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APPENDIX VII.

REPORT OF THE EDITOR FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1897.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report on the publications of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1897:

I. CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE.

Two memoirs of the Contributions have been issued this year, each of them having been submitted in the Hodgkins fund prize competition.

No. 1033. Argon; a New Constituent of the Atmosphere; by Lord Rayleigh and Prof. William Ramsay. (Part of Vol. XXIX of Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge.) Quarto pamphlet of 43 pages, illustrated with 5 text figures.

This memoir was submitted in competition for one of the Hodgkins Fund prizes offered by the Smithsonian Institution, and the first prize of $10,000, for a treatise embodying some new and important discovery in regard to the nature or properties of atmospheric air, was awarded to Lord Rayleigh and Professor Ramsay for their discovery of "Argon," a new element of the atmosphere. The authors give a detailed description of the apparatus and methods of their investigation.

No. 1034. Atmospheric Actinometry and the Actinic Constitution of the Atmosphere; by E. Duclaux, professor of physics in the Agronomical Institute at Paris. (Part of Vol. XXIX of Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge.) Quarto pamphlet of 48 pages.

Professor Duclaux summarizes his work as follows:

"1. The oxidation of oxalic acid in a weak solution takes place mainly, and almost exclusively, under the influence of the chemical rays of solar light; it can therefore be used as an actinometric measure.

"2. It depends on the concentration of the liquid, which for the best results should not exceed about 3 grams per liter.

"3. With an equal volume of solution combustion decreases as depth increases. There is an absorption of chemical rays, although the liquid is and remains very transparent.

"4. For equal depths of liquid, combustion is proportional to the surface, and consequently also to the volume.

5. It depends on the age of the solution-that is to say, of the time which has elapsed since preparation. As it grows older an oxalic solution becomes more sensitive and attains a certain maximum which is quite stable and quite regular. It is well to wait till this state of sensitiveness has been produced.

"6. The daily combustion, such as is measured with sterilized liquids, varies from one day to another much more than any other meteorological phenomenon, and, while subject to the influence of what we call 'fine weather' and 'overcast weather,' it inanifests very clearly other influences which are less visible.

"7. It shows also the influence of the seasons, and manifestly exhibits a maximum in spring.

8. It is but feebly subject to the influence of altitude.

"9. On the other hand, it betrays so strongly the presence of divers oxidizable essences or substances in the air that we must consider local and daily variations as due to the presence in the atmosphere of actinic clouds, which are discoverable only by the reduction and absorption which they produce in the chemical radiations of sunlight.

"10. The atmosphere of extreme northern regions is less absorbent than that of our temperate zones, and, consequently, at the same hours of the day actinic radiation is more powerful, at the level of the soil, in the north than at the center of Europe.

"11. Northern countries add to this cause of superiority, which they owe to the constitution of their atmosphere, another, which is due to their geographical position, namely, that the actinic effect of the sun increases more rapidly than the duration of its presence above the horizon. The very long days of the north during the period of vegetation are, therefore, in their actinic effect more active than an equal number of days in our temperate regions, and we can thus explain the particularly intense rate of the progress which vegetation makes in the vicinity of the polar circle.

"12. This increase of sensitiveness which oxalic acid experiences in the sun does not cease when the light begins to fade, and may continue several days. Hence follows a conclusion which may also be applied to our temperate regions. This is that the actinic effect of a number of fine days in succession increases more rapidly than its duration, and also that the effect of a fine morning is not lost by a dark and cloudy evening.

"13. We must therefore give up the hope of finding, in the duration of a day or of solar action, a measure of its effects, and meteorological instruments which accept such a proportionality are to be rejected.

"14. The importance of these actinic phenomena in the general economy of the world is great enough to make it necessary that we should approach the investigation by appropriate means.

II. SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS.

The series of Miscellaneous Collections now includes 36 completed volumes, embracing 173 distinct papers, besides parts of 4 additional volumes. The following were published during the past fiscal year:

No. 1035. Mountain Observatories in America and Europe, by Edward S. Holden, director of the Lick Observatory. (Part of Vol. XXXVII of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo pamphlet of v1, 77 pages, with 24 full page illustrations. In this paper Professor Holden describes the conditions of good vision at mountain stations all over the globe, and makes a short study of the high-level observatories in this country and Europe. The main scientific and practical conclusions to be drawn from the facts presented are stated by Professor Holden as follows:

"Briefly they show the necessity for a careful examination of the sites proposed for an astronomical (or meteorological) observatory before a final choice is made. They prove that while some mountain stations present great advantages for astronomical and astrophysical observatories, this is by no means the case for all. And they point out that the more frequent use of balloons, etc., in meteorology is likely to result in a rapid advance in our knowledge of the physics of the atmosphere, and to do away, in a great degree, with the need for permanent meteorological stations at high levels.

"It appears that different researches require different conditions. All would be best done at a station where both steadiness and transparency were absolute. But some can be very well performed under less perfect conditions. If one is searching for the site for a new observatory, both conditions should be insisted upon; if one is planning work at a station already established, the work should be chosen so that it can be well done under existing conditious.

"None of these (and other) obvious conclusions are new. The mass of evidence will, however, bring new conviction even to those most familiar with it; and it may serve as a check on the wasteful expenditure of public and private endowments. The subsidies to science, great as they are, thanks to the generosity of governments and of individuals, must be carefully husbanded if we are to exploit its entire domain, which is enlarging day by day."

No. 1037. Methods for the Determination of Organic Matter in Air, by David Hendricks Bergey, B. S., M. D., of the University of Pennsylvania. (Part of Vol. XXXIX of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo pamphlet of 1, 28 pages, with 3 text figures.

The difficulties that were encountered in estimating the quantity of organic matter in expired air, while conducting the research on the Composition of Expired Air and its Effects upon Animal Life, are said by Dr. Bergey to have demonstrated the fact that some of the methods in use were unsatisfactory. He reviews various forms of apparatus used by foreign and American investigators, and concludes as follows:

"1. The quantity of organic matter bears an intimate relation to the amount of dust floating in the air. It is probable that the gaseous organic matter forms but an exceedingly small proportion of the total organic matter.

"2. The attachment of a dust filter of asbestus to the absorption apparatus produces results that are constantly lower than those obtained without the dust filter. "The most reliable method for the estimation of organic matter in air is that known as Remsen's method, and is called Method IIIa in this research. The pumice stone seems to be the best form of absorbent material, because it can be thoroghly cleansed by heat without changing its condition or usefulness.

4. Those methods which determine the organic matter from its reducing action on permanganate do not seem to afford as satisfactory results as those in which the organic matter is estimated as ammonia."

No. 1038. Smithsonian Physical Tables, prepared by Thomas Gray. (Part of Vol. XXXV of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo volume of XXXIV, 301 pages.

"In connection with the system of meteorological observations established by the Smithsonian Institution about 1850, a series of meteorological tables was compiled by Dr. Arnold Guyot, at the request of Secretary Henry, and was published in 1852. A second edition was issued in 1857, and a third edition, with further amendments, in 1859. Though primarily designed for meteorological observers reporting to the Smithsonian Institution, the tables were so widely used by physicists that, after twenty-five years of valuable service, the work was again revised and a fourth edition was published in 1884. In a few years the demand for the tables exhausted the edition, and it appeared to Secretary Langley desirable to recast the work entirely, rather than to undertake its revision again. It was decided to publish a new work in three parts-Meteorological Tables, Geographical Tables, and Physical Tableseach representative of the latest knowledge in its field, and independent of the others, but the three forming a homogeneous series. Although thus historically related to Dr. Guyot's tables, the present work is so entirely changed with respect to material, arrangement, and presentation that it is not a fifth edition of the older tables, but essentially a new publication."

The first volume of the new series, the Meteorological Tables, appeared in 1893, and a second edition was published in 1896. The second volume, the Geographical Tables, prepared by Prof. R. S. Woodward, was published in 1894. The volume of Physical Tables, forming the third of the series, was published during this year. It was prepared by Prof. Thomas Gray, of the Rose Polytechnic Institute, Terre Haute, Ind. In the preface to the tables Professor Gray says:

"In the space assigned to this book it was impossible to include, even approximately, all the physical data available. The object has been to make the tables easy of reference and to contain the data most frequently required. In the subjects included it has been necessary in many cases to make brief selections from a large number of more or less discordant results obtained by different experimenters. I have endeavored, as far as possible, to compile the tables from papers which are vouched for by well-known authorities, or which, from the method of experiment and the apparent care taken in the investigation, seem likely to give reliable results. "Such matter as is commonly found in books of mathematical tables has not been included, as it seemed better to utilize the space for physical data. Some tables of a mathematical character which are useful to the physicist, and which are less easily found, have been given. Many of these have been calculated for this book, and where they have not been so calculated their source is given.

"The authorities from which the physical data have been derived are quoted on the same page with the table, and this is the case also with regard to explanations of the meaning or use of the tabular numbers. In many cases the actual numbers given in the tables are not to be found in the memoirs quoted. In such cases the tabular numbers have been obtained by interpolation or calculation from the published results. The reason for this is the desirability of uniform change of argument in the tables, in order to save space and to facilitate comparison of results. Where it seemed desirable the tables contain values both in metric and in British units, but as a rule the centimeter, gram, and second have been used as fundamental units. In the comparison of British and metric units, and quantities expressed in them, the meter has been taken as equal to 39.37 inches, which is the legal ratio in the United States. It is hardly possible that a series of tables, such as those here given, involv

1METHOD III.-Absorbent material, freshly ignited, finely granular pumice stone. Absorption apparatus, a small glass tube, 20 cm. in length, consisting of a narrow portion 4 cm. long and 3 mm. in its internal diameter, and an expanded portion 16 cm. long and 12 mm. in its internal diameter, similar in size and form to the absorption tube used by Remsen and by Abbott in their experiments.

ing so much transcribing, interpolation, and calculation, can be free from errors, but it is hoped that these are not so numerous as to seriously detract from the use of the book."

No. 1039. Virginia Cartography: A Bibliographical Description, by P. Lee Phillips. (Part of Vol. XXXVII, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo pamphlet of 85 pages.

Mr. Phillips's work is a bibliographical description of all known maps of Virginia since the year 1585. Special mention is made of the John With, or John White, map of 1585, the Capt. John Smit of 1608, and the map made by Augustine Herman in 1670, now exceedingly rare, These three maps were copied by nearly all map makers up to 1751, when the Fry and Jefferson map appeared. The list comprises in all about 300 maps.

No. 1071. Air and Life, by Henry De Varigny, of the Paris Museum of Natural History. (Part of Vol. XXXIX of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo pamphlet of 69 pages.

Dr. Varigny's essay was awarded the Hodgkins prize of $1,000 for the best popular essay on atmospheric air. In order to give this work, as also those of Mr. Russell and Dr. Cohen, as wide a circulation as possible they have been printed both in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections and in the Annual Report, separate editions from the report being also issued in pamphlet form. Dr. Varigny in a popular manner discusses air from the physical and from the chemical point of view, and after explaining the biological rôle of the chemical constituents of the air concludes with a chapter on the biological rôle of air physically considered.

No. 1072. The Atmosphere in Relation to Human Life and Health, by Francis Albert Rollo Russell, vice-president of the Royal Meteorological Society. (Part of Vol. XXXIX of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo pamphlet of 148 pages.

This essay by Mr. Russell which was awarded a silver medal in the Hodgkins prize competition, is a discussion of the principal functions of the various elements and substances of which the atmosphere is composed, with special reference to their influence upon human life and welfare. It also discusses the influence of climate upon national health and shows in what manner the spreading of infectious or epidemic diseases in the animal world and in mankind depends, in a very great degree, upon aerial influences. In conclusion the author indicates lines of research in the study of atmospheric air that may be beneficial to mankind.

No. 1073. The Air of Towns, by Dr. J. B. Cohen, of Yorkshire College, Leeds, England. (Part of Vol. XXXIX of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo pamphlet of 41 pages, with 2 text figures and 21 full-page illustrations.

Dr. Cohen's paper was also entered in the Hodgkins prize competition, and was granted honorable mention by the committee of award and recommended for publication by the Institution. The author treats the subject in the form of four lectures on "Close rooms,” “Smoke," "Town fog," and "The germs of the air." In the discussion of the several topics Dr. Cohen indicates the many impurities in the air of cities, especially where there is much smoke from factory chimneys, and suggests various remedies for exterminating the impurities or for alleviating the danger therefrom. The paper is accompanied by a number of illustrations of atmospheric microbes and of apparatus used in his investigation of the atmosphere of cities.

No. 1075. The Constants of Nature. Part V. A Recalculation of the Atomic Weights, by Frank Wigglesworth Clarke, chief chemist of the United States Geological Survey. New edition, revised and enlarged. (Part of Vol. XXXVIII, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo pamphlet of v1, 370 pages.

"This work is one of a series devoted to the discussion and more precise determination of various constants of nature,' and forms the fifth contribution to that subject published by this Institution.

"The first number of the series, embracing tables of 'Specific gravities' and of 'Melting and boiling points of bodies,' prepared by the same author, Prof. F. W. Clarke, was published in 1873. The fourth part of the series, comprising a com

plete digest of the various 'Atomic weight' determinations of the chemical elements published since 1814, commencing with the well-known Table of equivalents,' by Wollaston (given in the Philosophical Transactions for that year), compiled by Mr. George F. Becker, was published by the Institution in 1880. The present work comprises a very full discussion and recalculation of the 'Atomic weights' from all the existing data and the assignment of the most probable value to each of the elements.

"The first edition of this work was published in 1882, and this new edition, revised and enlarged by Professor Clarke, contains new information accumulated during the past fifteen years."

No. 1077. Equipment and Work of an Aero-physical Observatory, by Alexander McAdie. (Part of Vol. XXXIX, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.) Octavo pamphlet of 30 pages. Mr. McAdie's essay was submitted in the Hodgkins fund prize competition and was awarded honorable mention with a bronze medal.

SMITHSONIAN ANNUAL REPORTS.

No. 992. B. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, showing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution for the year ending June 30, 1894. Report of the National Museum. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1896. 8°. xxvi, 1030 pp., with 25 full-page illustrations, chart, map, and 374 text figures.

Part I of this volume comprises the report of the assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in charge of the National Museum, with Appendices, and Part II consists of papers describing and illustrating collections in the United States National Museum, as follows: Primitive Travel and Transportation, by Otis Tufton Mason; Mancala, the National Game of Africa, by Stewart Culin; The Golden Patera of Rennes, by Thomas Wilson; The Wooden Statue of Baron Ii Kamon-no-Kami Naosuké, translated from the Japanese by A. Satoh; A Study of Primitive Methods of Drilling, by J. D. McGuire; The Swastika, by Thomas Wilson.

No. 1078. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, showing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution to July, 1895. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1896. 8°. XLIII, 837 pp., with 80 plates and 2 text figures.

This volume contains the Journal of Proceedings of the Board of Regents at the annual meeting, held January 23, 1895; the Report of the Executive Committee of the Board for the year; acts and resolutions of Congress relative to the Institution, and the Report of the Secretary of the Institution; concluding with the general appendix, containing the following papers:

Atmospheric Electricity, by Prof. Arthur Schuster; The General Bearings of Magnetic Observations, by Ettrick W. Creak; Recent Progress in Optics, by Prof. Le Conte Stevens; Air and Life, by Dr. Henry de Varigny; The Atmosphere in Relation to Human Life and Health, by Francis Albert Rollo Russell; The Air of Towns, by Prof. J. B. Cohen; The Composition of Expired Air and its Effects upon Animal Life, by Drs. J. S. Billings, S. Weir Mitchell, and D. H. Bergey; Physiological Light, by Raphael Dubois; Oceanography, Bionomics, and Aquiculture, by William A. Herdman; Botanical Work of the British Association, by W. T. Thiselton-Dyer; Zoology since Darwin, by Prof. Ludwig v. Graff; The Evolution of Modern Scientific Laboratories, by Dr. William H. Welch; The Yellow Races, by Dr. E. T. Hamy; Compulsory Migrations in the Pacific Ocean, by Otto Sittig; The Old Settlements and Architectural Structures in Northern Central America, by Dr. Carl Sapper; The Cliff Villages of the Red Rock Country, and the Tusayan Ruins of Sikyatki and Awatobi, Arizona, by J. Walter Fewkes; Race and Civilization, by Prof. W. M. Flinders Petrie; Polychromy in Greek Statuary, by Maxime Collignon; Relation of Primitive Peoples to Environment, Illustrated by American Examples, by J. W. Powell; Influence of Environment upon Human Industries or Arts, by Otis Tufton Mason; The Japanese Nation-A Typical Product of Environment, by Gardiner G. Hubbard; The Tusayan Ritual: A Study of the Influence of Environment on Aboriginal Cults, by J. Walter

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