268 Scientific Intelligence. 



records and publications, and when completed will cost about 

 $220,000. 



The plans and specifications for the construction of a specially 

 designed ship for ocean magnetic work have recently been com- 

 pleted. These plans call for a non-magnetic sailing vessel with 

 auxiliary propulsion, and the contract for her construction has 

 been let to the Tebo Yacht Basin Company, of Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 She will be classified as a yacht, will be called the " Carnegie," 

 and will, upon completion, proceed upon a magnetic survey of 

 the Atlantic Ocean under the direction of the Department of 

 Terrestrial Magnetism of the Institution. 



A temporary observatory for supplementary measures of the 

 positions of the fixed stars of the southern hemisphere is now being- 

 built at San Luis, Argentina, under the direction of Professor 

 Lewis Boss, head of the Department of Meridian Astrometry of the 

 Institution. Professor R. H. Tucker will be resident astronomer in 

 charge of the work of observing and computing in South Amer- 

 ica, which will require three to five years for completion. The 

 meridian instrument of the Dudley Observatory, whose constants 

 have been thoroughly investigated, will be transferred to San 

 Luis and used in securing the desired measurements of the posi- 

 tions of stars in both hemispheres. 



Work in the other departments of the Institution has pro 

 gressed rapidly and successfully. The investigations of Dr. G. 

 E. Hale, Director of the Solar Observatory on Mount Wilson, 

 California, are of great interest. During the .year, with the aid 

 of his exceptional equipment, certain discoveries with regard to 

 sun-spots have been made which will probably prove of as great 

 importance to terrestrial and molecular physics as to solar physics. 

 The progress inaugurated may be confidently expected to lead 

 rapidly to definite and important results. Under the direction of 

 the Department of Historical Research, work upon manuscript 

 materials for American History has been pursued in France, 

 Italy and England, and next year will be extended to Germany. 

 Many remarkable experiments and investigations are in progress 

 under the Department of Botanical Research at the Desert Lab- 

 oratory at Tucson, Arizona. 



In addition to the work carried on in the departments of the 

 Institution during the year, 31 grants were made to individuals 

 and organizations, in aid of researches conducted by them, and 

 many other researches begun in former years have been carried 

 forward. The publication of 20 volumes was authorized, and 27 

 volumes and an atlas have been published. These latter include 

 the report upon the California Earthquake of April 18, 1906, a 

 Handbook of Learned Societies and Institutions of North and 

 South America, and a reproduction of the "Old Yellow Book," 

 the source of Browning's u The Ring and the Book." These 

 volumes and others issued by the Institution are offered for sale 

 at the cost of printing and transportation to purchasers. 



At the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees on December 

 8, 1908, Mr. Martin A. Ryerson, of Chicago, was elected a 



