Fuller memorial meeting.-It having appeared to be the wish of the board at its annual meeting on December 8 last that a formal meeting in memory of the late Chief Justice Fuller should be held by the Regents, a resolution was then adopted inviting Justice Harlan to deliver such an address on a suitable occasion, the time of which was to be left entirely to his convenience. The secretary regrets to report that Justice Harlan has written him to say that he finds himself unable in the near future to comply with the wishes of the board.

After discussion, in which it was suggested that the proposed tribute to the late chancellor take the form of a memorial to be published in the annual report, the following resolution was adopted:

Resolved, That the secretary be requested to prepare a suitable memorial of the life and work of the late Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller, chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution from 1888 to 1910, which memorial is hereby declared approved for inclusion in the next annual report of the Board of Regents. Langley memorial tablet.-At the last meeting of the board it was reported that the Langley memorial tablet had met with an accident and would have to be remodeled. This work of repair has been going on, but no photograph showing the present condition of the tablet has been submitted by the sculptor.

Hodgkins gold medal of the Institution. The committee appointed by the secretary to consider whether sufficiently important investigations into the phenomena of atmospheric air in relation to the welfare of mankind had been made to merit the award of the third Hodgkins gold medal have reported their findings with a recommendation, which report is now being considered.

Biological survey of the Panama Canal Zone.-The secretary stated that the board would recall that at the late annual meeting he had spoken of the organization of a biological survey of the Panama Canal Zone to include studies of the life of the land and waters of that region, and had explained the necessity for immediate action, as the opening of the canal would mingle the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which might permanently destroy the possibility of a true understanding of the fauna and flora now existing there.

Since that meeting a party of naturalists designated to carry on the work has reached the zone, and the collections resulting from their work are already arriving. Those engaged in the survey are the following:

Prof. S. E. Meek, of the Field Museum of Natural History; Prof. Henry Pittier, of the United States Bureau of Plant Industry; Mr. E. A. Goldman, of the United States Biological Survey; Mr. S. F. Hildebrand, of the United States Bureau of Fisheries; Mr. E. A. Schwarz and Mr. August Busck, of the United States Bureau of

Entomology; and Mr. William R. Maxon, of the United States National Museum.

Much interest is being manifested in this survey both here and in the zone. The Republic of Panama is so impressed with the importance of the work that it has invited the Institution to extend the survey into that country.

The Institution is indebted to the Departments of State, Agricul ture, Commerce and Labor, the War Department, and the Panama Railroad & Steamship Co. for courtesies which have insured the success of the enterprise.

As previously stated, a very considerable part of the funds necessary for the survey has been received by subscription.

Appointment of an additional assistant secretary.-The secretary called attention to the large increase in the work of the Institution and its branches, brought about by the natural growth of their activities and the addition of new interests, and stated that there was need for the appointment of an additional assistant secretary.

He desired the permission of the board to appoint to that position before the close of the present fiscal year Dr. Frederick William True, who entered the service of the Institution in 1878, who was a zoologist of established reputation, and who was now head curator of the Department of Biology in the United States National Museum. After discussion, the following resolution was adopted:

Resolved, That the proposed appointment by the secretary of Dr. Frederick William True as assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution be approved. Bequest of George W. Poore.-The secretary announced that since the annual meeting notice had been received that the Institution had been made the residual legatee of the late George W. Poore, of Lowell, Mass., who left an estate estimated to be $40,000, under the condition that the income from this sum should be added to the principal until a total of $250,000 should have been reached, and that then the income only was to be used for the purposes for which the Institution was created. The portions of the will relating to the bequest are as follows:

ITEM 7. The large and small photographs of myself I desire given to the Smithsonian Institute hereinafter mentioned; to be given a place in their Institute where they may be seen, as one of the conditions of the gift to them herein made by me.

ITEM 8. All the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, real, personal, and mixed, of whatever name or nature and wherever found or situate, of which I shall die seized, possessed, or entitled, whether at law or in equity, I give, devise, and bequeath to the Smithsonian Institute, at Washington, D. C., but in trust nevertheless and upon the condition, in addition to the condition as to photographs of myself as above, that the fund realized from my estate and from turning the real and personal estate into money shall be held forever by said Smithsonian Institute as a fund to be called the Lucy T., and George W. Poore fund, and upon condition that the income only of said fund

shall be used for the purposes only for which said Smithsonian Institute was created, said Lucy T. and George W. Poore fund to be kept separate from all other funds, and the income from the same not to be used until the principal, by accumulation of the income to be added to the principal from year to year, shall have reached the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. I make this gift not so much because of its amount as because I hope it will prove an example for other Americans to follow, by supporting and encouraging so wise and beneficent an institution as I believe the Smithsonian Institute to be, and yet it has been neglected and overlooked by American citizens.

The secretary said: "At my request the Institution's interests in the matter are being looked after by Mr. Choate, of the Board of Regents, who has assured me that he will be glad to act as agent or attorney for the Institution without charge."

The Paul J. Rainey expedition to Africa.-The secretary said that Mr. Paul J. Rainey,. of New York City, recently called at the Institution and stated that it was his intention to make a hunting and collecting trip in Africa, and asked if a man could be sent with him to prepare the specimens which he wished to present to the Institution. The route of travel was to be north of that of the recent Smithsonian expedition, through the country lying between the northern portion of British East Africa and the southern part of Abyssinia. Mr. Rainey agreed to bear all expenses in connection with the trip.

It was thought desirable to accept this offer, as it was hoped to add new material to the present collections; and Mr. Edmund Heller, who was one of the field naturalists on the Smithsonian expedition, and who was now engaged in working up that collection, had been authorized to suspend work upon it temporarily, and detailed to accompany Mr. Rainey. He expected to sail on February 18, and to be absent about eight months.

Portrait of Washington.-The secretary called attention to a portrait of Gen. Washington, which was hanging in the room in which the board was then meeting.

This portrait was part of the Lewis collection of Washington relics purchased by the Government in 1878 and stored for a time at the Patent Office. When the collection was transmitted to the National Museum in 1883, the Commissioner of Patents retained this picture, and it is only recently that the matter came up, with the result that the portrait was sent to the Institution by the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Ballinger.

The picture has been attributed to Gilbert Stuart, but a careful investigation fails to reveal anything to substantiate the claim, and it is now recorded as having been painted by an unknown artist. By some it is regarded as a copy of an original painting. Mrs. Lewis had said that there was a tradition in the family that this was considered the best likeness of Washington ever painted.

American Indian memorial and museum building.-It was stated by the secretary that a request to Congress to erect in Washington an American Indian memorial and museum building, under the control of the Secretary of the Interior, had been embodied in two identical bills designated as follows: House joint resolution 274 and Senate bill 9830.

This subject is one which, by direction of Congress, has long been fostered by the Smithsonian Institution through the National Museum and the Bureau of American Ethnology, all material objects being deposited in the former, and all records of investigations in the latter. The Museum collection is the richest in the world as regards the Indians of North America, to which the proposed new building is intended to be devoted. In extent and variety the collections of the National Museum are not what they might and should be, but this is due to the fact that appropriations sufficient to perfect these collections have never been obtainable.

The founding of a new museum, especially under the proposed auspices, could only result in the partial duplication of objects and records and in an increase in the cost of bringing together a proper representation of the North American Indians. Should Congress take any action in this matter, it would seem desirable that it be directed toward giving increased funds for the use of the Institution and Museum. If the movement is one tending to bring individual help from different parts of the country, such cooperation could best be turned toward increasing the present collections, which are already extensive and important.

Commercial museum.-The subject of establishing at the National Capital a trade or commercial museum to be maintained at the expense of the Government has been recently agitated in connection with the Board of Trade of Washington. While no bill in support of such a measure has been submitted to Congress as yet, it is apparently the intention to request congressional action in connection with any celebration which may be held here in commemoration of the completion of the Panama Canal.

While such a museum would follow lines in large part not included in the plan of the National Museum, yet in some respects the tendency would be to duplicate its collections.

It would, furthermore, appear to those who have given the matter consideration that Washington is not the proper place for the location of a museum of this kind. It should be established and conducted in a large commercial center like New York City.

Prehistoric ruins.-The secretary exhibited a number of photographs showing the excavations among prehistoric cliff dwellings and pueblo ruins in New Mexico resulting from the joint work of the Bureau of American Ethnology and the Archeological Institute

of America. In one canyon in which these excavations were conducted the cliff dwellings extend along the wall of the canyon for about 2 miles, while in another locality in the same general region one of the many pueblo ruins covers an area of about 600 feet square. Other photographs were presented showing the excavation and repair of the celebrated Balcony House in southern Colorado, conducted under the joint auspices of the Smithsonian Institution and the Colorado Cliff Dwellers Association. Excavations were made also in newly discovered cliff dwellings and other archeological remains in northwestern Arizona.

Field work has been conducted by the Bureau of American Ethnology among the tribes which composed the Creek Confederacy of the Southern States; the Tewa Indians of the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico; the Winnebago Indians of Wisconsin and Nebraska; the Piegan, Black feet, Cheyenne, and Menominee Indians of the Algonquian family; the Chippewa Indians, especially with reference to their music; the Osage Indians, now in Oklahoma, and the Iroquois in New York. A study of the past and present population of the Indians, with the various causes of their decrease, is being conducted, and a bibliography of the Hawaiian Islands is in preparation.

Resignation of Senator Henderson.-Senator Henderson stated that he had served the Institution as a Regent for 19 years, but that he had now reluctantly come to the conclusion that it was necessary to relieve himself of all possible work, as the condition of his health would not permit him to continue his duties with satisfaction to himself and justice to the Institution. He therefore desired to tender his resignation as a Regent to take effect at such time as would best suit the board's convenience.

After discussion, the Senator first submitted his resignation as a member of the executive committee to take effect at once, and on motion it was carried

That the resignation of the Hon. John B. Henderson, chairman of the executive committee, as a member of that committee, be accepted with regret.

The Senator then presented his resignation as a Regent to take effect March 1, 1911.

Judge Gray offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted:

Whereas the board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution having learned that the Hon. John B. Henderson has tendered his resignation as a Regent, a position he has filled with signal ability for 19 years;

Resolved, That the Regents desire here to express to him their high appreciation of his services as a member of the board, their sincere regret at the termination of his official connection with the institution, and their cordial good wishes for his future health and happiness.