REPOET OP THE SECEETARY. 21 



with 834 plates of illustrations. The aggregate distribution was 

 202,671 copies of pamphlets and bound volumes. 



One of the principal functions of the Institution, " the diffusion of 

 Imowledge," is accomplished through its publications, which record 

 results of original researches, accounts of explorations, the progress 

 achieved in science and industry, and general information in all 

 branches of human knowledge believed to be of value to those inter- 

 ested in the promotion of science and in the welfare of man. The 

 series of " Contributions to Knowledge " in quarto form, and the 

 " Miscellaneous Collections," in octavo, are printed in limited editions 

 at the expense of the Institution and distributed chiefly to certain 

 large libraries throughout the world where they are available for pub- 

 lic reference. The Annual Report, however, is provided for by con- 

 gressional appropriations, and the edition is great enough to permit 

 its wide distribution. Besides the official report of the Board of 

 Regents and the secretary of the general operations of the Institution 

 during the year, there is included in the Smithsonian Report a gen- 

 eral appendix containing 30 or more original or selected papers illus- 

 trating the more remarkable and important developments in scientific 

 discovery. 



In addition to the three series of works above mentioned pertain- 

 ing to the Institution proper, there are issued under its direction (a) 

 the Annual Report, the Proceedings, and the Bulletins of the Na- 

 tional Museum, including the Contributions from the National Her- 

 barium; (5) the Annual Report and Bulletins of the Bureau of 

 American Ethnology; and (c) the Annals of the Astrophysical Ob- 

 servatory, all of which are public documents printed through annual 

 allotments by act of Congress. 



Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. — The chief characteris- 

 tic of memoirs contained in the Contributions to Knowledge is that 

 they are discussions of extensive original investigations constituting 

 important additions to knowledge. Since the establishment of this 

 series in 1848 there have been published about 150 of these memoirs 

 in 35 quarto volumes. The most recent of these, reviewed in my last 

 report, was the " Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight," recording 

 the experiments of the late Secretary Langley, resulting in his suc- 

 cessful demonstration of the practicability of aerial navigation with 

 machines heavier than the air. 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. — Thirty-six papers in this 

 series were issued during the year, forming parts of seven volumes, as 

 enumerated in Appendix 8. They included some articles by your 

 secretary, describing further results of his studies of Cambrian 

 fossils, and papers on the usual wide range of biological, geolog- 

 ical, and anthropological topics. In this series are included the 

 Smithsonian tables, which have become standard works of reference. 



