REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 9 
THE SMITHSONIAN AFRICAN EXPEDITION. 
Shortly before the close of the fiscal year a collecting expedition 
to Africa was organized, to be known as the Smithsonian African 
Expedition, under the direction of Edmund Heller, in conjunction 
with the Universal Film Manufacturing Co. The expedition sailed 
from this country a few days after the close of the year for Cape 
Town, Africa, from which city arrangements were to be made for 
the plunge into the interior of the continent. The expedition is to 
collect animals, plants, and other material for uses of comparison 
in working up the collections made in Africa by Col. Theodore 
Roosevelt, Paul Rainey, and others, already in the National Museum. 
Representatives of the Universal Film Manufacturing Co. accom- 
panied the expedition to make extensive motion pictures of life in 
the mysterious interior. The expedition will explore the jungles, 
deserts, lakes, and rivers and will be out at least a year. 
Exploration is contemplated in various parts of the Cape region, 
the great Victoria Falls of the Zambesi River, and western Rho- 
desia. From there the expedition will cross to the sources of the 
Congo in Belgian Congo, then turn east toward Lake Tanganjika, 
following, to some extent, the trails of Livingston and Stanley in 
this region. From the town of Ujiji, on the eastern shore of the 
lake, the temporary headquarters of the expedition, excursions will 
be made into the former German East Africa and the Uganda Pro- 
tectorate, especially the Ryvenzori Mountain region. 
The primary purpose of the expedition is to secure additional 
specimens of plants and animals, chiefly from the interior and from 
South Africa, in which the Museum is rather deficient. These will 
prove a welcome supplement to the magnificent collections brought 
home by Col. Theodore Roosevelt and others and on which mono- 
eraphic reports are desired, but which can not be worked up intelli- 
gently and satisfactorily until more material is obtained. The 
experienced collectors, Mr. H. C. Raven, representing the institu- 
tion, and Dr. H. L. Shantz, of the Department of Agriculture, will 
undoubtedly send back to this country much material of value con- 
cerning the little-known parts of the “ Dark Continent” which have 
puzzled scientists and laymen for a long time. 
BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN ECUADOR. 
As a part of a cooperative plan for an investigation of the flora 
of northern South America, organized by the United States National 
Museum, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Gray Herbarium, 
Dr. J. N. Rose, associate curator in the division of plants of the 
Museum, spent three months making botanical collections in Ecuador. 
A large quantity of desired material, including 6,000 botanical speci- 
