liberate a gram of matter—for example, a gram of hydrogen in the electrol-. ysis of water—and thus to obtain the total charge of the hydrogen ions. These ions correspond to the molecules, and as the number of molecules in a gram of hydrogen is known, the charge carried by a single ion may be determined. This charge is very minute; it amounts to 4.10-*° in terms of the C. G. S. electrostatic unit. The study of the radiations obtained in rarified gases has also been of assistance in making our knowledge of the atom of electricity more definite. When an electric discharge is produced in.a gas by means of a static machine or an induction coil under ordinary pres- sure a disruptive spark is obtained. In a tube where the pressure is reduced the aspect of this spark is changed and when the pressure is not more than a few millionths of an atmosphere (Crookes’s vac- uum) a ray emanating from the cathode (negative pole) may be observed. Whatever may be the position of the anode or positive pole, this cathode ray is emitted perpendicularly to the surface of the cathode and is sent out in a straight line. The glass of the tube where the radiation strikes it takes on a beautiful green fluores- cence. These cathode waves excite phosphorescent bodies* and heat screens placed in their path. These rays emanating from the cathode bear the name of cathode rays. They were discovered in 1869 by Hittorf, and have since been made the subject of study by a great many physicists, among whom are Crookes, J. J. Thomson, Jean Perrin, Marjorana, Lenard, Wien, Villard, and others. Sir William Crookes was the first to propound the hypothesis that they were due to a fourth state of matter, the radiant state, which took shape as a molecular bombardment, as it might be called. This truly remarkable idea met with much in- credulity, as at that period (1880) the tendency of most men of science was to attribute all such phenomena to a vibratory move- ment and not to a flow of matter itself. Many physicists, therefore, considered the cathode rays to be due to undulatory movements analagous to light. This interpretation was soon to be abandoned, however. Later experiments confirmed in the most startling man- ner the ideas of Sir William Crookes, subject only to the qualification that the radiant state was due in the cathode rays not to a bombard- ment of particles of matter, but to a bombardment of electrified cor- puscles which were much smaller than the molecules of known bodies and which were no other, as we shall see later, than negative electrons free from matter. 1 Experiment: A bouquet of phosphorescent material rendered luminous by cathode rays. CONSTITUTION OF MATTER—BECQUEREL. 279 In December, 1895, M. Jean Perrin succeeded in a fundamental experiment. He demonstrated that the cathode rays carried nega- tive electricity, and he charged with negative electricity an insulated cylinder placed in a grounded metallic vessel." Let us consider now some other properties of cathode rays. If they traverse an electric field—that is to say, if they are passed between two electrified metallic plates, one positive and one nega- tive, a pencil of these rays describes a parabola, as would be ex- pected of a stream of corpuscles attracted by the positive plate and repelled by the negative plate. If submitted to the influence of a magnet (magnetic field) the pencil is curved and describes a helix around the lines of force. These two deviations, electrie and magnetic, allow, as Sir J. J. Thomson has shown, the measurement of the velocity of propaga- tion of the corpuscles, as well as the relation between the electric charge carried by a corpuscle and the mass of the corpuscle. Other methods have also led to the estimation of the same quantities with the following result: The velocity of the cathode corpuscles varies, according to the conditions of the experiment, between 380,000 and 100,000 kilometers per second. The ratio of the mass to the charge is 2,000 times as small as that of the hydrogen ion in electrolysis. This ratio is always the same whatever the electrodes or the rarified gas in the tube happen to be. Here is a first important experimental result. At the same time that these researches were being carried on, experi- ments were being made on radioactive bodies, whose study has led to conclusions of at least equal importance. You all know that certain bodies possess the property, discovered in February, 1896, by Henri Becquerel, of spontaneously giving out radiations of various sorts without any energy being furnished to them. The electrified particles emanating from these bodies ionize the air—that is to say, by tearing electrified corpuscles away from the molecules of gas and surrounding these corpuscles with neutral molecules, they cause the formation of electrical nuclei which render the air electrically conductive? It is on account of this fact that these rays discharge electrified bodies. Of the three varieties of rays which emanate from radioactive bodies, one group, the B rays, are charged with negative electricity and are formed of corpuscles identical with the cathode corpuscles, which may be determined by measuring their deviation in an electric field and in a magnetic field. Henri Becquerel has shown that 1 Experiment: Deviation by a magnet of a sheaf of cathode rays determined by an opening made in a screen placed a few centimeters in front of the cathode. 2 Experiments: (1) Discharge of an electroscope by the radiations emanating from a radium salt. (2) Increase of the discharge distance of a spark in the vicinity of radium. 280 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. as long as their velocity does not approach too closely the velocity of light, the value of the ratio of the charge to the mass of each corpuscle is just the same as that of the cathode rays. Again, these same corpuscles are given out by incandescent metals, and liberated by the action of ultra-violet light or of the X rays on metals. In all these manifestations of the phenomenon the same ratio of charge to mass is found. I can not describe here the remarkable methods due to the work of Messrs. J. J. Thomson, Townsend, and H. A. Wilson, which have made it possible to measure the charge of a cathode corpuscle; I will only indicate the principle on which they are based. When ions are formed in the air—we now call all electrified centers ions— they condense water vapor out of a supersaturated atmosphere and each electrified particle forms the nucleus of a particle of con- densed water.t.| The velocity of the fall of these particles allows the calculation of their size, and by evaluating the total quantity of con- densed water the number of particles can thus be determined and therefore the number of ions. Furthermore the quantity of elec- tricity carried down by the mist formed can be measured and from that the charge of each ion can be calculated, since their number is known. The result is a fundamental one; cathode corpuscles and gaseous ions carry the same charge as an atom of hydrogen in electrolysis, and yet their mass is two thousand times as small as that of an atom of hydrogen. As a necessary conclusion, therefore, it follows that the cathode corpuscles, the B rays, carry an atom of negative electricity and possess a mass two thousand times as small as the lightest of known material atoms. We have just seen how our knowledge of negative electrons is a result of the study of electric phenomena and of radioactivity. In an entirely different branch of physics, however, in the field of optics, the theory of electrons has found an extremely remarkable confirmation. The theory of Fresnel and the results derived from the experi- ments of Foucault and Young have established the fact that lght is a vibratory movement, and that consequently there exists a medium of such a nature as to transmit the luminous waves. This medium has been called ethev. It is known by the properties of the movements which are capable of being produced and propagated in it; it exists everywhere—in the interior of matter as well as in spaces free from matter, such as a vacuum. 1 Experiment: A spark is discharged in the inside of a tube to produce ions; as soon as the air is cooled by expansion so that it is supersaturated, a heavy mist forms about the ions. CONSTITUTION OF MATTER—BECQUEREL. 281 Maxwell and Hertz have demenstrated that the phenomena of ‘light are nothing more than a particular manifestation of the elec- tromagnetic phenomena such as induction, hertzian waves, etc., which may be produced in the ether. Everyone is familiar with the decomposition of white hght by a prism resulting in the formation of a spectrum in which the colors spread out as in a rainbow. When the hght produced by an incan- descent gas is analyzed with the aid of a spectroscope, the observer sees a number of separate brilliant lines. These emédsston lines are asa matter of fact images of the sht through which the hght passes before falling on the prism which separates the radiations of differ- ent colors. These brilliant lines can be transformed into dark absorption lines when a vapor is traversed by a continuous ray of white light; the black lines then indicate the arrested colors. Dif- ferent bodies in a solid state or in solution likewise show character- istic absorption spectra.’ The existence of these emission and absorption spectra, and more generally the fact of all the changes undergone by light waves in a body whether at rest or in movement, shows the intervention of mat- ter in the phenomena of which ether is the seat. In order to explain the reciprocal effect of ether and ponderable matter Lorentz con- ceived the idea that light phenomena had their origin in the move- ments of electric charges inclosed in the atom, A remarkable dis- covery made in 1896 by Zeeman added to the strength of Lorentz’s views. Zeeman discovered that under the action of an intense magnetic field the spectrum lines of a gas are decomposed into several com- ponents, and that these component lines indicate that the movement of the corpuscles is polarized—that is to say, oriented, by a magnet. Thus, just as in the case of cathode corpuscles, the corpuscles which produce or absorb light may have their movements modified by a magnet. It is consequently certain that they are electrified. In the simplest case, where the lines of force of the magnet are parallel to the luminous line, each line is decomposed into a double ray whose components correspond to two vibratory e7reular move- ments of the corpuscles in opposite directions.* According to the theory of Lorentz the amount of separation of the components allows the calculation of the ratio of the charge to the mass of the corpuscles, and the direction in which a magnetic field of determined direction displaces the components corresponding to the circular vibrations, indicates the sign of the electric charge effecting the movement. 1 Experiment: Emission spectrum of an electric are and absorption spectrum of nitrate of didymium. 2 Projection of a slide representing Zeeman’s effect on several of the iron lines (spark spectrum). 282 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. The application of this theory to experimental results has shown that emission and absorption in the spectra of gases and vapors are’ caused by corpuscles identical with the cathode corpuscles; in. other words, by negative electrons. Since the discovery of Zeeman numerous experimental and _ theo- retical researches have been carried out with regard to this phe- nomenon which have thrown a new light on the mechanism of emis- sion and absorption. The action of magnetism on the absorption of light has been observed in our laboratory with solid bodies, crystals, and minerals, and experiments have been made at temperatures as low as the solidification of hydrogen (—259°). We shall touch further on upon the novel and unexpected results which attended these re- searches. From the foregoing observation, therefore, we find the electron at the very source of all phenomena of light. According to modern theories the transmission of heat and electricity in metals and also the sound and color of metals are explained by the movements of elec- trons circulating freely among the molecules. These numerous facts, of which I have given you a résumé, establish the idea that the nega- tive electron which appears in a way tangibly in the £ rays is a uni- versal constituent of matter. We must now take up a vital question: What is the nature of the electrified corpuscle? Is it composed of matter or is it made up of some other essence? Present-day physics seems to have partially solved this problem. Let us consider an electrified body: In the first place such a body possesses a material mass, in the mechanical sense of the word mass; that is, the ratio of the force acting on the body to the acceleration which it gives that body; secondly, by reason of the fact that the body is electrified, it possesses another mass of electromagnetic origin; as a matter of fact, if it is in movement, it constitutes an element of the current which is flowing. Now, then, every modification in the intensity and direction of the current—that is to say, in the value or direction of the velocity— brings energy into play and gives rise to an effect of induction in the ether. This induction, which opposes every change in direction or intensity (Lenz’s law), is a true inertia of electric origin. It is therefore evident that the electrified body has two masses, its mate- rial mass and the electromagnetic mass of the charge which it carries. Now, it has been demonstrated that electromagnetic inertia should depend on velocity; that it should remain practically constant if the velocity does not reach a considerable figure (less than 100,000 kilo- meters per second), but that it should increase and approach infinity CONSTITUTION. OF MATTER—BECQUEREL. 983 when the velocity approaches the velocity of lght (300,000 kilo- meters per second). We have seen that it is possible to measure the velocity as well as the ratio of charge to mass in the @ particles of radium. These B rays form a sheaf of corpuscles which have very different velocities and certain of them attain velocities closely approaching that of light. We understand also that the greater the velocity the smaller the ratio of the charge to the mass; that is to say, inasmuch as the charge can not vary, the greater the mass becomes. This, to be sure, is just what we should expect, and the law of variation of the total mass in terms of the velocity should indicate the relative parts of the two masses in the total mass. . The result is surprising; the variation of the total mass is the same as if the electromagnetic mass existed alone, consequently the material mass appears to be zero. In other words, the electron is _mnade up of electricity free from any material support, and is a modi- fication, still unidentified in other ways—perhaps of a whirling na- ture—of the medium which we call the ether. Thus we find that the electron is a particular condition of the ether; it has a little the nature of matter in that it possesses mass, which is one of the fundamental properties of matter, nevertheless it is not material in the sense which has heretofore been attributed to the word, since its inertia is merely the inertia of the ether. To sum up, we may picture the electron as an intermediate state between the ether and ponderable matter. The mass of the negative electron at low speeds is 0.5107 gram.1 Assuming it to be spherical its radius can be calculated, its mass and charge being known. ‘This is found to be 10-** centimeter. Up to the last few years physicists were always driven to seek a mechanical explanation of physical phenomena. It is due to this, for instance, that Fresnel originated a mechanical theory of light. Such an attempt was very natural, since mechanical phenomena fall under our observation every day and are much more familiar to us than electrical phenomena. Nevertheless, although according to the theory of Maxwell a mechanical explanation, or speaking more exactly an infinite num- ber of mechanical explanations of electromagnetic phenomena, are possible, still no satisfactory interpretation has been obtained in this manner, and the ether has appeared to be very different from the bodies of which we have knowledge. In view of the data which have now been acquired, however, men of science have decided not only to search no longer for a mechan- ical explanation of electromagnetism, but to formulate an electrical 1 gsoDdDDODDDODIOOODDDODOODOOOD Blam. 984 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. theory of the formation of matter and of mechanical phenomena. It is evident that all the facts which we have just reviewed lead logically to this point of view. We find that a corpuscle which appears to be nothing but electricity has been isolated from matter, and that the mass of this electron is entirely of electromagnetic origin. We are therefore forced to take electricity as a point of departure in building up a theory of physical phenomena, and even of matter itself. If matter is made up of an assemblage of electrons, its inertia is entirely of electromagnetic origin; and it is the ether which sur- rounds each of these electrons and not the matter itself which is the seat of all energy. I do not wish to go as far as to say that there is no such thing as latter; this merely signifies that it is not well to depend entirely on appearances, and that it is necessary to view matter in a different hght from which it has been viewed up to the last few years. If the inertia of matter is electromagnetic, the mass of bodies de- pends on their velocity, yet this result from an absolute point of view is contrary to one of the principles on which mechanics are based. It would be well to notice, however, that the problems treated in mechanics are all identified with a particular phase, where the ve- locity is small in comparison with that of light. This is the case not only in all velocities realized on the earth, but also in all velocities in which the stars are concerned. Under such conditions the mass can be considered as practically constant, and nothing in the me- chanics of the past need be affected. Persons who are not sufficiently familiar with the ideas which have just been reviewed often object that electricity still remains a mystery and the new theories rest on an unknown basis. That is very true; we are ignorant of the primary cause of electricity and we compre- hend but slightly certain properties of the ether. But in the me- chanical theories of the past, is not the word matter wrapped in mystery just as profound? Is the meaning of the word mass any clearer when we speak of a material mass? Is not the origin of matter when considered as independent of the ether still more ob- secure than that of electricity which appears to us to be a modification of ether itself? In any case the electrical theory of matter presents the advantage of simplicity, for it tends toward the unification of all the phenom- ena which are bound up in the manifestations of a single medium, the ether. The electron, which is at the same time ether and matter, serves as a transition means between the ether of space and the matter which is apparent to us. The object of electrical theories of matter should be to investigate how the atoms of elements can be made up of an assemblage of CONSTITUTION OF MATTER——BECQUEREL. 985 electrons. But present day physics, in’ spite of the good results which have been attained, is still far from affording a representa- tion of an atom of matter. We have just seen that physics has attained a rather complete knowledge of one constituent of matter, namely, the negative elec- tron, and that the new ideas are based on the properties of this cor- puscle. Now does there exist a positive electron, beside this negative electron? It is evidently necessary that positive charges be present somewhere in matter, but have they an atomic structure like the negative charges, or are they ofan entirely different nature? In the discharges through media of rarefied gases and in the emission of radioactive bodies, besides the negative rays, rays car- rying positive charges are found, but these positive rays seem to be in general entirely different from the former. When holes are pierced in the cathode of a Crookes tube, one may observe behind the cathode sheafs of rays which have passed through each one of the orifices formed, and which are propagated in a direc- tion inverse to the cathode rays. These are the canalstrahlen dis- covered by M. Goldstein. These rays are positively charged, and, rather remarkably, whatever the gas in the tube may be, the meas- urement of the ratio of the charge to the mass reveals only two sorts of corpuscles (J. J. Thomson) some corresponding to the atom of hydrogen carrying an elementary charge, and others corresponding to the atom of helium and carrying a double charge. It is these last corpuscles which, in the emission of radium and all radioactive bodies, form the a rays. Rutherford has demonstrated by some magnificant experiments that these @ rays are made up of atoms of helium. Lastly, there are other positive rays (anode rays) emitted by sub- stances placed at the positive pole of a Crookes tube, which are no other than material atoms which have lost their negative electrons (Gehrke and Reichenheim). It may be seen, therefore, that the positive rays are quite different from the negative rays; they form a stream of electrified matter and are made up, not of electrons, but of ions, material atoms deprived of one or more negative electrons. These atoms are of a mass at least equal to that of a positive ion of hydrogen, that is to say, an atom of hydrogen charged positively in consequence of the loss of a negative electron. Ina word, the positive particles are the remais of atoms. Because these positive charges remain in such a way affixed to particles of matter, many men of science have not admitted the existence of a positive electron similar to the negative electron. Some have even thought that there is no positive electron and that matter itself has an existence independent of electrons, that the union 286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. of matter and negative electrons would give atoms electrically neu- tral, and that the positive charges would result only from the absence of negative electrons; this view of the case, however, a view which is intermediate between the old and the new ideas, loses all the ad- vantages of simplicity and unification resulting from the modern: conceptions, which attributes everything to the ether. A vital factor in these considerations must be noted in the emana- tion of helium in the form of X rays from all radioactive bodies, and it must not be forgotten that Sir J. J. Thomson has found these same X rays in the canalstrahlen tubes. The helium ion can not, however, be the positive electron because there exists a material atom, that of hydrogen, which possesses a smaller mass; still the atom of helium presents a grouping of very great stability. Whether it is formed in the preceding phenomena by the direct combination of negative electrons with positive electrons freed at just that instant, or whether it appears as a primordial grouping in the constitution of the atoms of most of the elements are questions which can not at present be answered. In the canalstrahlen particles characteristic of the hydrogen ion are also found. We can go back to the ideas of Prout and suppose that this ion is nothing else than the positive electron. It would be necessary to know, then, whether its mass is purely electromagnetic. If this is so, the positive electron would have a mass 2,000 times that of the negative electron, and the atom of hydrogen would be the result of the union of a single positive electron with a single negative electron. Still another hypothesis has been proposed; some physicists who have found great difficulty in explaining the properties of metals by means of negative electrons alone have imagined the existence of two sorts of electrons differing only in the sign of their charges. I should like to say a few words here about some quite recent ex- periments made in our laboratory, for which there has been found no simple explanation in the idea of negative electrons, but which could be interpreted in a simpler way if there were positive electrons in the make-up of bodies. These experiments had to do with the action of a magnetic field on the absorption bands of crystals and of certain dissolved salts. The change of period produced by the magnetic field took place in certain bands in the direction which would correspond to negative electrons, but manifested itself in the opposite direction with other bands. | The size of the change of period which is absolutely independent of changes of temperature (as far as —259°) appears to be characteristic of a vibrant system. All these phenomena seem to indicate that. cer- tain of these systems may contain positive electrons." 1Projection of a slide showing this phenomenon in a group of fenae of er oreane at — 259°. CONSTITUTION OF MATTER—BECQUEREL. 287 Other experiments on discharges in very rarefied gases made first by M. Lilienfeld and then in another form in our laboratory have resulted in obtaining positive rays which may be interpreted by sup- posing the existence of free positive electrons, but other interpreta- tions have been opposed to this hypothesis, and further researches in this direction must be made. It is therefore possible that there exists a positive electron of the same nature as the negative electron. I say “of the same nature” and not “identical,” because the dissimilarity between the phenomena presented by the two electricities renders it probable that there is a difference between the two electrons. If the two sorts of electrons do exist, according to our experiments they should have the same ratio of charge to mass, but their masses as well as their charges may be very different. One fact is certain in any case, and this is that the positive electrons if they exist, are very tightly bound to the atoms of matter. They only reveal themselves in magneto-optic phenomena, where the physicist carries his investigations to the very foundation of the atom without breaking it up, or in the interior of tubes of rarefied gases under very special conditions where positive ions are broken up by the shock of the cathode particles acting in the capacity of projectiles. We can see from this how much the ideas on the nature of positive charges have been modified. Yet whatever the positive electron may be, its nature must be known as well as the negative electron before it is conceivable to understand the structure of an atom of matter. Nevertheless there are two very interesting systems of explanation which have been developed. Some physicists have conceived the idea that at the center of the atom is a positive charge around which the negative atoms gravitate lke planets around the sun. But this hypothesis meets with grave difficulties which I can not set forth here. I think that one should not allow himself to be led astray by the seductive idea of a similarity between the world of the infinitely small and the world of the infinitely great and it seems to me that a group of atoms is in no way comparable to the world of matter. The system most generally adopted to-day is as follows: It is imagined that there is a positive charge uniformly distributed over a sphere in the interior of which are situated the negative electrons. The positive charge is equal to the sum of the charges of the negative electrons. The positive electricity tends to draw the corpuscles to the center of the sphere but the mutual repulsion of the negative electrons drives them away from this point and they take up a position of equilibrium and group themselves regularly about the center. By a simple experiment due to Prof. Mayer, we can reproduce a similar grouping. If we take a number of small steel needles iden- 288 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. tical with each other and equally magnetized and stick these needles into corks which float on the surface of a tub of water, they will repel each other mutually in the same way as the negative electrons would do and in accordance with the same law. The force to group them is derived from the pole of a large magnet placed above the tub, the needles are attracted toward a point situated vertically below the pole and for each one the horizontal component of the force of attraction is evidently proportional to its distance from this point. The conditions imagined for the electrons are thus realized by the needles, the only difference being that the grouping takes place not in three dimensions, but in a plane. Let us brilliantly illuminate the tops of the corks and project their images on a screen. You can see in this way the representa- tion of this equilibrium. You can imagine that the brilliant spots on the screen represent mobile electrons in the interior of a great positive sphere. It can be seen that these electrons are regularly arranged around a center forming, according to their number, one or more concentric rings. Sir J. J. Thomson has worked out, with the aid of calculus, the positions of equilibrium which the electrons may assume in greater or less numbers, and has succeeded in explaining in this way the periodic classification of elements discovered by Mendelejeff. It should be noted, moreover, that this way of looking at the constitu+ tion of the atom takes account of the phenomena of light. It is im- possible, however, to form any idea of the constitution of the sphere over which the positive electricity is supposed to be distributed. Other conceptions can be imagined, and the field for hypothesis will be unlimited as long as positive electricity remains as mys- ierious as it is now. It can even be said that the adoption of this or that system of explanation is hardly more than a matter of pref- erence. In any case, however, it is certain that the atom is of considerable dimensions in comparison with the negative electron. The volume of an atom is sufficient to contain billions on billions of electrons, but as its mass indicates that it contains at most a few thousands, it is certain that the electrons are at enormous distances from each other in comparison with their dimensions. We might liken them to a swarm of gnats gravitating about in the dome of a cathedral. In spite of our ignorance of the nature of positive electricity, however, the facts acquired in the last 20 years render extremely probable the hypothesis that the constitution of matter is purely electrical. But, then, as all substances are made up of electric charges, the atom of matter can no longer be considered as immu- table, and one may say without being an alchemist that the trans- mutation of matter is not a Utopian idea, CONSTITUTION OF MATTER—BECQUEREL. 289 Such ideas as these, whose boldness needs no remark, have already been confirmed in a remarkable manner. Radium gives birth to a gas called the emanation of radium. Messrs. Ramsay and Soddy have shown that this emanation produces helium. Rutherford has proved that the @ rays of radioactive bodies are nothing more nor less than atoms of helium. Moureau has recognized the presence of helium in radioactive gases from thermal sources. We know to-day that radioactive substances undergo an evolution in which there appears a whole series of more or less ephemeral bodies whose duration of existence may be as small as-a few days, or even a few seconds, as in the case of the emanation of actinium. All these bodies are new elements. These transformations are veritable transmutations. They are not chemical decompositions. They appear to be independent of tempera- ture; they bring into play a considerable amount of energy; for instance, the emanation of radium is, as a matter of fact, capable of setting free 2,500,000 times as much energy as the explosion of a mix- ture of hydrogen and oxygen of equal volume. Radium and polonium form part of the series of elements deriving their origin from uranium, and it is very probable that in addition to helium the relatively stable residue of these transformations is nothing other than lead. Sir William Ramsay at present is carrying out some remarkable experiments. He has announced the transmutation of copper into potassium, sodium, and helium under the action of the concentrated energy which the radium emanation brings to bear on them. In some recent experiments, which appear to be beyond criticism, he has at- tained the transmutation into carbon of silicon, titanium, zirconium, lead, and thorium. All these bodies belong in the same column in Mendelejeft’s table. These results show the possibility of a transformation of heavy atoms into more simple atoms; that is to say, the possibility of a degradation of elements. It is impossible to imagine for an instant, however, the possibility of realizing the inverse transformation, for example, of copper into gold. Such a transmutation would unques- tionably require a colossal amount of energy, and we have as yet no means of disposing of the intra-atomic energy, of which our only knowledge is that it is considerable. It is probable that all matter is undergoing a process of evolution. The slowness of the transformation, however, or the rarity of con- ditions favorable te quick change gives us an illusion of stability. A while ago I recalled several very ancient theories; we know of nothing to-day that contradicts them. Four principal ideas may be derived from these theories, the conception of the atom, the existence 97578°—sm 1910——19 290 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. of internal movement, the relation between these movements and the properties of the magnet, and the possibility of transmutation. These ideas we are always calling to our aid in practical work. I may quote here a few lines of Lucretius which are truly prophetic: “Versibus ostendi corpuscula materiai Ex infinito summam rerum usque tenere Undique protelo plagarum continuato.” (The corpuscles, the elements, of matter shall preserve for all eternity and everywhere the uniformity of things by a series of ever-continued blows.) “ Fit quoque ut hue veniant in coelum extrinsecus illa Corpora quae facient nubes nimbosques volantes.” (It may happen that hither from the worlds beyond may come those bodies which form the mists and the flying clouds.) According to Lucretius these corpuscles are innumerable and traverse rapidly inexpressible distances, so that you may recognize in these citations the principal properties which we attribute to-day to electrified corpuscles. However, if certain of these ideas which have just been expounded have inspired philosophers and savants of all ages from antiquity to the present day, still, the idea that electricity can give birth to matter is entirely modern and is due to the discoveries of radio- activity (February, 1896), of the Zeeman phenomenon (August, 1896), and of the nature of cathode rays (1895-1897). Between the assertions of the ancient philosophers and those of our day there exists a profound difference. The former were never sub- jected to any experimental confirmation; they were merely concep- tions of the imagination and their value is limited by the errors which they included. The latter, however, can be justified by experiments which brook no contradiction and by reason of this confirmation carry conviction with them. SOME MODERN DEVELOPMENTS IN METHODS OF TEST- ING EXPLOSIVES." [With 12 plates.] By CHARLES HH. MUNROE, Professor of Chemistry, George Washington University. As has previously been pointed out in these pages, the greater pro- portion and the larger variety of the explosives that are annually produced are consumed in the industries, and a very considerable pro- portion of these are consumed in the winning of coal. As is well known, this most important industry is attended by many hazards, not the least of which is the constant danger of explosions owing to the presence of fire damp and inflammable dust in these mines. Most serious accidents from these causes, which have been attended with frightful casualties, have frequently occurred, and their frequency and magnitude have increased as the demand for coal has increased until the public conscience has been aroused and efforts have been made by individuals and by governments to devise means by which to reduce the number of these explosions and limit their scope. Consideration of the conditions attending such of these catas- trophies as were carefully investigated made it evident that many of these mine explosions have been initiated by the explosives used in the mines, and therefore the behavior of a large variety of explosive compositions, when fired in dusty and fiery atmospheres, have been studied experimentally with a view to selecting from among them those which, while capable of doing the work required of them effli- ciently at a reasonable cost, and while possessing such qualities as to render them reasonably safe in transportation, storage, and use, were least liable to ignite the fire damp, or coal-dust-air mixture, or mine- gas-coal-dust-air mixture found in mines. For this purpose it became necessary to have a chamber in which the gas and dust could be introduced, and the explosive fired, at will, and all the conditions of the experimental trials be known and under 1Reprinted by permission from the United States Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 36, No. 3, whole No. 135. Copyright, 1910, by Philip R. Alger, secretary and treasurer United States Naval Institute. 291 292 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. control. Beginning some 30 years ago, many kinds of chambers have been employed, from one made of boiler iron mounted on wheels used at Zwickau, Germany; an abandoned mine tunnel used at Rossitz, Austria; a wooden gallery used at Frameries, Belgium; a concrete gallery used at Lievin, France; to metal galleries as used at Wool- wich, England, and Pittsburg, United States. This last is one of the most modern of these testing galleries, it having been erected on the arsenal grounds by the technologic branch of the United States Geo- logical Survey in 1908, and as it was designed after careful study of the characteristics of different galleries abroad it may be regarded as representing the latest type of testing chamber. This chamber, which is styled gas and dust gallery No. 1, is shown in plate 1. It consists of a cylinder 100 feet in length and 64 feet in diameter, which is built of boiler-plate steel, in five divisions, each consisting of three sections 63 feet long. The gallery is closed at one end by a concrete head. The different sections of the gallery are for convenience 1n operation numbered consecutively from 1 to 15, be- ginning with the section nearest the concrete head. Sections Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are made of one-half inch plates, the remaining sections of three-eighths inch plates, and all of steel having a tensile strength of not less than 55,000 pounds to the square inch. The sections are held together by lap joints, at each of which there is on the interior of the gallery a ring, formed of 24-inch angle iron, upon the face of which paper diaphragms may be so secured as to partition off any desired portion of the gallery at will, and thus provide a closed space of any desired volume, within the capacity of the gallery, in which to inclose the gas-air, coal-dust-air, or gas-coal-dust-air mixture to be used in the test. Each section is provided with a pressure-release door placed cen- trally on top, which not only provides a vent by which the gases may immediately escape after the explosion, and thus acts as a safety valve to prevent the destruction of the gallery, but also affords an ap- proximate means of estimating the pressures developed. Each door closes on a rubber gasket and is provided with a rubber bumper on its back to prevent injury when thrown open violently. In use each door may be left open, or closed but not fastened, or closed and fastened, as seems best under the experimental conditions which obtain. Each section is provided with a stout plate-glass window placed in the center of the section on the operating side of the gallery through which the progress of any flame produced in the gallery may be viewed and noted, while an indicator cock, tapped into the central section, provides a means by which samples of the mixtures in the gallery may be taken for analysis. The gallery is so connected with the natural-gas supply used in Pittsburg that it may be filled with gas at will, and the quantity "NOILVLS DNILSAL OYNASLLId ‘lL ‘ON ‘AYaTIV5 LSNG GNV sv5 “~ SLV1d ‘BOIUNIN—'OL6L ‘Hoday ueiuosyyiWS Pevalel "AYA TIVS JO HLNOW LV SAGVOINeVg *a0JUN|J—'01 61 ‘Oday uRlUOsY}IWS ‘uly GNV LSNG 1VOO 4O 3YNLXII) V 4O NOISOTdXA Saws : i ‘aouUN|J—'0 161 ‘Hodey ueluosyziWws ‘WOOY NOILVAYASEO < NSN tcc ms — “p ALV1d *QOJUNIN— 016] ‘Hoday uelUuOsY}IWUS METHODS OF TESTING EXPLOSIVES—-MUNROE. 293 charged is measured by a meter which can be read to one-twentieth of a cubic foot. The air and gas are mixed by means of circulating systems exterior to the gallery, operated by monogram exhausters. The circulating system for the first division is stationary and includes steam heating coils by which to bring the mixture in the gallery to a constant temperature. The remaining divisions of the gallery are served by a portable device. When coal dust is to be used it is spread on a series of shelves, 20 feet long by 4 inches in width, lining the gallery, there being four of these on each side, and in addition upon a steel trestle, having a surface 20 feet by 12 inches, which is placed for that purpose in the first section of the gallery when coal dust is to be used. This dust is always freshly ground from lump coal to 100 mesh in fineness just before using. In addition the gallery is provided with a humidifying apparatus provided with a Koerting exhauster, having a capacity of 240,000 cubic feet of free air per hour, by which the effect of moisture in preventing the propagation of explosions may be quantitatively ascertained. The explosives to be tested may be suspended in the chamber and fired in the prepared atmosphere, and this method has been pursued at some stations, but the regular practice at the Pittsburg testing station is to fire the charge in a special “ cannon,” as this more nearly simulates the conditions in mining where the charge is fired in a bore hole in coal or rock. These “cannon” are cylinders 24 inches in diameter by 36 inches in length, with bore holes 2+ inches in diameter by 214 inches in depth. The simplest of them have been made in one piece from a low-carbon steel or nickel-steel forging. Others have been built up from centrally perforated jackets of cast steel, vanadium steel or other iron alloy, and a liner of nickel steel or other metals or alloys. In repairing, after erosion, the liner has been formed by the thermite process. No definite conclusions have yet been reached as to the relative merits of the different forms of construction. These “cannon” are shown in the right foreground of plates 2 and 4 and in the center of plate 6, figure 1. The “ cannon” is embedded in the concrete head of the gallery and is so laid that its axial line coincides with the axial line of the gallery. The “cannon” is loaded from within the gallery, but the charges are fired by electric detonators for high explosives and electric igniters for explosives of the gunpowder class, the firing machine being located in an observation room 60 feet distant from the gallery. The larger part of the explosives tested are detonated, and they are fired both stemmed and unstemmed into the sensitive mixtures. As when the explosive mixtures in the gallery are fired the blast from the mouth of the gallery is very destructive in its effects, two 294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. concrete barricades are erected on each side of the mouth of the gallery, and a thick iron plate is so suspended on a frame across, but at a distance of 50 feet from, the mouth of the gallery, that it may so swing as to deflect the blast and arrest any flying stemming or other material which may be blown out of the gallery. This arrangement is shown in plate 2, which also shows the reenforced-concrete founda- tion in which the gallery is set and specimens of the “ cannon” used. The violence of the gallery explosions initiated by the charges of explosive used may be judged from plate 3, which is a photograph of an explosion of a coal-dust-air mixture. The observation room from which the charge is fired and the visible phenomena occurring in the gallery observed is shown in plate 4. This room is 40 feet long by 9 feet 5 inches wide, built with brick walls 18 inches thick, and provided with a heavy plate-glass window, 37 feet long by 6 inches wide, which is protected by two pro- jecting wooden guards. This room with its window is made so large in size that it may not only provide a large field of sight, but that it may accommodate a considerable number of persons, for the station is designed to be educational as well as experimental, and coal miners are brought there in large numbers to be convinced by experimental demonstrations of the accidents that may arise unless they use the explosives recommended by the station, and use them in the pre- scribed manner and amount. Prior to testing the explosives in the gallery, which is both costly and time consuming, they are subjected to other tests which may show them to possess such characteristics as to render them unfit for use and render the gallery test unnecessary. Thus they are inspected physically and analyzed chemically, and an admirably equipped and well-manned laboratory is provided for this purpose. Among other tests, the gravimetric density of the material, in the original package in which it would be used in the mine, is determined by the aid of dry sand as the mobile medium, and this density is carefully pre- served in those tests in which density is a factor. One of the first tests to be made is the determination of what is styled the “ unit-disruptive charge,” which is ascertained by the aid of the ballistic pendulum shown in plate 5. This apparatus consists essentially of two parts—the “ cannon,” in which the charge is fired, and the pendulum, which receives the impact of the products of the explosion, and that of the stemming when the latter is used. The “cannon” is identical in form, construction, and proportions with those used in the gallery. It is mounted on a four-wheeled truck, to which it is made fast by straps and rods. The truck runs on a 30-inch track which is provided with a recoil bumper placed 9 feet from the face of the pendulum mortar. The “cannon” is carefully placed axially in line with the pendulum mortar. “ANINGNAd DLSITIVG "Gg 3ALV1d ‘QOIUNIN—O161 ‘HOdey uejuosy}IWS "9 Alv1d tr Pr ‘1Sa M001g dvaq IVS ‘gS "ISS IZAVYL "1 Mer... *aOIUN|I—'0161 ‘HOday uRlUOSY}IWS METHODS OF TESTING EXPLOSIVES—MUNROE. 995 The pendulum consists of a 12.2-inch Army mortar, weighing 31,600 pounds, which rests in a stirrup made of two 14-inch machine- steel rods bent in a U shape. The ends of these rods pass through a solid-steel supporting beam and are held fast to it by cast-steel saddles fitting over the beam. This beam is provided with two nickel-steel knife-edges countersunk in its lower face, which rests on bearing plates provided with small groves that permit of the knife- edges being kept in oil, so as to be protected from the weather. The bearing plates rest on base plates which are anchored to the concrete piers between which the pendulum mortar swings. The conerete piers are each 51 by 120 inches in dimension at their bases and 139 inches high. The outside walls taper, while the inside walls are vertical, and there is a clearance of 60 inches between these piers. Exe OSiVvVE 1. FLAMES FROM EXPLOSIVES. 2. X-RAY PHOTO OF FUSE. METHODS OF TESTING EXPLOSIVES—MUNROE. 305 (T) where a sharp line is formed by the effects of the detonation itself, and the lead. is often broken through at this point. The distance from (M) to (T) is accurately measured and designated as (0). If the two ends of the fuse are detonated simultaneously (M) and (T) fall together; that is, the detonation pro- ceeds at the same rate through the two halves of the fuse and meets at the mid- dle, but when a certain length of an explosive is placed in the circuit we have on one side one-half the length of the fuse and on the other side one-half the length of the fuse plus a certain measured length of explosive. We have thus, letting— X=Velocity of detonation of the explosive tested. V=Known velocity of the fuse (6,000 meters per second). A=Distance between two ends of fuse, or length of explosive tested. b=Distance between M and T. Then,— LLViA i 6000 A. eS Te As to the accuracy of the test, it was found that by using the fuse alone (M) and (T) always coincided to within one-eighth of an inch (5 millimeters). It is easily seen that errors in measurement will be diminished by increase in the length of explosive tested, and it can be calculated, with velocities of 4,000 to 6,000 meters per second, using 15 inches (38 centimeters) of powder, that an error of one-fourth of an inch (6 millimeters) in measurement of the dis- tance (M) to (T), which is a very large one under the conditions, introduces an error in the determination of the velocity of about 5 per cent. Comey and his associates have tested this method quite fully at the eastern laboratory of the Du Pont Powder Co., and have found that it gives not only a ready and accurate means of determining the velocity of detonation through a column of any desired length of explosive, but that it is also possible by this method to determine — the velocity with which a detonation wave travels through the air. It is obvious that the fiame-giving qualities of an explosive plays a most important part in its lability to ignite fire damp and other combustible mixtures, and that, all other conditions being equal, that explosive which gives the shortest flame for the briefest time is most suitable for use. Hence latterly much attention has been given to the study of the flames from explosives, and many devices have been constructed by which to photograph them. Among these is the one employed at the Pittsburg testing station, where the flame is photographed on a moving film. The charge of explosive is fired from a “cannon” of the type used in the gallery tests by means of an electric detonator or igniter, but in this test the “cannon” is mounted vertically in a concrete foundation at a distance of about 18 feet from the lens of the camera. To cut off extraneous light rays, so that the tests may be made at any time, the “cannon” is inclosed in an iron cylinder 20 feet in height and 43 inches in diameter, which is connected with the dark room by a light-tight iron conduit, as shown in plate 11, The cylinder, or 97578°—sm 1910——20 306 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSZITUTION, 1910. stack, is provided with a door in the side, through which the “ can- non” can be loaded, and with a vertical slit 8 feet in length by 2 inches in width, which is so placed that its vertical center coincides with that of the conduit and also with that of the lens by which it is viewed. At the time of firing the top of the stack is covered with black paper. The conduit is closed at the point where it ends in the wall of the dark room by a shutter. The camera consists of a drum on which the sensitized film is mounted, an electric motor by which the drum is revolved at a known rate, a quartz lens, a semicircular shield in which a stenopaic slit has been cut, and a shutter by which to control the slit in the shield. AIL of these except the motor are inclosed in a light-tight box. The semicircular shield is placed close to and concentric with the drum to prevent any light reaching the film except that passing through the stenopaic slit. A lens of quartz is used because it focuses not only the visible ight rays, but also those invisible violet rays which occur to a large extent in the flames from explosives. By means of a tachometer both the number of revolutions per minute of the motor and the peripheral speed of the drum are directly read off. The maximum peripheral speed of the drum is 20 meters per second, and this rate is employed when detonating ex- plosives are tested, but with slow-burning explosives the drum is run at a slower rate. At the 20-meter rate 1 millimeter width of flame equals 0.05 millisecond of time, and as the measurements of the flame photographs are read to the nearest quarter of a millimeter the smallest time interval measured is the 0.0125 millisecond. The charge of explosive used in the test is 100 grams, and these charges are fired both with and without stemming. The result of this test on black blasting powder and on a permis- sible explosive are shown in plate 12, figure 1. By the term “ per- missible explosive” is meant an explosive which has satisfactorily passed all the prescribed tests at the Pittsburg testing station and is regarded as suitable for use in coal mines. One of the most novel of modern tests is that devised by J. Thomas,' who has employed the X rays for ascertaining the condi- tion of the powder core in Bickford or running fuse. The cause of misfires and delayed ignitions has been the subject of much specula- tion, and among other theories proposed was that of a break in the continuity of the powder cores. In plate 12, figure 2, which is a copy of Thomas’s X-ray picture, the interruption of continuity in two pieces of the fuse shown is very apparent. 1J. Chem. Met. Soc. S. Africa 9, 183; 1908. Smithsonian Report, 1910.—Campbell. PLATE 1. SiR WILLIAM Huaains, 1824-1910. SIR WILLIAM HUGGINS, K. C. B., O. Mt [With 1 plate.] By W. W. CAMPBELL. The name of Sir William Huggins is intimately associated with the entire history of astronomical spectroscopy. With Rutherfurd, Secchi, Angstrém, Draper, and others, he was a pioneer in this sub- ject; and by virtue of long life, enthusiasm, and uncommon wisdom, his contributions have enriched astronomical knowledge during a full half century. His lamented death on May 12, 1910, at the ripe age of 86 years, calls for a review of his remarkable career. William Huggins was born in London on February 7, 1824. His father was in commercial life, and was able to provide the son not only with a good education, but the financial means to follow as- tronomy in a private capacity, unattached to university or estab- lished observatory. His early education was received in the City of London School, and he later studied the languages, mathematics, and various branches of science extensively under private tutors. Astronomy and microscopy were subjects of special interest, and it was a difficult question with him as to which he should attempt to advance through original investigations. The decision was made in favor of astronomy. In 1856 he removed to 90 Upper Tulse Hill, then a short distance in the open country south of London, now within the great city, where he erected an observatory in connection with his dwelling house; and there all of his work was done. “It consisted of a dome 12 feet in diameter and a transit room. There was erected in it an equatorially mounted telescope by Dolland of 5 inches aperture, at that time looked upon as a large rather than a small instrument.” He commenced work on the usual lines, taking transits, observing the planets, and making drawings of planets. In 1858 the 5-inch refractor was replaced by a Clark 8-inch refractor of great excellence. 1 Reprinted by permission after author’s revision from publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 22, No. 133, San Francisco, October, 1910. 307 308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. In the Nineteenth Century Review for June, 1897, Sir William has given an interesting account of his entry into the spectroscopic field: I soon became a little dissatisfied with the routine character of ordinary astronomical work, and in a vague way sought about in my mind for the possibility of research upon the heavens in a new direction or by new methods. It was just at this time, when a vague longing after newer methods of observa- tion for attacking many of the problems of the heavenly bodies filled my mind, that the news reached me of Kirchhoff’s great discovery of the true nature and the chemical constitution of the sun from his interpretation of the Fraunhofer lines. This news was to me like the coming upon a spring of water in a dry and thirsty land. Here at last presented itself the very order of work for which in an indefinite way I was looking—namely, to extend his novel methods of re- search upon the sun to the other heavenly bodies. 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