THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



565 



when the affairs of the institution may- 

 be discussed fully and freely. A com- 

 mittee that had been appointed to con- 

 sider the powers and duties of the ex- 

 ecutive committee did not make a final 

 report, but it was the general opinion 

 that this committee should have regu- 

 lar and stated meetings. Dr. A. Gra- 

 ham Bell introduced a series of resolu- 

 tions and moved that they be referred 

 to the committee appointed to consider 

 the powers of the executive committee. 

 They will be reported on and fully dis- 

 cussed at the meeting in December. 

 The resolutions are as follows: 



The secretary shall nominate, and 

 by and with the advice and consent of 

 the board of regents, shall appoint the 

 heads of the various bureaus supported 

 by congress under the direction of the 

 Smithsonian Institution to wit the 

 National Museum, the Bureau of 

 American Ethnology, The National 

 Zoological Park, the Bureau of Inter- 

 national Exchanges, and the Astro- 

 physical Observatory. 



The secretary shall have power to fill 

 up all vacancies that may happen in 

 these offices during the intervals be- 

 tween meetings of the board, by grant- 

 ing commissions which shall expire at 

 the next meeting of the board of re- 

 gents. 



The head of each bureau shall nomi- 

 nate, and, by and with the advice and 

 consent of the secretary, shall appoint 

 the subordinates in the bureau under 

 his charge. 



The heads of the bureaus shall be 

 termed directors; and the board of re- 

 gents hereby creates the offices of 

 director of the National Museum, 

 director of the Bureau of American 

 Ethnology, director of the National 

 Zoological Park, director of the Bureau 

 of International Exchanges, and direct- 

 or of the Astrophysical Observatory, 

 and instructs the secretary to fill these 

 offices by temporary appointment to ex- 

 pire at the next meeting of the board, 

 when nominations shall be presented 

 for confirmation by the board. 



It will thus be seen that the entire 

 question of the organization of the 

 Smithsonian Institution and its rela- 

 tions to the government bureaus is 

 under consideration by the regents. At 

 the meeting two other matters of gen- 



eral interest were discussed. Con- 

 gress has made an appropriation of 

 three and a half million dollars foi a 

 new building for the U. S. National 

 Museum, the construction of which has 

 been placed in the hands of Mr. Ber- 

 nard R. Green. The secretary, with 

 the advice and consent of the chancellor 

 and the chairman of the executive com- 

 mittee was designated to cooperate 

 with Mr. Green. 



Owing to the need of moving the 

 body of James Smith son from the 

 grave in which it rests at Genoa, it 

 was proposed last year by Dr. Bell that 

 the remains be brought to this country, 

 where congress would doubtless erect 

 over them a suitable monument in the 

 grounds of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion. This suggestion was not adopted 

 at the time, but Dr. Bell has now 

 offered to have the remains removed at 

 his expense, which offer the regents 

 will doubtless be glad to accept. 



TEE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUL- 

 TURE. 



The appropriation for the United 

 States Department of Agriculture pro- 

 vided by the recent session of congress 

 covers a total of practically six million 

 dollars, an increase over that for the 

 current year of $769,140, including an 

 emergency appropriation of a half a 

 million dollars. The increased funds 

 are for the most part to enable an ex- 

 tension of the work of the department 

 along its present lines, rather than to 

 take up new special features. The 

 largest increases are for the Bureaus 

 of Animal Industry, Plant Industry, 

 Forestry and Soils. 



The Bureau of Animal Industry re- 

 ceives $1,287,380, an increase of $100,- 

 000 for the extension of its meat and 

 other inspection work, and an emer- 

 gency appropriation of $500,000 is 

 placed at the disposal of the secretary 

 of agriculture to stamp out the foot- 

 and-mouth disease, which has recently 

 raged in several of the New England 

 states, and other contagious diseases 

 of animals which may appear. 



