BEPOET OF THE SECRETARY. 17 



investigators of the Physical Laboratory of the London Hospital 

 Medical College, discussing the results of experiments to determine 

 " The influence of the atmosphere on our health and comfort in con- 

 fined and crowded places." The authors conclude that — 



No symptoms of discomfort, fatigue, or illness results, so long as the tempera- 

 ture and moisture are kept low, from air rendered, in the chemical sense, highly 

 impure by the presence of human beings. Such air can be borne for hours 

 without any evidence of bodily or mental depression. * * * Heat stagna- 

 tion is therefore the one and only cause of the discomfort, and all the symptoms 

 arising in the so-called vitiated atmosphere of crowded rooms are dependent 

 on heat stagnation. The moisture, stillness, and warmth of the atmosphere are 

 responsible for all effects, and all the efforts of the heating and ventilating 

 engineer should therefore be directed toward cooling the air in crowded places 

 and cooling the bodies of the people by setting the air in motion by means of 

 fans. * * * The essentials required of any good system of ventilation are, 

 then: (1) Movement, coolness, proper degree of relative moisture of the air, 

 and (2) reduction of the mass influence of pathogenic bacteria. The chemical 

 purity of the air is of very minor importance and will be adequately insured by 

 attendance to the essentials. 



Smithsonian Reyort. — The completion of the annual report for 

 1911 was long delayed at the Government Printing Office, awaiting 

 a supply of the quality of paper used in that publication. The 

 general appendix of the volume contained 36 articles of the usual 

 character. The report for 1912 was in type at the close of the fiscal 

 year. The popularity of this work continues unabated, the entire 

 edition each year becoming exhausted very soon after its publication. 



National Museivm publications. — The publications by the Museum 

 during the year comprised two volumes of Proceedings, pamphlet 

 copies of 96 articles from the Proceedings, two Bulletins, and nine 

 parts of volumes of Contributions from the National Herbarium. 

 An interesting work in press at the close of the year, prepared by 

 Assistant Secretary Richard Rathbun, gives a descriptive account of 

 the building recently erected for the departments of natural history 

 of the United States National Museum. The book is illustrated with 

 34 plates and, besides a general description of the building, includes 

 special chapters relating to structural details and mechanical equip- 

 ment. 



Zoological nomenclature. — Opinions 52 to 56 rendered by the In- 

 ternational Commission on Zoological Nomenclature were published 

 in the usual form. The Institution also continues to aid the work of 

 this commission by providing funds for clerical services in connec- 

 tion with the office of its secretary in this country. 



Puhlications of the Bureau of American Ethnology. — The publica- 

 tions issued by the Bureau of American Ethnology were the Twenty- 

 eighth Annual Report, containing papers on Casa Grande, the antiq- 

 uities of the upper Verde River and Walnut Creek Valleys, Ariz., 



44863°— SM 1913 2 



