166 Scientific Intelligence. 



summary is quoted : " The year has been distinguished by a suc- 

 cessful expedition to Mount Whitney. The results obtained 

 there confirm the view that determinations of the intensity of the 

 solar radiation outside the earth's atmosphere by the spectrobolo- 

 metric method of high and low sun observation are not dependent 

 on the observer's altitude above sea level, provided the conditions 

 are otherwise good. The Mount Whitney expedition furnished 

 opportunities also for measurements of the brightness of the sky 

 by day and by night, the influence of water vapor on the sun's 

 spectrum, and the distribution of the sun's energy spectrum out- 

 side the atmosphere. Solar-constant observations and closely 

 related researches were continued daily at Mount Wilson until 

 November, 1910, and were taken up again in June, 1911. 



Further research tends to confirm the conclusion that the sun's 

 output of radiation varies from day to day in a manner irregular 

 in period and quantity, but roughly running its courses within 

 periods of 5 to 10 days in time and 3 to 10 per cent in amplitude. 

 Assurance seems now complete that this result will be tested in 

 the next fiscal year by long-continued daily observations made 

 simultaneously at two widely separated stations. 



Many copies of the silver disk secondary pyrheliometer have 

 been standardized and sent out to observers in this and foreign 

 countries to promote exactly comparable observations of the sun's 

 radiation. 



Measurements of the transparency, for long-wave radiation, of 

 columns of air containing known quantities of water vapor have 

 been continued, and promise highly interesting results." 



The following has recently been issued : Classified List of 

 Smithsonian Publications available for distribution, January, 1912. 

 Pp. vi, 29. 



2. Report of the Librarian of Congress and Report of the 

 Superintendent of the Library Building and Grounds for the 

 fiscal year ending June SO, 1911. Pp. 244 ; 5 plates. Washing- 

 ton, 1911. — The Report of the Librarian of Congress, Mr. Herbert 

 Putnam, shows that the expenditures for the past year amounted 

 to $655,000. The appropriations for the coming year are about 

 $50,000 less, chiefly because a smaller amount is needed for the 

 new book-stacks. The gain in number of books is nearly 100,000, 

 making the total about 1,900,000 ; there have been also some 

 60,000 accessions in the way of maps, music, and prints. It is 

 interesting to note two bequests from abroad, one in 1910 from 

 the late Henry Harrisse, the historian of the period of the Colum- 

 bian discovery. This includes a full set of his own writings, 

 annotated, with books, maps, and manuscripts on related topics. 

 The other bequest of May, 1911, was from the late Dr. A. B. 

 Meyer, of Dresden, of the letters of Professor F. Blumentritt, 

 concerning certain matters in the Philippines. The articles 

 themselves have not thus far been received. A list is also given 

 of a series of gifts which, although not remarkable as concerning 

 collections of books, show that the Library is becoming rich 



