REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 11 



critical districts, and was thus enabled to compare opposing theories 

 by object lessons on the ground. Mr. Willis's full report is expected 

 early in 1909. 



ABSOLUTE MEASUREMENT OF SOUND. 



Dr. A. G. Webster announces the approaching completion of his 

 research on the measurement of sound which has been in progress 

 for two years past. The investigation comprises an exhaustive treat- 

 ment of the theory of the production of sound, with a description of 

 a standard source, the transmission of sound through the air as 

 modified by the effect of the ground, and its measurement by a 

 receiving instrument. A description of experiments confirming the 

 theory of Doctor Webster will be included in his finished report, with 

 several practical applications, such as the examination of the sounds 

 of speech, the diagnosis of deafness, the improvement of fog signals, 

 and the testing of materials for the insulation of sound. 



RECALCULATION OF ATOMIC WEIGHTS. 



In February, 1908, Prof. F. W. Clarke, chairman of the Interna- 

 tional Commission on Atomic Weights, was authorized to begin the 

 preparation of a third edition of his work on that subject, with the 

 aid of a grant from the Smithsonian Institution. The second edition 

 of Professor Clarke's Atomic Weights was published in 1897, since 

 which time the data on this subject have so largely increased as to 

 render a new edition desirable. Some time will necessarily elapse 

 before the completion of the work. 



PROPERTIES OF MATTER AT TEMPERATURE OF LIQUID AIR. 



In October, 1907, a Smithsonian grant was approved on behalf 

 of Prof. E. L. Xichols, of Cornell University, for the continuation 

 of his experiments on the properties of matter at the temperature 

 of liquid air. Reports of the progress of this research are to be made 

 from time to time in the recognized journals of physics and, at the 

 completion of the research, a memoir describing the investigation 

 will be submitted to the Smithsonian Institution for consideration 

 as to publication. It is believed that the prompt announcement of 

 results in the way mentioned will be an immediate advantage to 

 students, and that their publication as a whole by the Institution 

 will also prove of great service. 



BOTANICAL RESEARCHES IN CALIFORNIA. 



A moderate grant has been made to Miss Alice Eastwood from the 

 Smithsonian fund for the critical field study and collection of the spe- 

 cies and genera of the plants secured at the type locality, Santa Bar- 



