62 2 The Smithsonian Institution 



"Atomic Weight Determinations: A Digest of the Investi- 

 gations PubHshed since 1814," by George F. Becker, was 

 received by the Smithsonian Institution. According to Pro- 

 fessor Clarke, to whom it was submitted, '• it brought together 

 all the evidence, presenting it clearly and thoroughly in com- 

 pact form." It was accordingly issued as Part iv of the 

 "Constants of Nature," in August, 1880, forming a pamphlet 

 of 149 pages in the octavo series. Two years later Part v of 

 the "Constants of Nature," consisting of " A Recalculation 

 of the Atomic Weights," by Professor Clarke, was published. 

 It discussed all existing data on the subject, and gave the 

 most probable value to each of the elements. Its publication 

 gained for Professor Clarke the reputation of being a high 

 authority in computing the atomic weights of the chemical 

 elements, and his values are now quoted in most chemical 

 text-books. His results were included in 271 octavo pages, 

 and, together with Mr. Becker's paper, formed the greater 

 part of Volume xxvii of the " Miscellaneous Collections." 



In 1 88 1 Secretary Baird began, in the Report, the pub- 

 lication of a series of records of " Scientific Progress." That 

 on "Chemistry," published in 1881, was by George F. Barker; 

 those for i882-'83-'84-'85 and '86 were by H. Carrington 

 Bolton, and that for 1887-88 by Professor Clarke. Subse- 

 quent to 1888 the series was discontinued, because it was 

 found "impracticable to obtain all the desired reports in each 

 department within the time prescribed." 



Mention has already been made of the gift of certain scien- 

 tific apparatus of a historical character to the Smithsonian 

 Institution, and in 1883 application was made by Baird to 

 Mrs, Priestley, of Northumberland, Pa., for the collection of 

 apparatus used by her husband's ancestor, Joseph Priestley, 

 which had been exhibited at the celebration of the centennial 

 of oxygen in August, 1874. It is gratifying to say that the 



