REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 11 



were continued until November 16, with such success that in the 

 spring the conchision was reached that there would be mutual ad- 

 vantage to the Institution and to station WRC in giving a series 

 of talks on scientific subjects. Accordingly there was established a 

 regular Smithsonian period every Wednesday at 6.15 p. m., and the 

 series was opened on April 9 by a talk on " The giants of the animal 

 world," by Mr. Austin H. Clark. This was followed by 10 others, 

 the last one being given on June 18, when the program was discon- 

 tinued for the summer months. 



This new means of carrying out the Institution's function of the 

 diffusion of knowledge appears to be highly effective, as indicated 

 by the number of responses to the talks received at the Institution 

 and at the broadcasting station. The direction of the entire pro- 

 gram was placed under Mr. Austin H. Clark, of the National Mu- 

 seum, who secured the cooperation not only of the members of the 

 staff of the Institution and its branches but also of the Carnegie 

 Institution of Washington and of the various scientific bureaus of 

 the Government whose work is complementary to that of the Insti- 

 tution. Altogether there were given during the year 18 talks in the 

 Smithsonian series, as follows: 



The Smithsonian Institution, by Austin H. Clark. 



The Work of the Smithsonian Observatory, by C. G. Abbot. 



The Bureau of Ethnology: What It Is and What It Does, by J. Walter 

 Fewkes. 



Department of Arts and Industries of the United States National Museum, 

 by Carl W. Mitman. 



The Historical Collections of the Smithsonian Institution, United States 

 National Museum, by Theodore T. Belote. 



The National Gallery of Art, by W. H. Holmes. 



The National Herbarium, by F. V. Coville. 



The Giants of the Animal World, by Austin H. Clark. 



Little Folks in Greenland, by Elisabeth Deichmann. 



The National Zoological Park, under the direction of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, by N. Hollister. 



Useful Plants from America, by F. L. Lewton. 



Shooting Stars and What They Are, by George P. Merrill. 



Animal Terrors of Past Ages — Dinosaurs, by Charles W. Gilmore. 



Surveying the Ocean with the Non-Magnetic Yacht Carnegie, by J. P. Ault, 

 of the Carnegie Institution. 



Program of native Indian music arranged by Miss Frances Densmore. 



Large Game Animals of North America, by E. W. Nelson, Chief of the Bureau 

 of Biological Survey. 



Flying Animals, by Austin H. Clark. 



Atmospheric Electricity, by D. J. Mauchly, of the Carnegie Institution. 



The interest shown in these informative radio talks on scientific 

 matters and the vast audience which it is possible to reach through 

 the microphone make it apparent that this is destined to become a 



