During the year the following American biologists were appointed to the Smithsonian Table: Prof. H. D. Senior, of the College of Medicine of the Syracuse University, who continued his researches in the angioblast of the trunk in Teleosts through studies of the origin of the circulation in Amphioxus. Dr. R. M. Strong, of the University of Chicago, whose work was confined to some general studies of chromatophores, which occur in two species of Cephalopods and in three species of Crustacea. Dr. W. D. Hoyt, formerly of Johns Hopkins University, but now of Rutgers College, whose studies comprehended the periodicity in the fruiting and cultural experiments in alternations of generations of marine algæ. Prof. Charles L. Edwards, of Trinity College, who continued his investigations in the variations in Synapta inhoerens and other holothurians. Prof. Charles W. Greene, of the University of Missouri, who worked on the comparative physiology of fishes. Applications for future occupancy of the Table have been received during the year from Dr. S. R. Williams, of the Miami University, and from Dr. Sergius Morgulis, of Harvard University. The advisory committee on the Smithsonian Table has, as always, rendered invaluable aid in the examination of the credentials of applicants, and it is desired to here record the Institution's appreciation of their assistance. During the year an important change in the personnel of the committee took place. Dr. John S. Billings, who served for many years as its chairman, tendered his resignation, and it is much regretted that a relationship so helpful and agreeable has been thus terminated. The Institution is fortunate, however, in securing the cooperation of Dr. Carl H. Eigenmann, professor of zoology at the Indiana University and director of the biological station maintained in connection with that establishment. The present organization of the committee is as follows: Dr. Theodore Gill, of the Smithsonian Institution, chairman; Dr. C. Wardell Stiles, of the Bureau of Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, secretary; Dr. E. B. Wilson, of the Columbia University, New York; Dr. Carl H. Eigenmann, of the Indiana University. PUBLICATIONS. The principal medium for carrying out one of the fundamental functions of the Institution, "the diffusion of knowledge," is through its publications. The Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, and the Smithsonian annual reports now comprise a library of about 150 quarto and octavo volumes covering practically every branch of scientific knowledge, and if to these be added the publications issued under its direction by the National Museum, the Bureau of Ethnology, and the Astrophysical Observatory, the scientific literature produced through the Institution aggregates about 350 volumes, made up of several thousand memoirs and papers. The works issued at the expense of the Institution proper are necessarily in limited editions, but they are so distributed to the principal libraries throughout the world as to be available for general reference by all who need them. The annual reports, the general appendix of which is made up of selected papers reviewing progress in scientific work in all its branches, is a public document, and through the liberality of Congress is published in larger numbers than the other Smithsonian series, although the editions of this more popular work are each exhausted soon after publication. In the series of Contributions, reserved for original additions to knowledge, no memoir was issued during the year. Langley memoir on mechanical flight.-Two memoirs by the late Secretary Langley, entitled "Experiments in Aerodynamics" and "The Internal Work of the Wind," were printed in 1891 and 1893, respectively, as parts of volume 27 of the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, and several editions of each have since been published. A third memoir, dealing with later experiments to December 8, 1903, to be entitled "Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight," was to complete that volume. This work was in preparation at the time of Mr. Langley's death in 1906, and the manuscript of the first part covering his experiments down to November, 1896, had been written by him and partially revised for press. The further editorial revision of that part and the completion of part 2 to bring the work down to the close of the experiments on December 8, 1903, was placed in the hands of Mr. Charles M. Manly, who had for several years been Mr. Langley's chief assistant in his experiments. The completed manuscript is now nearly ready for the press and it will probably be published within a few months. It is hoped that later it may be practicable to have tabulated and published the extensive technical data of observations of the working of the model aerodromes and various types of engines, propellers, planes, and other apparatus with the use of the pendulum and whirling-arm. It is of interest here to note that on August 6, 1907, a French aviator made a flight of nearly 500 feet with a machine of the Langley type." • Recent Progress in Aviation. By Octave Chanute. In Journal Western Society of Engineers, vol. 15, No. 2, April, 1910. See also various French and Italian aeronautical periodicals giving some details of these experiments. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.-Thirty papers were added to the Miscellaneous Collections, including a number of biological and anthropological articles, and four volumes of considerable size on The Mechanics of the Earth's Atmosphere, Landmarks of Botanical History, Bibliography of Aeronautics, and Recalculation of Atomic Weights, all of which are enumerated in detail in the appendix to this report. Among the papers published just at the close of the year was one by Dr. F. W. Clarke on "Chemical denudation" and one by Dr. George F. Becker on the " Age of the earth." The Smithsonian Physical Tables have been revised and extended to bring the work within the range of recent advances in the science of physics, and the new edition has been put to press. The several series of Smithsonian meteorological, geographical, physical, and mathematical tables continue to be in demand by students, and new editions are required at comparatively frequent intervals. As mentioned on another page, three papers have been added to the series descriptive of my researches in Cambrian Geology and Paleontology. Harriman Alaska Expedition.-Arrangements are being made by which the publication of the series of volumes on the results of the Harriman scientific expedition to Alaska in 1899 will be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution and the work will hereafter be known as the Harriman Alaska series of the Smithsonian Institution. The remainder of the edition of the 11 volumes privately printed, as well as volumes in preparation, will bear special Smithsonian title pages, and all will be distributed under the auspices of the Institution. National Museum publications.-The National Museum publications during the year included the annual report on its operations, about 50 papers, chiefly biological, in the proceedings, 8 bulletins, and 7 botanical papers in the series of Contributions from the National Herbarium. The most elaborate of these works is Bulletin No. 70, devoted to the National Gallery of Art, by Assistant Secretary Richard Rathbun. This book reviews the history of the Art Gallery and gives a catalogue of the collections with illustrations of some of the most important paintings. Bureau of Ethnology.-The Bureau of American Ethnology issued five bulletins during the year, including works on the unwritten literature of Hawaii, by Doctor Emerson, and "Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park," by Doctor Fewkes. Society publications.-The annual reports of the American Historical Association and of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution were received from those organizations and communicated to Congress in accordance with their national charters. Allotments for printing. The allotments to the Institution and its branches, under the head of public printing and binding, during the past fiscal year, aggregating $72,700, were, as far as practicable, expended prior to June 30. The allotments for the year ending June 30, 1911, are as follows: For the Smithsonian Institution for printing and binding annual reports For the annual reports and bulletins of the Bureau of American Eth- International Exchanges International Catalogue of Scientific Literature_. Astrophysical Observatory For the annual report of the American Historical Association___ Total... $10,000 34, 000 21, 000 200 100 200 200 7,000 72, 700 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PRINTING AND PUBLICATION. The committee on printing and publication has continued to examine manuscripts proposed for publication by the branches of the Institution and has considered various questions concerning public printing and binding. Twenty-five meetings of the committee were held during the year and 106 manuscripts were passed upon. The personnel of the committee is as follows: Dr. Frederick W. True, head curator of biology, United States National Museum, chairman; Mr. C. G. Abbot, director of the Astrophysical Observatory; Mr. W. I. Adams, of the International Exchanges; Dr. Frank Baker, superintendent of the National Zoological Park; Mr. A. Howard Clark, editor of the Smithsonian Institution; Mr. F. W. Hodge, ethnologist, the Bureau of American Ethnology; Dr. George P. Merrill, head curator of geology, United States National Museum; and Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, curator of reptiles and batrachians, United States National Museum. THE LIBRARY. The Smithsonian Library as at present organized includes (1) the Smithsonian deposit in the Library of Congress, (2) the Smithsonian office library, (3) the library of the National Museum, (4) the library of the Bureau of American Ethnology, (5) the library of the Astro physical Observatory, and (6) the library of the National Zoological Park. The Bureau of Ethnology Library, together with the business offices of the Bureau, was during the past year transferred to the Smithsonian building, where it is more accessible than heretofore for reference. The total additions to these several libraries during the year aggregated more than 23,000 volumes, pamphlets, and serial publications. The library of the National Museum, which is subdivided into 31 sectional libraries for the convenience of the several departments and divisions, now numbers 38,300 volumes, 61,858 unbound papers, and 110 manuscripts, and the Bureau of Ethnology library contains 16,050 volumes, 11,600 pamphlets, several thousand periodicals, and a large collection of manuscripts. The Smithsonian deposit in the Library of Congress was increased by the addition of 2,653 volumes, 2,879 parts of volumes, 1,396 pamphlets, and 623 charts, the total accession entries now having reached the half-million mark. This library is becoming more and more valuable as the sets of transactions and memoirs of the learned institutions of the world and of scientific periodicals are each year made. more complete. There was published during the year a bibliography of aeronautics, prepared by the assistant librarian. This work contains references to about 13,500 books or papers on that subject, most of which are available for reference in Washington, the collection of aeronautical literature in the Smithsonian office library having been greatly increased in recent years. THE LANGLEY MEDAL. In memory of the late Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley and his contributions to the science of aerodromics, the Board of Regents on December 15, 1908, established the Langley medal, "to be awarded for specially meritorious investigations in connection with the science of aerodromics and its application to aviation." As stated in my last report, the first award of the medal was voted by the Board of Regents to Wilbur and Orville Wright, " for advancing the science of aerodromics in its application to aviation by their successful investigations and by their successful demonstrations of the practicability of mechanical flight by man." The brothers Wright were immediately communicated with in France and accepted an invitation to be present at the Board meeting of February 10, 1910, to receive the medals in person. On the date mentioned they were introduced to the Board and the formal presentation was made. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell reviewed the progress made in the science of aviation by the investigations and experiments |