the Smithsonian advisory committee on printing and publication. Thirteen meetings were held during the year and 79 manuscripts were acted upon. The membership of the committee is as follows: Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, head curator of biology, National Museum, chairman; Mr. N. Hollister, superintendent of the National Zoological Park; Dr. George P. Merrill, head curator of geology, National Museum; Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology; and Mr. A. Howard Clark, editor of the Institution and secretary of the committee until his death in December, 1918, when Mr. Webster P. True succeeded him as editor and secretary of the committee.

LIBRARY.

The library of the Smithsonian Institution is maintained for the purpose of assembling a collection of periodicals and publications of a scientific nature, as well as the journals and other publications of scientific institutions of the world, the whole forming a library of reference and research. In addition to the main bulk of titles housed in the Library of Congress, and known as the Smithsonian Deposit, there are 35 sectional technical libraries and 4 branch libraries-the National Museum library, the Bureau of American Ethnology library, the Astrophysical Observatory library, and the National Zoological Park library.

The number of accessions during the year which were added to the previous collection of over half a million titles numbered 7,502. Of these 2,077 were for the Smithsonian Deposit, 639 for the Smithsonian office, Astrophysical Observatory, and National Zoological Park, and 4,786 for the National Museum.

Seventy-eight titles have been added during the year to the institution's collections of aeronautical publications, in which continued interest has been shown by aeronautical research workers in the Army, Navy, and scientific institutions. Author cards for 1,722 titles of books in the De Peyster Collection have been made, and the 869 volumes on French history have been made accessible.

In the Museum library the most important acquisition was a set of catalogues of the J. Pierpont Morgan art collection, presented by J. Pierpont Morgan, jr. The technological library added 346 volumes, and the books in the sectional library, division of plants, have been revised and all available works on botanical subjects brought together and rendered accessible. The collection in the art room, statuary, as well as books, has been carefully gone over and put in thorough order.

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

The National Museum suffered the loss at the beginning of the year of the assistant secretary in charge, Mr. Richard Rathbun, who died July 16, 1918. His duties devolved upon Mr. W. de C. Ravenel, the administrative assistant, whose title was changed to administrative assistant to the secretary, and on November 1 was also designated director of arts and industries.

The scope of the National Museum embraces many subjects, which may be classed under the following headings:

1. Natural history.

2. Applied science and art (Arts and Industries).

3. The fine arts (the National Gallery of Art).

4. American history.

These various departments are combined under one administration, which insures greater economy and efficiency in management.

During the war the Museum furnished the Bureau of War Risk Insurance with 138,600 square feet of space for its offices. Members of the Museum staff in all departments continued to render service to the various governmental agencies until the signing of the armistice, and their work was successful in bringing the Museum into closer relationship with the executive departments.

The total number of accessions received during the year was 526,845, classified and assigned as follows: Department of Anthropology, 12,333; Zoology, 442,383; Botany, 40,357; Geology and Mineralogy, 4,750; Paleontology, 26,050; Textiles, etc., 884; Mineral Technology, 62; and National Gallery of Art, 26. Three thousand and ninety-six articles were loaned for exhibition, mainly for the divisions of history and American archeology and the Gallery of Art. Purchases were made from the Frances Lea Chamberlain funds and the Henry Ward Ranger funds.

collection of a most valOne of the most instrucshowing the development

During the year the Museum began the uable and interesting series of war relics. tive features of this collection is an exhibit of the airplane, from the original Langley models to the first Government-owned aeroplane of the world, purchased by the United States from the Wright Brothers in 1909. Through the director of military aeronautics, Bureau of Aircraft Production, two types of planes used by the French at the front in 1917 were received, and a Curtiss training plane of the model used at flying fields all over the United States, as well as the first battle plane constructed in this country for the United States Government-the DH-4-made by the Dayton-Wright Airplane Co. in 1917. This machine was flown over 100,000 miles.

The Department of Anthropology received exceptionally large additions relating to the war with Germany. They include the Combined Order of Battle Map, corrected to November 11, 1918, with its accessories, as used by Gen. Pershing and his staff at Chaumont, France, throughout the progress of the American military movements; a collection of German military paraphernalia captured by American troops during various engagements; collections of the equipment of the various branches of the American Army; and an almost complete series of uniforms, insignia, decorations, and medals of the Army and Navy, as well as a collection of relics of Lieut. Benjamin Stuart Walcott, United States Army, who entered the French air service as a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps, and who was killed in aerial combat on December 12, 1917.

Another interesting addition consists of a large series of costumes and accessories worn by the late Richard Mansfield in his extensive repertoire of historic characters, presented by Mrs. Mansfield.

The chief addition in the Department of Biology was a collection of Antillean land mollusks, aggregating 400,000 specimens, donated by Mr. John B. Henderson, a regent of the Smithsonian Institution. The final installment of Dr. Abbott's Celebes collections was received likewise. The collections in the National Herbarium were enriched by a donation of 12,000 plants from Mexico, 9,600 from the Philippines, and many from the South American countries.

The Division of Textiles received for exhibition purposes from the office of the Surgeon General of the United States Army a collection consisting of apparatus, hospital appliances, and field equipment used by the Medical, Dental, and Sanitary Corps in the war. This included examples of all kinds of equipment of a thousand-bed hospital overseas. The food exhibits were continued and an arrangement was made with the States Relations Service of the Department of Agriculture, whereby regular demonstrations of the value, use, preparation, and conservation of foods were given. Over 2,100 persons attended the lectures and various demonstrations.

Work on the Freer Building progressed satisfactorily, and it is expected that the structure will be completed early in 1920. The National Gallery of Art acquired from Mr. Ralph Cross Johnson a rare gift of 24 paintings, which comprises selections from the work of 19 of Europe's foremost masters.

The most pressing needs of the Museum are a separate building for the National Gallery of Art, which has long since outgrown its present temporary quarters, and also one for American history. It is likewise imperative to increase the scientific and technical staff in order that the Institution may keep pace with the rapid development of the country.

The total distribution of Museum publications during the year aggregated 118,332 copies. Over 4,000 volumes, pamphlets, and unbound papers were added to the library, which now contains 54,685 volumes and 87.109 pamphlets and unbound papers.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY.

The usual activities of the Bureau of American Ethnology, defined by law as "ethnological researches among the American Indians, including the excavation and preservation of archeologic remains," have been carried on during the year under the direction of Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, chief. Intensive studies were made of the dying languages of the numerous Indian tribes in order to discover the relationship of the various stocks of the aborigines and to gain a clearer insight into the origin, history, and migration of man on this continent. The continued study of the material culture of the Indians also has its practical value, while another instructive line of work relates to the history of the Indians both before and after the advent of Europeans.

Field researches include, in addition to those mentioned above, the excavation and preservation of archeological remains. A few of these researches are mentioned very briefly here in order to show the nature of the work. A somewhat more detailed account of these and other undertakings of the bureau during the year will be found in an appendix hereto. Valuable work was done by Dr. Fewkes in the McElmo and tributary canyons in Colorado and in Utah as far west as Montezuma Canyon, on the aboriginal castles and towers of that region, and through his efforts the Aztec Spring Ruin was presented by the owner, Mr. Henry van Kleeck, of Denver, to the National Park Service, and accepted by the Secretary of the Interior.

Dr. J. R. Swanton, ethnologist, devoted much of his time to the collection of material from published sources for a study of the economic background of the life of the American Indians north of Mexico. He has also continued his study of the languages of the Indians of the lower Mississippi Valley and of the social systems of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians.

Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt, ethnologist, prepared for the press the Onondaga version of the Myth of the Beginnings, the Genesis Myth of the Iroquoian peoples, and continued his previous study of the league.

Mr. Francis La Flesche, ethnologist, is now completing for publication his notes on the rite of the chiefs, the tribal rite of the Osage people. In this ritual is embodied the story of the four stages of the development of the tribal government, including both the military

and the civil forms, beginning with the chaotic state of the tribal existence.

Mr. J. P. Harrington, ethnologist, has obtained important corroborative evidence of the validity of his discovery that there is a close genetic relationship between Tanoan pueblo dialects of New Mexico and the Kiowa. The bearings of this discovery on theories of the origin of modern Pueblos is very significant.

Special research work was done among the Salish Tribes, the Pawnee, and Chippewa. Dr. Walter Hough, curator of ethnology, United States National Museum, undertook archeological work in the White Mountain Apache Reserve, Arizona, and Mr. Neil M. Judd, curator of American archeology, United States National Museum, successfully investigated five prehistoric ruins in the Cottonwood Canyon caves. Dr. Aleš Hrdlička, curator of physical anthropology, United States National Museum, was detailed to make an examination of the remains of southwestern Florida, especially of the shell heaps along the coast south of Key Marco. Mr. Gerard Fowke has made careful detailed study of the numerous caves in the Ozark region of central Missouri, and also transmitted a valuable collection of relics to the Museum.

The number of publications distributed was 11,483, an increase of 4,139 over the number sent out last year. The library accessioned 380 new books and 210 pamphlets.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.

The total number of packages handled by the International Exchange Service during the year was 270,860, an increase over the number for the previous year of 3,914. Although it has not yet been possible to put the service on a prewar basis as far as the shipment of consignments abroad is concerned, shipments in boxes are being made as frequently as present conditions will permit to all countries except Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Montenegro, Roumania, Russia, Serbia, and Turkey.

The exchange service has continued its policy of international helpfulness in procuring publications desired by governmental and scientific establishments both abroad and at home. As an instance of this service, sets as nearly complete as possible of posters relating to the war were assembled and transmitted to the British Museum at their request, a similar service having been rendered to the French Government the previous year. Owing to the excessive charges on ocean freight, many packages were sent by mail.

Late in the fiscal year shipments to Belgium and the northern neutrals were resumed. The chief of the Belgian Service of International Exchanges said, in part, in a letter to the office here: