REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. i 
for the Advancement of Science—a few standards have been tentatively 
adopted, and copies of these are attainable by all interested in securing 
uniformity in this class of work. 
I have referred above to researches in physical science alone; the 
work of individual members of the Institution and of others in the nat- 
ural sciences is givenin connection with the portion of the report relat- 
ing to the Museum. I may, however, state that certain physical inves- 
tigations. which have been made under the personal direction of the 
Secretary of the Institution at private charge and not at the cost of its 
funds, are about being published in a volume of its Contributions,* in 
accordance with a policy long since counseled by the Board of Regents. 
Astro-physical Observatory.—Il may recall briefly here the cireum- 
stances which have led to the establishment of an astro-physical ob- 
servatory as a part of the Smithsonian Institution. 
In the first report that I had the honor to present to the attention of 
the Regents in 1888 I stated that preparations had been made by the 
late Secretary, Prof. Baird, to establish an astro-physical observatory 
and laboratory, in order that renewed attention might be given to the 
study of physical science. It was there reported that, in view of the 
fact that the construction of delicate instruments would occupy a con- 
siderable time, orders had already been given for the most essential 
pieces of apparatus for conducting investigations in radiant energy. 
A special interest was taken in the proposed astro-physical observa- 
tory by the late Dr. J. H. Kidder, formerly Curator of Exchanges in the 
Smithsonian Institution, and the sum of $5,000 was received from his 
executors for this purpose under circumstances detailed in my last re- 
port. A like sum of $5,000 was presented personally to the Secretary 
by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell for prosecuting physical investigations, 
and particularly those upon radiant energy, and this sum was, with the 
consent and approval of the donor, placed to the credit of the Smith- 
sonian Institution upon the same footing as the Kidder bequest. 
A temporary wooden building of the simplest possible construction 
has been erected in the Smithsonian grounds just south of the main 
building, having been begun on the 18th of November, 1889, and finished 
about the Ist of March, 1890. This building is not to be regarded as 
an entirely suitable or permanent housing for the instruments. Its 
location, close to travelled streets, is unsuited for refined physical inves- 
tigation, but the preliminary adjustment of the instruments and cer- 
tain classes of work can be effectively and conveniently carried on here. 
The principal instrument is a specially constructed siderostat by Sir 
Howard Grubb, of Dublin, Ireland. This instrument is in position. A 
spectro-bolometer, the outcome of many years’ experience, has been 
made under my personal direction by William Grunow & Son, of New 
York, and has been received and mounted. A galvanometer, designed 
*Experiments in Aero-dynamics, Smithsonian ‘‘ Contributions to Knowledge,” No 
] J , ge, 
801, Vol. xxvu. 
