REPORT 



OF THE 



SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN 

 INSTITUTION 



C. G. Abbot 

 FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1931 



To the Board, of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 



Gentlemen : I have the honor to submit herewith my report 

 showing the activities and condition of the Smithsonian Institution 

 and the Government bureaus under its administrative charge dur- 

 ing the fiscal year ended June 30, 1931. The first 21 pages contain 

 a summary account of the affairs of the Institution. Appendixes 

 1 to 11 give more detailed reports of the operations of the United 

 States National Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Freer 

 Gallery of Art, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the Interna- 

 tional Exchanges, the National Zoological Park, the Astrophysical 

 Observatory, the Division of Kadiation and Organisms, the United 

 States Regional Bureau of the International Catalogue of Scientific 

 Literature, the Smithsonian library, and of the publications issued 

 under the direction of the Institution. 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



OUTSTANDING EVENTS OF THE YEAR 



An appropriation of $10,000 was made by the Congress for pre- 

 liminary architectural plans of the extensions to the Natural History 

 Building of the United States National Museum authorized by Con- 

 gress last year. The new reptile house of the Zoological Park was 

 completed and formally opened to the public on February 27, 1931. 

 A reorganization of several exhibition halls of the xArts and Indus- 

 tries Building of the National Museum has added greatly to the 

 attractiveness of the exhibits of costumes, coins and stamps, and 

 machinery. A small souvenir guide to the Institution and its 

 branches has been published privately by the Smithsonian and seems 

 highly appreciated by visitors. For unity of policy, greater effi- 

 ciency, and simplification of records and accounts, the separate edi- 

 torial staffs of the Smithsonian, the National Museum, and the Bu- 



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