3° 6 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



THE PEOGEESS OF SCIENCE 



THE WORK OF THE CARNEGIE 

 INSTITUTION 



The eighth year book of the Car- 

 negie Institution of Washington gives 

 an account of its activities during 

 the past year. The appropriation 

 amounted to about $650.000 — about 

 $467,000 being for the maintenance of 

 its departments; $50,000 for minor 

 grants; $30,000 for research associates 

 and assistants; $54,000 for publication, 

 and $50,000 for administrative ex- 

 penses. As indicated in the last issue 

 of the Monthly, the administration 

 building was dedicated in November. 

 No new department was inaugurated 

 during the year, but the observatory 

 for meridian astronomy at San Luis, 

 Argentina, began its work under the 

 direction of Dr. Louis Boss, of the 

 Dudley Observatory, Albany. The 

 Nutrition Laboratory adjacent to the 

 Harvard Medical School was also for 

 the first time in working order. The 

 magnetic ship Carnegie made its first 

 voyage. A new tower telescope, 150 



feet high and extending 75 feet below 

 the ground, has been begun at the Solar 

 Observatory on Mt. Wilson, California. 

 The work of the Geophysical Labora- 

 tory, of the Department of Botanical 

 Research, the Cold Spring Harbor 

 Station and the Marine Biological 

 Laboratory at Tortugas were continued. 

 During the year nineteen volumes were 

 published containing 4,907 pages. 



The scientific men who are working 

 in the departments of the Carnegie 

 Institution are accomplishing a great 

 amount of valuable research; but it is 

 not certain that the contributions from 

 the United States have been increased 

 to the extent that might have been 

 hoped from the expenditure of four 

 million dollars. All the leading officers 

 of the institution were engaged in sci- 

 entific work before its establishment, 

 and it is a question whether their work 

 is better than it would have been if 

 they had remained in their previous 

 positions. The places which they held 

 have been filled bv others and there is 



The Geophysical Laboratoby, Upton Steeet, Washington. 



