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  The 
  object 
  of 
  the 
  General, 
  Appendix 
  to 
  the 
  Annual 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  

   Smithsonian 
  Institution 
  is 
  to 
  furnish 
  brief 
  accounts 
  of 
  scientific 
  dis- 
  

   covery 
  in 
  particular 
  directions; 
  reports 
  of 
  investigations 
  made 
  b}' 
  

   collaborators 
  of 
  the 
  Institution 
  ; 
  and 
  memoirs 
  of 
  a 
  general 
  character 
  

   or 
  on 
  special 
  topics 
  that 
  are 
  of 
  interest 
  or 
  value 
  to 
  the 
  numerous 
  

   correspondents 
  of 
  the 
  Institution. 
  

  

  It 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  prominent 
  object 
  of 
  the 
  Board 
  of 
  Regents 
  of 
  the 
  

   Smithsonian 
  Institution 
  from 
  a 
  A^ery 
  early 
  date 
  to 
  enrich 
  the 
  annual 
  

   report 
  required 
  of 
  them 
  by 
  law 
  with 
  memoirs 
  illustrating 
  the 
  more 
  

   remarkable 
  and 
  important 
  developments 
  in 
  physical 
  and 
  biological 
  

   discovery, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  shoAving 
  the 
  general 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  operations 
  

   of 
  the 
  Institution; 
  and, 
  during 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  its 
  history, 
  this 
  

   purpose 
  has 
  been 
  carried 
  out 
  largely 
  by 
  the 
  publication 
  of 
  such 
  

   papers 
  as 
  would 
  possess 
  an 
  interest 
  to 
  all 
  attracted 
  by 
  scientific 
  

   progress. 
  

  

  In 
  1880, 
  induced 
  in 
  part 
  b}^ 
  the 
  discontinuance 
  of 
  an 
  annual 
  sum- 
  

   mary 
  of 
  progress 
  which 
  for 
  30 
  years 
  previously 
  had 
  been 
  issued 
  by 
  

   well-known 
  private 
  publishing 
  firms, 
  the 
  secretary 
  had 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  

   abstracts 
  prepared 
  by 
  competent 
  collaborators, 
  showing 
  concisely 
  the 
  

   [)rominent 
  features 
  of 
  recent 
  scientific 
  progress 
  in 
  astronomy, 
  geol- 
  

   ogy, 
  meteorology, 
  physics, 
  chemistry, 
  mineralogy, 
  botany, 
  zoology, 
  

   and 
  anthropology. 
  This 
  latter 
  plan 
  was 
  continued, 
  though 
  not 
  alto- 
  

   gether 
  satisfactorily, 
  down 
  to 
  and 
  including 
  the 
  year 
  1888. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  report 
  for 
  1889 
  a 
  return 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  the 
  earlier 
  method 
  of 
  

   presenting 
  a 
  miscellaneous 
  selection 
  of 
  papers 
  (some 
  of 
  them 
  origi- 
  

   nal) 
  embracing 
  a 
  considerable 
  range 
  of 
  scientific 
  investigation 
  and 
  

   discussion. 
  This 
  method 
  has 
  been 
  continued 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  report 
  

   for 
  1927. 
  

   148 
  

  

  