REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 11 



neons ("ollcctions, :nitl the trniislation of :ui iii'ticlc hy Doctor von 

 LendiMiiVld on tlu' " Kclation of A\'in<i: Surface lo \\'(M<rlit of Pxxly,'' 

 ))iil)lislic.| originally in the Xatni-\visscnschaftli( he Wochcnschrift. 

 appcanMl in the Smithsonian Report for 1!)()4. 



In May. 100."). a <>rant was appi-ovi'd on behalf of ProF. A\'. 1*. Brad- 

 ley. (»f ^^'eslevan l"ni\"ersity. for an experimental invest i<i:at ion of the 

 expansion of air llironali a no/zle. As all practical forms of appa- 

 ratus for the production of licpiid air depend, so far, u[)on this tyi)e of 

 exi)ansion. the research is deemed an important one, the more so from 

 the fact that the tiieory of the nozzle expansion of gases is in dispute 

 and nni>t ai)j)arently remain so until more comi)lete data are secured. 



The results of previous exjieriments in the li<|uefaction of air, car- 

 ried on Ity Pi'ofessor Pradley at ^Vesleyan Fnivi'rsity, show conclu- 

 sively that he is in an exceptionally favorable position for the direc- 

 tion of an extended inquiry into the factors which make for elHciencv 

 in such a research, and as it is expected that further investigation 

 will materially aid a decision as to certain questions concerning which 

 experimentalists are not fully agreed, the report to be submitted b}' 

 l*rofessor Bradley is awaited with interest. 



Early in the year 1004 a third grant Avas approved on behalf of 

 Dr. Carl Barus to aid in j^reparing the conii)leted report of his 

 recent research for publication. This memoir. "A Continuous Record 

 of Atmospheric Nucleation." is in j^ress. as one of the Smithsonian 

 Contributions to Knowledge, and will be the third and last volume of 

 the series giving a detailed account of the investigation of Doctor 

 Barus. A re<iuest that a sunnnary of the work should be i)rei)ared by 

 the author for i)resentation before the first international congress on 

 ionization and radioactivity at Liege in September. 1905, was ap- 

 proved, thus enabling an investigation on a subject of nnich innnedi- 

 ate interest, prosecuted under the auspices of the Institution, to be 

 lirought to the attention of this notable gathering. 



The subscri])tion to the Journal of Terrestrial Magnetism and 

 Atmospheric Electricity has been renewed for the present year, with 

 the mulerstanding that the publication will be maintained in the 

 future without such aid. a stipulated number of copies being for- 

 warded this year, as heretofore, to addresses designated by the Insti- 

 tution. 



Amonjr the miscellaneous investigations aided bv the Institution 

 during the year I may mention that Dr. Edward L. Greene, asso- 

 ciate in botany. United States National Museum, has undertaken to 

 prci)are for publication by the Smithsonian Institution a monograph 

 to be entitled "Landmarks of Botanical History." Doctor Greene 

 expects to complete this work in two years. Dr. Albert M. Reese, 

 of Svracuse Universitv. received a small grant to assist him in his 



