RECORD OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS FOR 1884. 



INTRODUOTIOISr. 



While it has been a prominent object of the Board of Regents 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 phyical 

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

 the operations of the Institution, this purpose was not carried out on 

 any very systematic plan until the year 1880. Believing however that 

 an annual report or summary of the recent advances made in the lead- 

 ing departments of scientific inquiry would supply a want very gener- 

 ally felt, and would be favorably received by all those interested in the 

 diffusion of knowledge, the Secretary had prepared for the report of 

 1880, by competent collaborators, a series of abstracts showing con 

 cisely the prominent features of recent scientific progress in astronomy, 

 geology, i^hysics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zoology, and anthro- 

 pology. 



The same general programme has been followed in the subsequent 

 reports, with the inclusion of geography and meteorology in the list of 

 subjects. The contributors to this record for the present year, and their 

 several departments or topics, remain the same as in the last report, ex- 

 cepting that the summary of the progress of geology and of that of bot- 

 any for the year have been unavoidably omitted. A resume of the sub- 

 jects vulcanology and seismology for the years 1883 and 1884 has been 

 prepared for this report by Prof. Charles B. Eockwood, of Princeton 

 College ; and a review of the bibliography of ISTorth American inverte- 

 brate palaeontology for the year has been prepared by Mr. John Bel- 

 li nap Marcou. 



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

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

 it impracticable to obtain all the desired reports in each department 

 Avithin 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 mathexoatics, physiology, pathology and medicine, micros- 



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