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are under its control and for whose welfare it is responsible. It is not less a duty of the nation to preserve some record of this peculiar race for the purposes of history and science, as neglect will become a source of deep regret. An experienced ethnologist should make investigations regarding the history, social institutions, religion, and general culture of the people, and a physical anthropologist should study their physical and mental characteristics.

A work by Dr. N. B. Emerson-Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: the Sacred Songs of the Hula-is now in press, and there is also being prepared by Dr. Cyrus Thomas, of the bureau's staff, and Prof. H. M. Ballou, of Boston, Mass., a catalogue of books and papers relating to the Hawaiian Islands.

Another field for research that should be developed is among the tribes of the Middle West. There is now a strong sentiment among historical societies and educational institutions of this section in favor of prosecuting more vigorously the studies of the tribal remnants of the Mississippi Valley, for it is realized that when the old people of the present generation have passed away the opportunity for collecting historical and ethnological data will be lost forever.

Mr. J. P. Dunn has been engaged as a collaborator of the bureau on a study of the linguistics of the Algonquian tribes of this region, and Prof. H. E. Bolton, of the University of Texas, has continued his studies on the tribes of Texas.

Other collaborators of the bureau have been making special investigations relating to various tribes in different parts of the country.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.

For the purpose of more fully carrying into effect the provisions of the exchange convention concluded at Brussels on March 15, 1886, and proclaimed by the President January 15, 1889, a resolution was passed by Congress during the year setting aside a certain number of copies of the daily Congressional Record for exchange with the legislative chambers of foreign countries. Under the authority contained in this resolution arrangements for the exchange of the parliamentary record have been entered into with 21 governments, and the matter has been taken up with a number of other countries. It should be stated in this connection that the convention here referred to was the second exchange agreement concluded at Brussels between the United States and other countries on March 15, 1886. The first convention was for the exchange of government documents and scientific and literary publications, while the articles of the second agreement made it obligatory on the contracting States to transmit, immediately upon publication, a copy of the official journal to the legislatures of each. The full text of the resolution, together with

further details concerning this exchange, will be found in the appended report on the exchanges.

The increase in the number of packages handled by the bureau during the past year was the largest in the history of the exchanges 25,777 more packages having passed through the service than in 1908, the total number being 228,875. The weight of these packages was 476,169 pounds, a gain of 40,884 pounds over the preceding

year.

The congressional appropriation for carrying on the system of exchanges during 1909 was $32,200 (the same amount as was granted for the preceding year), and the sum collected on account of repayments was $3,777.33, making the total available resources $35,977.33. The results of the efforts of the bureau to procure larger returns of publications from abroad for the Library of Congress and the several departments and bureaus of the Government have been more than satisfactory-in fact, they have far exceeded my expectations, in some cases hundreds of volumes having been received.

The Japanese department of foreign affairs, which has in the past been good enough to distribute exchanges sent in its care for correspondents in Japan, has recently signified its willingness to forward to the Smithsonian Institution consignments bearing addresses in the United States.

A bureau of exchanges has been established by the Kingdom of Servia and placed under the direction of the department of foreign affairs at Belgrade, and the Argentine exchange bureau has been separated from the National Library and connected with the supervising commission of public libraries at Buenos Aires.

The total number of full sets of United States official publications now sent regularly to depositories abroad is 55, and the number of partial sets 33, Servia having been added during the year to the former and Alsace-Lorraine to the latter.

The number of correspondents has increased from year to year until the aggregate is now 62,630, or 2,507 more than at the conclusion of the fiscal year 1908.

NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK.

The National Zoological Park during the year added 576 new animals to its collections, which offsets a loss of 562 by exchange, death, and return of animals, and brings the number of individuals on hand June 30, 1909, up to 1,416. There were 564,639 visitors, a daily average of about 1,547, the largest number in any one month being in April, when 127,635 were counted, a daily average of 4,254. The entire support of the park was derived from an appropriation of $95,000 for general purposes, including the purchase, transportation, care, and maintenance of animals; the care and improvement

of grounds; the construction and repair of all buildings, inclosures, roads, walks, and bridges. Of this amount the increased price of necessary provisions and labor brought the cost of maintenance alone to about $85,000. It was therefore possible to do little toward permanent construction or improvement of the more or less temporary shelters, roads, walks, and inclosures which lack of adequate funds at the time of the inception of the park made it necessary to build. It has not been possible as yet to develop the park to the standard that such institutions usually attain at the capitals of great nations.

The improvements made during the year were for the most part those necessary for the safety of visitors. A series of yards for bears and ten new yards for foxes and wolves were constructed, however, and many of the roads treated with tar preparations to prevent dust and abrasion. The superintendent of the park states that there are needed: A new aquarium, the present building being originally a hay shed, now in a most dilapidated condition; a general aviary and outof-door shelter for hardy birds; an inclosure for sea lions and seals; an antelope house; a more centrally located office building; a restaurant and retiring rooms for visitors; and further improvements to roads and walks.

Of the 576 accessions to the collections during the year, 124 were gifts to the park, 12 were received in exchange, 307 were purchased, 9 were deposited, 110 were born and hatched in the National Zoological Park, and 14 were captured in the Yellowstone National Park. It is expected that the collections of the Zoological Park will benefit either directly or indirectly through the Smithsonian African expedition under Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, which left this country in March and is at present engaged in gathering specimens of fauna in Africa.

The appropriations during the eighteen years since it was established have permitted of the erection of only three permanent buildings, all of the others having necessarily been constructed cheaply and as temporary makeshifts to meet the successively urgent requirements of the growing collections. The result is that at the present time most of the animals are housed in poor wooden buildings and exposed cages, which are not only inadequate and unsightly but also entail a larger annual expense for repairs and maintenance than the dictates of economy would seem to justify. Elaborate and ornate buildings are not called for, but the necessity for substantial structures adapted to the requirements of the different groups of animals can not be too strongly urged.

It is also to be borne in mind that the Zoological Park is a part of the great park system extending through Rock Creek Valley. Its main roads are continuous with those leading up the creek and are traversed by the same vehicles, including heavy automobiles, which

makes it necessary to maintain these roads on a better basis than would be required if they were intended solely as entrances to the Zoological Park. The heavy expense which this involves falls upon the appropriation for the park, a fact which, it is felt, may not have been fully realized by the Congress in considering the park estimates. Attention has heretofore been called to the importance of acquiring the narrow tracts of land lying between the park boundaries and the recently established highways on the southeast and west. The highways were located as close to the park as the topography would permit, so as to reduce these tracts to a minimum width, with the expectation that they would be acquired by the Government. Property in this vicinity is gradually increasing in value, and in the interest of economy the tracts should be secured now so that the park boundaries may be permanently established and guarded against injurious encroachment by adjacent grading.

ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY.

The work of the Astrophysical Observatory during the year consisted:

(1) Of bolometric observations carried on at Washington on the brightness of different parts of the sun's image; also some experimental work on the transparency of the air for long-wave rays, such as the earth radiates. A computation of the results of these experiments is now far enough advanced to show their satisfactory quality. Precise knowledge of the selective absorption of our atmosphere for earth rays is still lacking, and contradictory views are still being expressed about this important subject; hence it is hoped that these experiments will be useful in the study of the dependence of the earth's temperature on radiation.

(2) Spectrobolometric measurements of the solar constant of radiation have been continued at the Mount Wilson observatory in California. As in former years, evidences of a fluctuation of solar radiation were found in the results of the measurements thus far obtained. A new and improved standard pyrheliometer was found to be more satisfactory than the one used in 1906, and great confidence is felt in the results obtained with it. Efforts have also been made to carry the bolometric measurements much farther in the ultra-violet through the use of a large quartz prism, a large ultra-violet glass prism, and two magnalium mirrors. Mr. Abbot, the director of the Astrophysical Observatory, visited the summit of Mount Whitney (14,502 feet), where the institution is preparing to erect a shelter house for the use of observers. This is the mountain upon which Mr. Langley carried on his well-known observations in 1881, and it is believed that the location will prove to be of great value in the further study of the solar constant of radiation.

As stated in the two preceding annual reports, it is highly desirable to continue the solar observations throughout the year, and this can be accomplished by observing during the winter and spring months in southern Mexico, where a cloudless sky and high altitude of the sun may be had, although during those months bad observing conditions occur in the United States. Hitherto lack of funds has prevented a Mexican expedition.

The work of the observatory is receiving highly favorable notice both in this country and abroad, its results being employed by our own Weather Bureau and by foreign investigators as a basis for their measurements on the radiation of the sun.

INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.

The purpose of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature is to collect and publish in 17 annual volumes a classified index of the current scientific publications of the world. This is accomplished by the cooperation of 32 of the principal countries of the world, each having a regional bureau which prepares the data necessary and indexes all scientific literature published within its domain. The material thus prepared is forwarded to a central bureau in London for publication in the annual volumes.

The various subscribers throughout the world bear the entire cost of printing and publishing by the central bureau, each country taking part in the enterprise bearing the cost of indexing and classifying its own publications. The 17 annual volumes combined contain between 10,000 and 12,000 printed pages.

The regional bureau for the United States furnishes yearly about 30,000 classified citations to American scientific literature, which is between 11 and 12 per cent of the total work.

Millions of dollars are being spent each year in scientific investigation and many of the foremost men of the day are devoting their entire time to such work. The results of their labors find publicity through some scientific journal of which there are over 5,000 being regularly indexed by the various regional bureaus, and over 500 in the United States alone. In addition to these periodicals are hundreds of books and pamphlets, all of which the International Catalogue aims to index in its yearly work.

The International Catalogue furnishes in condensed, accurate, and permanent form a minutely classified index to all of these publications. It is necessary for each paper to be carefully studied by a person competent to thoroughly understand the subject treated, as the method of classification actually furnishes a digest of the contents in addition to the usual bibliographisal data. The catalogue is to science what the legal digest is to law.

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