16 REPORT OP THE SECRETARY. 



tions in the United States, will tend to o])viate the not infrequent 

 application b}- .several .students at the same time for the Smithsonian 

 seat, a matter of regret, as in such a case some applicants mu.st be dis- 

 appointed, since an excess of workers at the .same table is a source of 

 inconvenience to Doctor Dohrn, the courteons director of the Station. 

 It is, however, desired in tiie interest of science that the Smith.sohlan 

 table should be continuously occupied during- the months availal)1e for 

 stud}' at Naples, and all applications for the seat receive immediate 

 con.sideration. A ])rief account of the administration of the Smithso- 

 nian ta])le in the Naples Station, embodying- the data which is likely to 

 be of use to applicants, has recently l)een published in the Quarterly 

 Issue of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 



It is a pleasure to state that the advisory committee remains 

 unchanged, and to express thanks for the helpful attention given to 

 all questions referred to the committee for consideration. 



EXPLORATIONS. 



The Institution has this year made explorations through its private 

 funds, such as the Alaskan mammoth expedition, and that to the 

 Canadian glaciers, mentioned below, in addition to the customary 

 biological, geological, and ethnological ones through the National 

 Museum and the Bureau of American Ethnology. 



AlashiN, mammoth expedition. — About the middle of May the Insti- 

 tution dispatched an expedition to Alaska under the direction of Mr. 

 A. G. Maddren. The most important work sought to be accomplished 

 is the collecting of remains of the mannuoth and other large manmials, 

 which have been reported as abundant in various regions, one place 

 being known as the " Bone Yard,"" another as Elephant Point, along 

 the south shore of Kotzebue Sound. 



Exploration of Canadian glacierx.- — An exploration of some of the 

 glaciers of British (^olumbia has been undertaken by Dr. W. H. 

 Sherzer, of Michigan, under the auspices of the Smith.sonian Institu- 

 tion, for the purpose of gathering definite information regarding 

 glacial phenomena, such as the natui'e and cause of the ice flow, the 

 temperature of the ice at various depths, and its relation to air tem- 

 peratures, the amount of surface melting, and the possible transfer- 

 ence of material from the surface to lower portions. The special 

 tield of study will be the live most accessible glaciers along the line of 

 the Canadian Pacific Railway, including the Victoria glacier at I.<ake 

 Louise, th«> Waptn glacier in the Joho Valley, and the Asulkan, and 

 lUecillewalt glaciers near Glacier House. 



PUBTJCATIONS. 



The Institution distributed during the year a total of 15,705 vol- 

 umes or parts of volumes of the series of Smithsonian Contributions, 



