THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY'S NOTABLE YEAR 



343 



graphic Society's Peruvian expeditions. 

 In the vicinity of Machu Picchu were 

 discovered many remarkable ruins of a 

 pre-Columbian civilization, including the 

 wonderful hanging gardens, where it is 

 thought that great food resource, the 

 potato, originated.* 



Prof. Robert F. Griggs was honored 

 for service rendered to science while at 

 the head of National Geographic Society 

 expeditions to Mount Katmai (see page 



338). 



William Henry Holmes, now Head 

 Curator of Anthropology, National Mu- 

 seum, has left his impress both in science 

 and art. In the former field his original 

 work in ethnology, archeology, and geol- 

 ogy have valuable geographic significance. 



In recognition of his substantial serv- 

 ice in the upbuilding of the national park 

 system, of the marked impetus he has 

 given to interest in America's natural 

 beauties and wonders, and his success in 

 making these national play places acces- 

 sible, Stephen T. Mather, Director of the 

 National Park Service, was elected a 

 Jane M. Smith life member. 



THE GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE GOES TO 

 750,000 HOMES 



Month by month The Society's official 

 organ, the National Geographic Maga- 

 zine, with a steadily increasing number 

 of readers, has been instrumental in 

 diffusing geographic information in 750,- 

 000 homes by removing the padlock of 

 technicality from the most inclusive of 

 all sciences — that which "treats of the 

 earth and its life, the description of land, 

 sea, and air, the distribution of plant and 

 animal life, including man and his in- 

 dustries, with reference to the mutual 

 relations of these diverse elements." 



The Society has a warehouse full of 

 map paper, representing an investment 

 of $50,000, and as soon as the various 

 commissions have defined the new fron- 

 tiers of Europe, Asia, and Africa, it is 

 the intention of the Magazine to print a 

 complete set of maps. 



Two recent numbers have been espe- 

 cially noteworthy contributions to knowl- 

 edge — the Dog Number, with color por- 



* See "Staircase Farms of the Ancients" by 

 O. F. Cook, National Geographic Magazine, 

 May, 1916. 



traits of /$ species of man's historic and 

 best-loved animal friend, and the Mili- 

 tary Insignia Number, of special value 

 and interest to the 4,000,000 Americans 

 who were in the uniformed service of 

 their country during the World War, 

 and to their relatives and friends. The 

 latter number, superbly illustrated in 

 colors, gave an epitomized history of the 

 medals, decorations, ribbons, and organi- 

 zation shoulder insignia authorized by 

 the United States Government, and 

 proved an especially valuable sequel to 

 The Society's famous Flag Number of 

 October, 1917. 



geographic bulletins reach twelve 

 million readers 



Through the columns of more than 

 550 of the leading American newspapers, 

 The Society's daily Geographic News 

 Bulletins are reaching twelve million 

 readers. By means of these bulletins, 

 which are furnished to the daily press 

 without charge, The Society is enabled 

 to interpret the historic and geographic 

 backgrounds which give significance to 

 news dispatches from every corner of 

 the globe. 



So important have these bulletins 

 proved as an educational force, that 

 through the co-operation of the United 

 States Department of the Interior, Bu- 

 reau of Education, the urgent appeals of 

 more than 60,000 school teachers have 

 been met and this geographic informa- 

 tion, in attractive illustrated form, is 

 now being issued weekly for class-room 

 use. Thus educators in every State of 

 the Union are receiving the assistance of 

 The Society in vivifying and vitalizing 

 for their pupils the mere names of places 

 into communities where human beings 

 live and move and have their being. 



A further educational activity inaugu- 

 rated by The Society in recent months is 

 its Pictorial Geography. By means of 

 this series of loose-leaf geographic text 

 and pictures, the bewildering "dots and 

 dashes" of the average map and the tech- 

 nical phraseology of physical geography 

 are deciphered into mental pictures of 

 busy places, living peoples, beautiful 

 landscapes, Nature's moods and proc- 

 esses, for America's millions of school 

 children. 



