April 7, 1910J 



NATURE 



177 



:tor of Lick Observatory, University of California, at 



nt Hamilton, has been most helpful during the erection 



^; :he shelter. The class of researches to be prosecuted 



i at this exceptionally favourable station are not only of 



' great scientific interest, but are expected also to prove of 



^ in determining questions having a direct, practical 



ence on the preservation and progress of human life 



on our globe. 



• International Standard Pyrheliometers. 



A limited grant from the Hodgkins fund was approved 



in February, 1909, for the construction of several silver 

 j disc pyrheliometers. These instruments are to be placed 

 \ in charge of scientific investigators in widely separated 



localities for the purpose of establishing an international 

 I scale for the comparison of observations on solar radiation. 

 ! The varying results published by observers have made the 

 I need of international cooperation in this connection 

 (apparent, and the matter has received considerable atten- 

 I tion at conferences of the Solar Union. These simple and 

 [comparatively inexpensive instruments are to be constructed 

 ; after a design by Mr. .Abbot. Similar pyrheliometers have 

 ! been employed in the researches of the Astrophysical 



■^--^rvatory for several years, and have proved entirely 

 - factory. 



Langley Medal and Memorial Tablet. 

 As a tribute to the memory of the late secretary, Dr. 

 S. P. Langley, and his contributions to the science of 

 i aerodromics, the regents of the institution adopted the 

 'following resolution on December 15, 1908: — "That the 

 board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution establish 

 a medal to be known as the Langley medal, to be awarded 

 for specially meritorious investigations in connection with 

 the science of aerodromics and its application to aviation." 

 Following the establishment of this medal, a committee 

 of award, composed of gentlemen of recognised attainments 

 in the science of aerodromics, was appointed. The com- 

 mittee recommended that the first medal be bestowed on 

 Messrs. Wilbur and Orville Wright, and the medal was 

 awarded on February 10, 1909. Designs for the Langley 

 memorial tablet are now being prepared by a well-known 

 architect of Washington. 



National Museum. 



More than 250,000 specimens were added to the museum 

 collections during the year, about 200,000 of them per- 

 taining to biology and the remainder to geology and 

 anthropology. One of the most important additions to the 

 division of ethnology was a contribution from Dr. W. L. 

 Abbott, consisting of about 500 objects from south-western 

 Borneo. To the technological collections were added 

 more than 200 objects transferred from the United States 

 Patent Office. The department of biology received a note- 

 worthy gift of about 1 200 European mammals and sixty- 

 one reptiles from Mr. Oldfield Thomas, of the British 

 Museum, and Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, of the National 

 Museum. This has so greatly increased the importance of 

 National Museum collection of the mammals of Europe 

 it now ranks as one of the largest and most valuable 

 the world. Mention must also be made of a contribution 

 about a thousand mammals and birds of Borneo, 

 ■ived from Dr. W. L. Abbott. 

 In connection with the work of excavation and repair 

 of the Casa Grande ruins in Arizona, under the direction 

 he Smithsonian Institution, there were collected and 

 -id in the National Museum about 650 stone axes and 

 Munmers, rubbing and grinding stones, earthenware bowls 

 vases, pieces of basketry and textile fabrics, shell 

 ents, and wooden implements. From similar excava- 

 in the Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, there 

 e received about 500 objects of like character. The 

 department of geology received a large series of Cambrian 

 fossils from the Rocky Mountains, collected during Dr. 

 Walcott's field studies in that region. There were also 

 added to the collections many objects pertaining to 

 •"•""ralogy and palaeobotany. Eighty-two regular sets of 

 "^5ical specimens to the number of 7739 were dis- 

 -ted during the year for educational purposes, besides 

 1300 specimens of geolog>', marine invertebrates, and fishes 

 arranged in special sets. 



NO. 2II0, VOL. 83] 



Two field parties in which the institution and museum 

 are greatly interested left America during the year for 

 important collecting regions, from both of which valuable 

 results may be expected. The first will explore Java 

 and some of the adjacent islands ; the second ex- 

 pedition is that under the direction of Colonel Theodore 

 Roosevelt into British East Africa and more inland 

 districts. 



Bureau of American Ethnology. 



The bureau has collected data relating to sixty families 

 or linguistic stocks and upward of 300 tribes. It does not 

 expect to study all the tribes in detail, but rather to 

 investigate a sufficient number as types which may stand 

 for all. It has seemed wise at this stage of the researches 

 to prepare a summary of our knowledge of the tribes, and 

 this has taken the form of a " Handbook of the Indians," 

 of which one large volume is published and the second 

 nearly through the press. 



The people of the United States have two great obliga- 

 tions which the bureau is trying to fulfil : — (1) that of 

 acquiring a thorough knowledge of the Indian tribes in 

 the interests of humanity ; (2) that of preserving to the 

 world an adequate record of the American race which is so 

 rapidly disappearing. 



Recently much interest has been manifested in the 

 antiquities of the country, more especially in the great 

 pueblo ruins and cliff dwellings of the arid region, and 

 the fifty-ninth Congress enacted a law for the preservation 

 of these antiquities. .A first step in making this law 

 effective is their exploration. A second is the excavation 

 and repair of the more important ruins to ensure their 

 preservation and to make them available to the public 

 and for study. Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, of the bureau, has 

 continued the work of excavation and repair of the ancient 

 ruins in the Mesa Verde National Park. During the year 

 the repair of Spruce Tree House was completed, and at 

 the end of June excellent progress had been made in un- 

 covering and repairing the crumbling walls of Cliff Palace, 

 the greatest of the ancient ruins of its kind in the United 

 States. 



There is need also for ethnological work in the Hawaiian 

 Islands and Samoa, for the following reasons. It is re- 

 garded as most important that the Government should have 

 definite and detailed information regarding the native in- 

 habitants of these islands, which are under its control and 

 for whose welfare it is responsible. It is not less a duty 

 of the nation to preserve some record of this peculiar race 

 for the purposes of history and science, as neglect will 

 become a source of deep regret. An exj>erienced ethno- 

 logist should make investigations regarding the history, 

 social institutions, religion, and general culture of the 

 people, and a physical anthropologist should study their 

 physical and mental characteristics. 



National Zoological Park. 



The National Zoological Park during the year added 

 576 new animals to its collections, which offsets a loss of 

 562 by exchange, death, and return of animals, and brings 

 the number of individuals on hand, June 30, 1909, up to 

 1416. The entire support of the park was derived from 

 an appropriation of 19,000!. for general purposes, including 

 the purchase, transportation, care, and maintenance of 

 animals ; the care and improvement of grounds ; the con- 

 struction and repair of all buildings, enclosures, roads, 

 walks, and bridges. Of this amount, the increased price 

 of necessary provisions and labour brought the cost of 

 maintenance alone to about 17,000/. It was therefore 

 possible to do little toward permanent construction or 

 improvement. 



Astrophysical Observatory. 



The work of the Astrophysical Observatory during the 

 year consisted : — (i) Of bolometric observations carried on 

 at Washington on the brightness of different parts of the 

 sun's image ; also some experimental work on the trans- 

 parency of the air for long-wave rays, such as the earth 

 radiates. .A computation of the results of these experi- 

 ments is now far enough advanced to show their satis- 

 factory quality. Precise knowledge of the selective absorp- 

 tion of our atmosphere for earth rays is still lacking, and 

 contradictory views are still being expressed about this 



