Miscellaneous Intelligence. 321 



advancement and not for the diffusion of scientific knowledge, 

 and is to be used to defray the actual expenses of investigation, 

 rather than for the personal support of the investigator during 

 the time of his researches, without absolutely excluding the latter 

 use under the most exceptional circumstances. 



Application for appropriations from the income of this fund 

 may be made informally by letter to any of the directors, stating 

 the amount desired, the nature of the proposed investigation, and 

 the manner in which the appropriation is to be expended. If 

 favorably considered, a blank for formal application will be for- 

 warded for signature, with the rules adopted by the directors for 

 the administration of the fund, and to which the applicant will be 

 expected to subscribe. 



2. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 

 Institution for the year ending June SO, 1896. Report of the 



JJ. S. National Museum ; pp. xxiv, 1107. Washington, 1898. — 

 The Report of the United States National Museum for the year 

 ending June 30th, 1896, has recently been issued. It includes the 

 report of the Assistant Secretary, the late Dr. G. Brown Goode, 

 which gives, in addition to matters of current interest, an outline 

 of the history of the Museum, showing how it has grown to its 

 present dimensions. A series of Appendices relating to Museum 

 matters follow. 



Part II of the volume, covering nearly 750 pages, includes a 

 paper entitled: An account of the United States National Museum 

 by Frederick W. True (reprinted) ; also a series of ethnographical 

 papers elaborately illustrated with many text figures and full 

 page plates. The first of these, by Thomas Wilson, discusses the 

 origin of art as manifested in the works of pre-historic man ; 

 those not acquainted with the subject will be surprised to see 

 what a variety of objects is here described and illustrated and 

 how great interest attaches to them. The other articles are on 

 Chess and Playing Cards by Stewart Culin ; Biblical Antiquities 

 by Cyrus Adler and I. M. Casanowicz ; The Lamps of the Eskimo 

 by Walter Hough. 



3. The Second Washington Catalogue of Stars : together with 

 the Annual Residts upon which it is based. The whole derived 

 from Observations made at the U. S. Naval Observatory with an 

 8'5 inch transit circle, during the years 1866 to 1891, and reduced 

 to the epoch of 1875*0. Prepared under the direction of John R. 

 Eastman, Professor of Mathematics, U. S. N., Washington Observa- 

 tions for 1892, Appendix I, pp. lxiii, 287, Washington, 1898. — This 

 large volume of star observations, as stated in the preface by the 

 Director of the Observatory, Professor Harkness, has absorbed the 

 labors of about two-thirds of the Observatory staff for more than 

 thirty years, during the greater part of which time Professor East- 

 man was in immediate charge. His personal work included 17,334 

 observations of stars, out of nearly 73,000 ; and nearly 40,000 

 were made under his immediate direction. Professor Harkness 

 adds that the credit and responsibility for the methods of discuss- 



