THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 231 



SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT 



Of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, for the year 1852. 



To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution : 



Gentlemen : The object of the Annual Report of the Secretary is 

 not only to present to the Regents an account of the transactions of the 

 period which elapses between their successive sessions, but also to 

 make such suggestions as may be important to the future management 

 of the affairs of the Institution, and to state such facts in reference to 

 it as may be interesting to the pubKc, or which may furnish a con- 

 nected history of its transactions. 



Since the beginning of the Institution no change has taken place in 

 the policy originally adopted with reference to the system of active 

 operations. The details of this plan were well considered, and its im- 

 portance as the only means of properly carrying out the intention of 

 the donor were fully understood at the first. The theory of the plan w^as 

 expressed in a few propositions, which have been constantly kept in 

 view, and acted upon as far as the law of Congress and other restric- 

 tions would permit. 



This plan, although prosecuted under very unfavorable circumstnnces, 

 has produced results such as to render the name of the Institution 

 favorably known wherever science and literature are cultivated, and 

 to connect it indissolubly with the history of the progress of knowledge 

 in our times. As a proof of this we need only state the following facts: 



The Institution has promoted astronom^s by the aid furnished the 

 researches which led to the discovery of the true orbit of the new 

 planet Neptune, and the determination of the perturbations of this 

 planet and the other bodies of the solar system, on account of their 

 mutual attraction. It has also aided the same branch of science by 

 furnishing instruments and other facilities to the Chilian expedition, 

 under Lieut. Gilliss ; and by preparing and pubhshing an epbemeris 

 of Neptune, which has been adopted by all the astronomers of the 

 world. 



It has advanced geography, by providing the scientific traveller with 

 annual lists of the occultations of the principal stars; by the moon, for 

 the determination of longitude ; by the preparation of tables for ascer- 

 taining heights with the barometer ; and by the collection and publica- 

 tion of important facts relative to the topography of different parts of 

 the country, particularly of the valley of the Mississippi. 



It has estabhshed an extended system of meteorological investigation, 

 consisting of several hundred intelligent observers, whoare daily noting 

 the phases of the weather in every part of the continent of North 

 America. It has imported standard instruments, constructed hundreds 

 of compared thermometers, barometers, and psychrometers, and has 

 furnished improved tables and rlirections for observing with these 

 instruments the various changes m the atmosphere, as to temperature, 

 pressure, moisture, &c. It has collected, and is collecting, from its 



