PREFACE 



The stated function of the Smithsonian Institution, "the increase 

 and diffusion of knowledge," is carried out mainly by research, scien- 

 tific exploration, and publication. Several of the branches of science 

 prominent in the activities of the Institution depend to a large extent 

 on field exploration for specimens and data. The present pamphlet 

 describes briefly the results of the 1938 expeditions in the interests of 

 geology, biology, anthropology, and astrophysics. The articles are 

 written, and the photographs taken, largely by the field explorers 

 themselves. 



This year's pamphlet has as a unique feature a foreword to one of 

 the articles written by the President of the United States, Franklin D. 

 Roosevelt. The Institution is grateful to him not only for making it 

 possible for it to be represented on the expedition described, but also 

 for the interest in the Smithsonian's scientific work which he 

 expresses. 



W. P. True, Editor. 



