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of Professor Langley, culminating on May 6, 1896, in the demonstration that a model aerodrome heavier than air could support itself and fly under its own power. Professor Langley thus became "the great pioneer of aerial flight." e

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Senator Lodge made the formal presentation speech, in which he said:

It is peculiarly the characteristic of Americans to be pioneers; pioneers across the great continent on which we live, pioneers by sea, and now pioneers by air; and to Wilbur and Orville Wright, pioneers of what Doctor Langley called "the great universal highway overhead," who by their achievements have added honor to the American name and nation, we now present the first Langley medal that the institution has conferred.

After receiving the medals from the hands of the Chancellor the recipients expressed their great pleasure in being considered worthy of such distinction. Mr. Wilbur Wright called attention to the valuable scientific researches by Professor Langley in matters relating to the physical properties of the air and to the great importance of extending these researches, particularly to determine the coefficient of air pressure; that is, the pressure of wind at a certain speed on a plane of a certain size.

As an indication of their early confidence in the successful solution of the problem of aerial navigation, the Wright brothers said:

The knowledge that the head of the most prominent scientific institution of America believed in the possibility of human flight was one of the influences that led us to undertake the preliminary investigations that preceded our active work. He recommended to us the books which enabled us to form sane ideas at the outset. It was a helping hand at a critical time, and we shall always be grateful.

LANGLEY MEMORIAL TABLET.

In accordance with a resolution adopted by the Board of Regents on December 15, 1908, designs have been prepared, and are under consideration by a special committee, for "the erection in the Institution building of a tablet to the memory of Secretary Langley, setting forth his services in connection with the subject of aerial navigation." The committee's recommendations are that the tablet be modeled in bronze in low relief along the lines of the work of St. Gaudens, to contain a bas-relief of the bust of Mr. Langley, and that in the background there be represented a model of the Langley aerodrome in full flight, with the date of its first flight. The tablet is also to bear the lettering "Samuel Pierpont Langley, 1834–1906, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1887-1906," and to bear also the text

The full addresses by Doctor Bell and others on this occasion will be printed in the report of the Board to Congress.

of what is known as Langley's Law as to relation of speed to power in aerial motion, as follows:

These new experiments (and theory also when viewed in their light) show that if in such aerial motion, there be given a plane of fixed size and weight, inclined at such an angle, and moved forward at such a speed, that it shall be sustained in horizontal flight, then the more rapid the motion is, the less will be the power required to support and advance it.

COMMISSION ON ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE.

An International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, consisting of five members, was appointed in 1895 by the Third International Zoological Congress, held at Leyden, Holland, for the purpose of studying the various codes of nomenclature and to report upon the same at a later congress. At the congress at Cambridge, England, in 1898, the commission was made permanent and increased to fifteen members. At the Berne Congress, in 1904, the commissioners were divided into three classes of five, each class to serve for nine years.

Committees on nomenclature, to cooperate with the International Commission, have been organized in the United States by the Entomological Society of America, the Association of Economic Entomologists, the American Ornithologists' Union, and the Society of American Zoologists.

A code of nomenclature was adopted at the Berlin congress in 1901 and was amended at the Boston congress in 1907. Prior to the Boston congress a desire had developed among zoologists that the commission should serve as a court of interpretation of the code, and in accordance therewith the commission presented to the Boston congress five opinions, which were ratified by the congress.

Since the Boston meeting a number of questions on nomenclature have been submitted to the commission for opinion. Owing to the amount of time consumed in communicating with the fifteen commissioners it was impossible to act promptly upon these cases, but in December, 1909, the Smithsonian Institution gave a grant to provide for the clerical work for a period of three years, and since that time it has been possible to render the opinions more promptly.

The commission has no legislative power. Its powers are restricted to studying questions of nomenclature, to reporting upon such questions to the international congress, and to rendering opinions upon cases submitted to it.

The Smithsonian Institution has also undertaken the publication of the opinions of the commission for a limited period and their distribution to important libraries and to zoological specialists throughout the world. The first issue of these opinions was in press at the close of the fiscal year and included opinions 1 to 25, covering several

important questions, making a pamphlet of 61 pages. In connection with the summary of each opinion there is given a statement of the case and the discussion thereon by the members of the commission.

The commission has issued the following rules to be followed in submitting cases for opinion:

(1) The commission does not undertake to act as a bibliographic or nomenclatural bureau, but rather as an adviser in connection with the more difficult and disputed cases of nomenclature.

(2) All cases submitted should be accompanied by (a) a concise statement of the point at issue, (b) the full arguments on both sides in case a disputed point is involved, and (c) complete and exact bibliographic references to every book or article bearing on the point at issue.

The more complete the data when the case is submitted, the more promptly can it be acted upon.

(3) Of necessity, cases submitted with incomplete bibliographic references can not be studied, and must be returned by the commission to the sender.

(4) Cases upon which an opinion is desired may be sent to any member of the commission, but—

(5) In order that the work of the commission may be confined as much as possible to the more difficult and the disputed cases it is urged that zoologists study the code and settle for themselves as many cases as possible.

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES AND CELEBRATIONS.

Congress of Americanists.-The Institution was represented at the Seventeenth International Congress of Americanists held at Buenos Aires, May 16 to 21, 1910, by three delegates, Dr. Aleš Hrdlička, of the United States National Museum; Mr. Bailey Willis, of the United States Geological Survey; and Rev. Charles Warren Currier, of the Catholic University of America. Doctor Hrdlička reports that the meeting was very well attended, particularly by delegates from the various republics of South America. There were read nearly fifty papers, many of them of considerable interest, and related chiefly to the natives of South America. Mr. Bailey Willis presented a communication on "Changes in the geological environment during the Quaternary period," and Doctor Hrdlička gave a résumé of the present knowledge on "Artificial deformation of the human skull, with special reference to America."

The Institution also appointed Dr. Aleš Hrdlička its representative at the second meeting of the above congress to be held in the City of Mexico, September 7 to 14, 1910.

Upon the suggestion of the Smithsonian Institution, the Department of State designated Doctor Hrdlička, Mr. Willis, and Doctor Currier as representatives of the United States at the above congress at Buenos Aires.

Geological Congress.-Dr. George F. Becker, of the United States Geological Survey, was designated as the representative of the Smithsonian Institution at the Eleventh International Geological Con

gress at Stockholm, Sweden, in August, 1910. A paper expressing my view on "The abrupt appearance of the Cambrian fauna " prepared to be read at this congress.

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International American Scientific Congress.-Mr. Bailey Willis, of the United States Geological Survey, was appointed a delegate in behalf of the Smithsonian Institution to the International American Scientific Congress to be held at Buenos Aires, July 10 to 25, 1910, on the occasion of the Argentina centennial.

Congress on Ornithology.-Mr. William Dutcher, president of the National Association of Audubon Societies, was designated as the representative on the part of the Smithsonian Institution and United States National Museum at the Fifth International Congress on Ornithology held at Berlin from May 30 to June 4, 1910, and upon the nomination of the Institution Mr. Dutcher was also accredited by the Department of State as a delegate on the part of the United States to that congress.

Zoological congress.-The following gentlemen were designated as delegates to represent the Smithsonian Institution and United States National Museum at the Eighth International Zoological Congress to be held at Graz, Austria, from August 15 to 20, 1910, and the Department of State designated them as delegates on the part of the United States: Dr. Charles Wardell Stiles, of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, and custodian of Helminthological Collections in the National Museum; Dr. Henry Haviland Field, an American naturalist and director of the Concilium Bibliographicum; Dr. William E. Kellicott, professor of biology in Goucher College, Baltimore; and Mr. Austin H. Clark, Assistant Curator of the Division of Marine Invertebrates, United States National Museum.

Congress of Botany.-Dr. Frederick V. Coville, of the United States National Museum, and Dr. Joseph C. Arthur, of Purdue University, were designated as representatives of the Smithsonian Institution to the Third International Congress of Botany held at Brussels May 14 to 22, 1910.

Aeronautical Exposition.-The Institution was invited to exhibit some models of the Langley flying machines at an aeronautical exposition at Frankfort-on-the-Main July 10 to October 10, 1909, but it was impracticable to do more than send a series of photographs of the model machines in flight on May 6, 1896, and August 8, 1903, and some views of the full-size aerodrome on the launching ways near Widewater, Virginia.

Inauguration of President Lowell.-The President and Fellows of Harvard College invited the Smithsonian Institution to be represented by a delegate at the inauguration on October 6 and 7, 1909, of Abbott Lawrence Lowell, LL. D., as the twenty-fourth president of Harvard University. It was my pleasure to attend the ceremonies

at Cambridge as such delegate and to present in engrossed form the greetings and congratulations of the Institution.

University of Oviedo.-The Institution received from the University of Oviedo, Spain, a copy of an address and a medal commemorative of the third centenary of that university.

Russian Entomological Society.—The Institution found it to be impracticable to send a delegate to the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Entomological Society of Russia at St. Petersburg March 11, 1910, but forwarded its formal congratulations and good wishes. Conference of librarians.-Mr. Paul Brockett, assistant librarian of the Institution, was authorized to accept the invitation of the secretary of the Institut International de Bibliographie to take part in and become a member of the Congrès International de Bibliographie et de Documentation to be held at Brussels, Belgium, August 25 to 27, 1910, and he was also designated to represent the Institution in the Congrès International des Archivistes et des Bibliothécaires at the same place on August 29 to 31, 1910.

MISCELLANEOUS.

George Washington Memorial Building.—At the February meeting of the Board of Regents I spoke of the movement of the George Washington Memorial Association to erect in Washington a memorial building, which would be used as a center for the scientific, literary, patriotic, and educational associations of the country. It is believed that such a building would afford a much-needed relief to the present crowded condition of the Smithsonian building, resulting in part by the accommodations offered to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Historical Association, and others.

The proposed building would be erected by popular subscription. Preservation of American antiquities.-Under the requirements of law (act of June 8, 1906), the Institution has continued its consideration of applications for permits to make archeological excavations or collections on the public domain of the United States, including requests for researches in the Aleutian Islands, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and California.

Gifts. Among the gifts to the Institution during the year special mention may be made of the C. Hart Merriam collection of 5,800 specimens of skins of mammals and about 6,000 skulls, including 100 full skulls of mammals and 235 skulls of seals presented by Mrs. Edward H. Harriman.

Additional gifts by Mr. Freer and others are referred to in connection with the National Gallery of Art.

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