RECORD OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS FOR 1882. 



INTRODUCTION 



While it has been a prominent object of the Board of Eegents of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, from a very early date in its history, to enrich 

 the annual report required of them by law, with scientific memoirs illus- 

 trating the more remarkable and important developments in physical 

 and biological discovery, as well as showing the general character of 

 the operations of the Institution, this purpose had not been carried out 

 on any very systematic plan. Believing however that an annual report 

 or summary of the recent advances made in the leading departments 

 of scientific inquiry would supply a want very generally felt, and would 

 be favorably received by all those interested in the diffusion of knowl- 

 edge, the Secretary had prepared for the report of 1880, by competent 

 collaborators, a series of abstracts showfng concisely the i)romiuent 

 features of recent scientific progress in astronomy, geology, physics, 

 chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zoology, and anthropology. 



The same general programme was followed in the report for 1881, ex- 

 cepting the account of geologic progress, which was necessarily omitted 

 in consequence of the illness and lamented death of Dr. G. W. Hawes, 

 to whom the subject had been referred. In the record for the present 

 year. Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, of Montreal, Canada, has supplied very ac- 

 ceptably this deficiency. A sketch of geographical progress during 

 the years 1881 and 1882 has also been furnished for the present report 

 by Commander F. M. Green, U. S. N. The account of progress in 

 chemistry has been undertaken by Prof. H. Carringtou Bolton, of 

 Trinity College, Hartford. The resume of progress in mineralogy, like- 

 wise unfortunately omitted in the report for 1881 (owing to the death 

 of Dr. Hawes, as above mentioned), has this year been supplied by Prof. 

 Edward S. Dana, of Yale College, Kew Haven. The remaining con- 

 tributors have continued their work, as heretofore. 



With every eiiort to secure prompt attention to all the more impor- 

 tant details of such a work, various unexpected delays frequently render 

 it impracticable to obtain all the desired reports in each department 

 within the time prescribed. In such cases it is designed, if possible, to 

 bring up deficiencies and supply them in subsequent reports. 



The value of this annual record of progress would be much enhanced by 

 an enlargement of its scope, and the inclusion, not only of such branches 

 as mathematics, physiology, pathology and medicine, microscopy, &c., 



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