this country. It is believed that such results will be obtained as will justify the amount of expenditure of the Smithsonian fund which has been devoted to this purpose.

The reductions which had been made up to the close of the last session of the Regents were presented with the annual report to Congress, and were ordered to be printed. It has been found, however, that the tables cannot be presented in an octavo form, and that a special resolution of the Senate will be required to print them in a quarto volume. An interesting part of the meteorological observations is now in process of reduction at Greenwich, free of expense to the Institution, by Captain Lefroy, late superintendent of the Toronto Observatory. He has undertaken this labor from a love of science, and has received some assistance in the way of clerk hire (as he informs me) from the fund placed in charge of the Royal Society by the British government for the promotion of science. The reduction will include not only all the observations collected by the Smithsonian Institution, but also those which can be obtained from every part of the earth during five years, beginning with 1848.

Among the questions proposed to be answered by Captain Lefroy in discussing the observations, are the following:

1. Does the aurora ever occur in low latitudes when it is wanting in higher ones?

2. Is it developed in continuous zones, or are there wide gaps in these zones; if the latter, have they any connexion with other atmospheric phenomena?

3. What are the ordinary diurnal laws of its development?

4. Can the facts be reconciled with any theory giving it a material objective existence, or is it an optical phenomenon?

5. Can the facts be reconciled with the zodiacal theory?

6. What are its geographical limits; and what causes their singu lar variation from day to day?

7. Are lines of equal frequency on the globe, or equal intensity, circles at all?

Definite answers to these questions would clear the ground for the establishment of a rational theory as to the cause of this phenomenon. the want of which, after all that has been said and written upon it, is an opprobrium to the science of the present century.

The results of Captain Lefroy's deductions will be presented in the form of a memoir to the Smithsonian Institution.

Propositions have been made during the past year to apply to gov ernment for aid in extending the meteorological system, or to transferit from the Smithsonian Institution to the National Observatory, the Department of the Interior, or to an independent establishment supported by a direct appropriation from Congress.

In answer to these propositions the Secretary, in behalf of the Regents, has stated that it was not in accordance with the policy of the Institution to ask the aid of Congress for the purpose of carrying on any of its operations; but that it is consistent with its policy to relinquish any line of research which can be carried on equally well by other means. If, therefore, any of the plans proposed can be accom plished, the Institution will cheerfully relinquish this field, and devote

its labors to other objects. The Institution has, however, already expended a large amount of money in collecting meteorological data, and it is due to the memory of the founder that full credit shall be given to his name for all the results which may be produced by the expenditure of the income of his bequest. This is one of the conditions on which the trust was accepted, and in case of any transfer of this kind it should be borne in mind. I may also remark, in the same connexion, that while full credit should be given to the officers and assistants for the faithfulness and efficiency with which they discharge their duties, they should not be allowed to publish, under their own names, results which have been collected and elaborated at the expense and under the direction of the Institution. The establishment of definite rules on this point, though a delicate matter, is one which requires attention.

According to the estimate of Mr. Blodget, who is still employed in reducing and discussing the observations, the whole number of meteorological observers now on the books as regular contributors, or as entitled to exchange for valuable series of observations sent, or for reports regularly made in previous years is (520) five hundred and twenty. The number added during the year 1853 to the list of previous observers, and who have returned observations for some portions of the year, is (119) one hundred and nineteen. The number of manuscript series of observations in detail, or in full summaries of means and extremes of the observed conditions for each month of the whole period observed, received during the year, is (75) seventy-five, covering an aggregate period of temperature observation of eight hundred and fifty About half these series also include observations of amount of rain. Of printed and published series a large number have been sent.

years.

Exchanges. The system of exchanges mentioned in the last and preceding Reports has been continued during the past year with unabated vigor and corresponding useful results. The records for 1853, as will be seen by a reference to Prof. Baird's report, show a large increase, both in transmission and receipts, over 1852. This part of the system of Smithsonian operations has everywhere received the commendation of those who have given it their attention or have participated in its benefits. The Institution is now the principal agent of scientific and literary communication between the old world and the new. Its system of exchange is established on a reliable basis, namely: that of the publications of the Institution itself. So long as the present plan of operations is continued, the Institution will annually distribute its Contributions, and will continue to receive in return the publications of all the literary and scientific societies of the world. The importance of such a system, with reference to the scientific character of our country, could scarcely be appreciated by those who are not familiar with the results which flow from an easy and certain intercommunication of this kind. Many of the most important contributions to science made in America have been unheard of in Europe, or have been so little known, or received so little attention, that they have been republished as new discoveries or claimed as the product of European research. By means of the Smithsonian system of exchange, the American author is enabled to place officially, as it were, a copy of his work in the

hands of all those who are engaged in the same line of research, and to insure due credit to himself from the countenance and support of the Institution.

The packages transmitted during the past year amounted, in the aggregate, to 1,604. They weighed 12,220 pounds, and occupied nearly 400 cubic feet of space.

The receipts of works from abroad, in exchange for those sent out by the Institution, are much greater in value, as well as in number, than those of last year. The whole number of articles received for the library of the Institution during 1853, is 2,556. For other institutions, 1,052 packages have been received. The number of separate works which these contain is unknown.

The Museum.-Additions during the past year have been made to the museum from all branches of natural history and ethnology. They are principally derived from various portions of our own country, particularly from the region between the Mississippi river and the Pacific Ocean.

The Institution has taken the temporary charge of most of the collections of the various exploring expeditions which have been sent out during the past year. For a detailed account of the additions, I beg leave to refer to the accompanying report of Prof. Baird.

In accordance with the spirit which should pervade all parts of the Institution, much good may be done in the way of promoting natural history by distributing duplicate specimens among the cabinets of the country and recommending the establishment, by associations of teachers and others, of local collections, and by giving directions for conducting museums of this kind. The Institution, during the past year, has done good service in this way, and will continue and extend this means of diffusing knowledge.

Researches.-Though little has been done immediately by the Institu tion, since the date of the last Report, in the way of original research, yet it has rendered important aid to physical geography and natural his tory, by the facilities which it has afforded the several exploring parties which have been fitted out during the past year, for railway and boundary surveys, in the regions west of the Mississippi. The instruments have been compared, implements constructed, and practical instruction given in the art of observation and the means of preserving specimens. The Secretary has devoted considerable time, as a member of commissions appointed by government, to scientific investigations. These duties, as well as those above mentioned, are performed entirely with out remuneration; and the Institution is thus, in various ways, repaying, to a considerable extent, whatever expenditure the government has made on account of the Smithsonian bequest.

The Library. The library during the past year has received an addition of 5,433 articles, the most valuable portion of which have been derived from the Smithsonian exchanges. The whole number of books, etc., now in the library is 25,856.

At its last session, Congress appropriated $3,000 to begin the pre

paration of a catalogue of its library on the Smithsonian plan proposed by Professor Jewett. This work has been successfully prosecuted since July last; and according to Professor Jewett's report, upwards of 6,000 volumes have been catalogued. This plan, the honor of the invention of which the Convention of Librarians has awarded to Professor Jewett, and which has been received with approbation by those well qualified to judge of its merits, is now in a fair way to, be reduced to practice. The objects to be gained by adopting it are

1. To avoid the necessity of preparing, composing, and correcting anew the titles once printed, when the library has received accessions; or the alternative of printing the titles of these accessions in supplements, which are very inconvenient appendages.

2. To prevent the repetition of the work of preparation of titles, composition, and correction of press, for copies of the same book in different libraries. The title once prepared and stereotyped remains at the Smithsonian Institution, to be used by any library having the same book.

3. To secure uniformity in the construction of catalogues, thus greatly facilitating the researches of the student.

For other facts and details, see Professor Jewett's report herewith submitted.

Lectures.-Lectures have been given as usual by a number of distinguished gentlemen on the following subjects:

A course of eight lectures by Dr. Robert Baird on "Modern Europe."

One lecture by Hon. Henry Barnard on "The School."

One lecture by Professor Stephen Alexander, of the College of New Jersey, on "Climate."

One lecture by Job R. Tyson, esq., of Philadelphia, "Patrick Henry.'

One lecture by Rev. Dr. C. C. Pise, "Charles Carrol, of Carrol

ton."

One lecture by Dr. E. K. Kane, U. S. N., " On the New Expedition in search of Sir John Franklin."

A course of five lectures by Professor A. Guyot on "The Harmonies of Nature and History."

A course of seven lectures by Dr. J. V. C. Smith, of Boston, on "Modern Egypt and its Institutions.

One lecture by George Sumner, esq., on "France."

Lectures were also delivered during the season, in the Smithsonian lecture room, to the Washington Young Men's Christian Association, Metropolitan Mechanics' Institute, and the Teachers Association.

We have concluded to adopt the plan of a continued course on a single subject extending through the entire season; and for this purpose Professor J. Lawrence Smith, of the University of Virginia, has been engaged to give a full course on chemistry during the present

winter.

Meeting of the Establishment.—The Secretary was directed by the President of the United States to call a meeting of the members and

honorary members of the "Smithsonian Institution," or, in other words, of the body which is generally known by the name of the "Establishment." I may mention that this body consists of the President of the United States, the Vice President, the Chief Justice, the Mayor of Washington, the several officers of the cabinet, (excepting the Secretary of the Interior, this department having been created since the passage of the act establishing the Institution,) the Commissioner of Patents, and such other persons as they may elect honorary members. This body met in the Smithsonian building on the 3d of May, 1853, and at a subsequent meeting adopted a set of by-laws, and elected Professor Parker Cleaveland, of Bowdoin College, Maine, an honorary member.

In accordance with the third section of the act of incorporation, a full account of the proceedings of the Establishment will be given in connection with the report of the proceedings of the Board of Regents. Respectfully submitted,

JANUARY, 1854.

JOSEPH HENRY, Secretary Smithsonian Institution.