PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS. 99 



completion of the final reports on the expedition being prepared by 

 the Smithsonian members of the party. 



The secretary added that the collections were being permanently 

 arranged by the experts of the National Museum. It was intended 

 to mount certain of the animals in groups, with accessories, so as to 

 show their environment and habits. 



On motion the secretary's report was accepted. 



LANGLEY MEMORIAL TABLET. 



Senator Lodge, chairman of the , committee on the Langley me- 

 morial tablet, reported that the desire of the board that this tablet 

 should commemorate the work of Mr. Langley in aerial navigation 

 had been carried out in a design representing him as seated, engaged 

 in a profound study of the great problem. The committee had en- 

 tered into an arrangement with a New York sculptor to design a 

 tablet 4 feet 6 inches high by 2 feet 5 inches wide. It had been ex- 

 pected that the model could be exhibited at this meeting, but a letter 

 had been received from the artist stating that an accident to the 

 model necessitated the working over of a large portion of it, and 

 therefore it could not be submitted at this meeting. 



BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE PANAMA ZONE. 



The secretary sta-ted that the plan for a biological survey of the 

 Panama Canal Zone, under the direction of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, was described in his annual report, which had already been 

 distributed to the Eegents. 



Since the preparation of the report, a letter had been written to 

 the President outlining the plan, and asking if it would meet his 

 approval if cooperation were asked of the Isthmian Canal Com- 

 mission of the War Department, the Bureau of Fisheries of the De- 

 partment of Commerce and Labor, and the Biological Survey and 

 Bureaus of Entomology and Plant Industry of the Department of 

 Agriculture. The President gave his approval and authorized the 

 secretary to communicate with the departments mentioned, which was 

 done. All have signified their desire to cooperate and have assigned 

 experts to aid in the work. The estimated cost of the survey which 

 would have to be met by the Institution is $11,000, of which $5,750 

 has been subscribed. 



For several years American and foreign naturalists have been 

 asking that a biological survey of the Canal Zone be undertaken, 

 and various attempts have been made to arrange for such a work. 

 The only plan that had materialized was one by the Field Museum 

 of Natural History, Chicago, for the collection and study of the fishes 

 of the Canal Zone. By agreement, this work will now be carried on 

 in conjunction with that of the Smithsonian Expedition, 



