REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT, I9IO. II 



the present time she is off the coast of South America between the ports of 

 Para and Rio de Janeiro, having had a successful voyage of about 9,000 

 miles when last heard from. 



An event of unusual importance in astrophysical science and of special 

 interest to the staff of the Solar Observatory was the meeting of the Inter- 

 national Solar Union held at Pasadena and on Mount Wilson, August 29 to 

 September 4 last. Attracted by the novel methods and equipment of the 

 Solar Observatory and by the remarkable results it has alredy achievd, nearly 

 one hundred delegates, about a third of whom were from European coun- 

 tries, held what promises to be one of the most fruitful of international 

 conferences in the history of astrophysics. The counsel, the criticism, and 

 the constructiv suggestions derivd, especially from our distinguisht Euro- 

 pean colleags, are highly esteemd, not only by the staff of the Solar Observa- 

 tory but by all members of the Institution interested in physical science. 

 Many of the foren delegates visited Washington on their homeward jour- 

 neys, and all of these were interested also in the novel enterprises of the 

 Geophysical Laboratory and of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. 



In the two preceding reports attempts have been made, for the benefit of 



the reader who has little time for details, to condense into a single paragraf 



, ^ , the salient facts indicating the growth and extent of the 

 Summary of work ,,,x.. o- 1 -ji- -j 



of Institution to work of the Institution. Since the period of rapid expan- 



^**^* sion has now past and since economic conditions must 



require some degree of contraction of the Institution's activities in the near 

 future, it seems desirable to bring that summary down to date. Additional 

 studies made during the past year of the ramifications of the work of the 

 Institution show that the range of this work and the numbers of investiga- 

 tors and collaborators engaged in its prosecution have been hitherto some- 

 what underestimated. It now appears that since its organization in 1902 

 upwards of twelve hundred individuals have contributed in one way or an- 

 other to the promotion of the researches and the publications undertaken by 

 the Institution. During each of the past five years about five hundred indi- 

 viduals have thus collaborated. Ten independent departments of research 

 and the divisions of publication and administration, each with its staff and 

 assistants, have been organizd and establisht within the Institution itself. In 

 addition to these larger departments of work, numerous special researches, 

 in aid of which upwards of seven hundred grants have been made, have been 

 carried on by research associates and other individual investigators. For the 

 departments of research, two astronomical observatories, five laboratories, 

 and a non-magnetic ship have been built and equipt ; while the divisions of 

 administration and publication have been provided with adequate quarters in 

 the Administration Building, at Washington, D. C, completed a year ago. 



A full inventory of the property of the Institution to date includes fifty- 

 nine buildings, thirteen parcels of land (held either by clear title or by favor- 



