442 
justification for confidence in the enter- 
prise. 
The staff of the laboratory has been occu- 
pied during the year in the construction of 
new apparatus, in the improvement of 
apparatus already in use, in numerous re- 
searches on pathological and normal sub- 
jects, and in the preparation and publica- 
tion of reports on results already attained. 
The year has shown also a remarkable in- 
erease of interest in the work of the estab- 
lishment coming especially from members 
of the medical profession at home and 
abroad. Several of these have collaborated 
very effectively in the experiments under 
way, and the widely general approval of the 
objects and methods of the laboratory in- 
sures the heartiest cooperation from experts 
in the closely allied fields of physiological 
and pathological research. 
The numerous investigations in progress 
and the publications issued during the year 
are reviewed in interesting detail in the 
director’s report. Of the nine publications 
issued, one (No. 155 of the institution) 
gives the results of an important study of 
the variations of temperature in different 
parts of the human body. Of equal popu- 
lar and technical interest also are the re- 
sults, recorded in another paper, of experi- 
ments on men to determine the effects of 
breathing air rich in oxygen content. 
THE SOLAR OBSERVATORY 
By reason of the absence on leave of Pro- 
fessor Hale, the varied work of this observ- 
atory has been in general charge of Mr. 
Walter S. Adams, who, as acting director, 
has prepared the report of progress for the 
past fiseal year as well as that for the year 
1909-1910. Quite fortunately the affairs 
of the observatory have proceeded without 
serious delay during Professor Hale’s ab- 
sence, and it is gratifying to announce that 
his health was so far restored as to permit 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Vou. XXXV. No. 899 
him to return to his duties October 1, 1911. 
Although the construction and equip- 
ment of the observatory are still incomplete, 
the members of the staff are making rapid 
progress with their programs of solar, 
stellar, and physical observation and of 
computation and deduction. Thus the at- 
tainment of tangible results proceeds along 
with the development and installation of 
equipment. Attention is invited to a list 
of such results, attained during the year, 
cited in interesting detail by Mr. Adams in 
his report, but too long for an abstract in 
this place. It need only be said of them 
here that they justify expectations and that 
they increase confidence in the capacity of 
the establishment to advance astrophysical 
science. 
The observatory has now, nearly fully 
equipped and in use, four highly effective 
telescopes: the Snow, horizontal, 30-inch 
reflector; the two tower-telescope refrac- 
tors; and the 60-inch reflector mounted 
equatorially. The 150-foot tower telescope, 
together with its auxiliary apparatus, con- 
stitutes the most important addition of the 
year in the way of equipment. Varied use 
of the 60-inch equatorial proves it to be 
alike effective in visual, photographic, and 
spectroscopic work. It is especially pene- 
trating in its capacity to reveal the char- 
acteristics of globular star clusters and 
spiral nebule. 
In view of the repeated failures of the 
contractors of St. Gobain, France, to cast 
a perfect disk for the 100-inch ‘‘ Hooker 
telescope,’’ it was determined to try the im- 
perfect disk furnished by these contractors, 
but not accepted, four years ago. Accord- 
ingly an agreement was entered into with 
the makers to try shaping the disk, and to 
pay therefor in case it proves sufficiently 
stable after adequate trial. This work was 
begun early in the year, and good progress 
has already been made, although some delay 
