100 ANNUAL EEPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1908. 



staff can be secured and maintained. This plan is not new with the 

 Institution, as from the beginning the secretary has been advised by 

 committees, a majority of which were generall}^ persons not connected 

 with the Institution. 



"It is also ray opinion that if the Institution takes this step now it 

 will be of importance not simply for the Institution itself, but for the 

 art interests of the entire nation, and that it will have its influence in 

 setting a proper standard of judgment and criticism in art matters." 

 The new huilding for the National Museum. — Since the last meet- 

 ing of the board the outer walls of this building have been entirely 

 completed, except at the south or main pavilion, where they have 

 been carried slightly above the level of the second- story floor. The 

 delay at this place has been mainly caused by the failure of the quarry 

 to furnish stone as rapidly as required, but it does not interfere with 

 work elsewhere on the building, which, for some time, has been pro- 

 gressing rapidly and satisfactorily. 



After careful consideration of all that remains to be done, there 

 seems no reason to doubt that if there are no unforeseen interruptions 

 the building will be ready for occupanc}'^ by January next, as was pre- 

 dicted some time ago by the superintendent of construction. 



Expedition to observe a total eclijpse of the sun. — Mr. C. G. Abbot, 

 the director of the Astrophysical Observatory, was sent on an expe- 

 dition in conjunction with Professor Campbell, director of Lick Ob- 

 servatory, to Flint Island in the South Pacific, about 400 miles north 

 of Tahiti, to observe a total eclipse of the sun occurring January 3, 

 1908. 



It has been impossible for Mr. Abbot to make a full report as yet, 

 but cablegrams received indicate that he has had a most successful 

 expedition, the results of which will be communicated to the board 

 later. 



Publicity hureau. — The secretary stated that in accordance with his 

 suggestion at the meeting on March 6, 1907, the articles published by 

 the Institution had been put in popular form and sent to a number of 

 newspapers for the wider dissemination than could be afforded in the 

 formal reports. As a result the activities of the Institution had been 

 brought to public notice to a greater extent than heretofore; and it 

 was felt that one of the functions of the Institution, the "diffusion" 

 of knowledge, was being enlarged and satisfactorily complied with. 



Meetings of the Board of Regents. — The secretary brought up the 

 matter of a change in» the dates of the board meetings, and after 

 explanation and discussion, the following resolution was adopted: 



Resolved, That hereafter the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution shall 

 hold an annual meeting on the Tuesday after the second Monday in December and 

 another meeting on the second Wednesday in February. 



