SECRETARY’S REPORT 21 
the decay of an elementary particle into another particle parity is 
not conserved. Examples of early seismometers used in exploration 
for oil were presented by the Continental Oil Co. 
Science and technology.—The most noteworthy accession acquired 
in the division of agriculture and wood products comprised 111 au- 
thentic wood samples of Santa Catarina, Brazil, collected and donated 
by Dr. Lyman B. Smith. <A portable farm steam engine made in 
1877 by Frick & Co. was donated by this firm. 
Among the pieces of major importance added to the division of 
electricity are the following: A group of pieces constructed by Thomas 
Davenport, a Vermont blacksmith who obtained the first patent on 
an electric motor, given by Frank Chandler; and from the General 
Electric Research Laboratory, replicas of Dr. Irving Langmuir’s 
vacuum distillation pump and of his apparatus for measuring surface 
tension which was basic to the work for which he received the Nobel 
prize. Mrs. Edith Earle donated two examples of the telephone that 
her father, James H. Earle, made in the winter of 1876-77 at Brown 
University under the direction of a group of professors there. The 
acoustical design of the group at Brown was incorporated in the 
design of the Bell telephone. 
The following significant objects were acquired in the division of 
mechanical and civil engineering: The personal watch of Edward 
Howard, considered the parent of all American factory-made watches, 
from the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association; a rare and 
fine wagon-spring clock given by Mrs. Francis Boutelle Allen; and 
three noteworthy precision clocks presented by the Georgetown Uni- 
versity Observatory through Father F. J. Heyden. A valuable and 
attractive collection of early handmade locks, bolts, and decorative 
hardware, with pieces dating from the 16th century, was presented 
by the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. Two important early 
machine tools were received—an 1851 Robbins and Lawrence chain- 
feed lathe given by Curtis Woodruff, and a Jones & Lamson turret 
lathe of about 1880 donated by George F. Kiley. A Porter-Allen 
steam engine, prototype of the compact high-speed steam engine 
which dominated the medium-size engine field for many years, was 
presented by the Philadelphia Electric Co. 
The most significant acquisition in the division of medical sciences 
is a collection of dental instruments, furniture, and equipment relat- 
ing to the history of dentistry, totaling 2,869 specimens, received from 
the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry. This provides 
an excellent cross section of the equipment used by the dentist from 
the mid-19th century until the early 20th century, containing rare 
individual items such as an early ether inhaler and two extraction 
instruments. An important collection of material relating to the dis- 
