ing peripheral irritation acts upon the nervous system which regulates the production and dissipation of animal heat"; and that the nature of fever is "a nutritive disturbance in which there is an elevation of the bodily temperature and also an increase of the production of heat by an increase of the chemical movements in the accumulated material of the body; this increase being sometimes sufficient, sometimes insufficient, to compensate for the loss of that heat which is derived directly from the destruction of the surplus food in the body; very little or no food being taken in severe fever."

It is the custom of the Institution to give to the author a certain number of copies of his memoirs, this varying with the extent and cost of production. The author is also invited to furnish a list of specialists particularly interested in the research covered by the memoir, whether resident at home or abroad, and to these, or as many as can conveniently be supplied, copies are sent free of cost, and the fact of this being done by the request of the author is stated.

The author is also allowed to print as many additional copies as he thinks proper, at his own expense, and to dispose of them as he pleases, either by giving them away or selling them. The more extended the distribution of a memoir, the better is the principle of the Institution carried out, viz, that of the increase and diffusion of knowledge.

Dr. Wood has availed himself of this opportunity by having 250 extra copies printed and placed on the market with the imprint of J. B. Lippincott, & Co., of Philadelphia.

Meteorology. The relationship of the Smithsonian Institution to the subject of American meteorology is well known, especially the fact that until the establishment of the Weather Bureau of the War Department the Institution had the entire burden of maintaining a series of observing stations throughout the country and of publishing the results in a series of memoirs, which are accepted as of standard value by all meteorologists. When in 1871 its system of active work was transferred to the Signal Office of the War Department the publication of digested results was not intermitted, but continued, so as to cover the entire period of activity up to the year in question.

Among the meteorological monographs published by the Institution, that on the rainfall of the United States prepared under the direction of Mr. Charles A. Schott, of the United States Coast Survey, was one of the most important. This work, with its digested tables of rainfall and the series of rainfall maps, extending from the earliest records to the year 1866, was used for a number of years in determining the questions of general climatology and the relations of plants to altitude and locality, and to the extent and degree of reservoirs for storing water, &c.

In the interval between the completion of the first work to the transfer of the system many additional observations had been made, involving the rectification of some of the general conclusions, and it was determined to publish a continuation of the work, down to 1878, em

bodying at the same time a recast of the generalizations. The work was accordingly placed under the supervision of Mr. Schott, assisted by Mr. E. H. Courtenay, of the Coast Survey, and completed during the year. Arrangements were immediately made for publication, including the construction of new base charts. The printing of the charts has been completed by Mr. Julius Bien and the text is in an advanced stage of preparation, and will probably be ready in a few months. Among the important papers still on hand which have been accepted and are awaiting publication are the continuation of Professor Caswell's meteorological observations, of Providence, and the observations made by Mr. Sherman, while on board the schooner Florence as a member of Captain Howgate's polar expedition.

The observations of Mr. Sherman present many new points in the climatology and physical condition of the arctic regions, and will be a valuable addition to the other papers of a similar character published by the Institution, as illustrating the works of Hayes, Kane, McClintock, and others. The delay in the publication of these works is due to the large amount of material on hand. It is hoped, however, that in the course of a year they may be sent to press.

Archæology.-Reference has been made in previous reports to an extremely interesting collection of West Indian antiquities, probably of Carib manufacture, presented by the late Mr. George Latimer to the National Museum. This collection embraced many new forms of much interest. The stone implements of this collection possessed many peculiarities, for the most part not illustrated at all by those of the continent of North America; and a memoir by Prof. O. T. Mason, published in the Annual Report in 1876, illustrated by suitable wood-cuts, has attracted great attention at home and abroad. Its dissemination has brought to light additional collections in the West India Islands, and arrangements have been made to obtain the use of some of these for publication.

Mr. Frederick A. Ober brought from Antigua a number of interesting objects, quite different from those of Mr. Latimer; and Mr. Guesde, of Guadaloupe, has communicated to the Institution a large number of beautifully-executed drawings of full-sized specimens in his collection, accompanied by detailed descriptions. Professor Mason has undertaken to compile a special memoir on Mr. Guesde's collection, to be illustrated by his drawings and published at an early date.

The publication by the Smithsonian Institution, many years ago, of a memoir by Mr. Lewis H. Morgan, upon the terms of relationship and consanguinity employed by various nations of the world, led to the establishment of almost a new branch of philological and ethnological investigation; or at least placed it upon a substantial footing. At the time of the publication of the memoir there were few persons prepared to follow the reasoning of the author; but under its stimulus corresponding researches have been carried on in various parts of the world and have produced very good fruit.

Among such investigations was one by Mr. L. Fison, in regard to the aborigines of Australia, and an agreement was entered into with him by which the Institution was to publish it, uniform with Mr. Morgan's memoir. The number of manuscripts in hand waiting for publication prevented Mr. Fison's article from going to press, and he finally was able to make arrangements at home for its appearance. The paper was accordingly withdrawn and transmitted to the author through Mr. Morgan.

There is now a sufficient number of the quarto memoirs completed to form another volume of the "Contributions," Volume XXIII; and this will be issued early in the year 1881. It will probably comprise :

1st. Lucernaria and their allies. By Henry James Clark. (130 pages, and 11 plates.)

2d. On the geology of Lower Louisiana and the salt deposit on Petite Anse Island. By Eugene W. Hilgard. (34 pages, 2 plates and 4 wood-cuts.)

3d. On the Internal Structure of the Earth considered as affecting the phenomena of Precession and Nutation. By J. G. Barnard. (16 pages, and 2 wood-cuts.)

4th. A classification and synopsis of the Trochilidæ. By Daniel Giraud Elliot. (277 pages, and 127 wood-cuts.)

5th. Fever: a Study in Morbid and Normal Physiology. By H. C. Wood. (266 pages, 5 plates and 16 wood-cuts.)

Miscellaneous Collections.-Four volumes of articles, heretofore published, have been made up and added to the octavo series of the "Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections" during the year. These form Volumes XVI, XVII, XVIII, and XIX, and are constituted as follows: The Sixteenth volume contains:

1st. Land and fresh-water shells of North America. By George W. Tryon, jr. Part IV, Strepomatidæ (American Melanians), 1873, 490 pp. 20. Catalogue of the described Diptera of North America. By C. R. Osten-Sacken (second edition.) 1878. 324 pp.

3d. The Toner lectures. Lecture VII. The nature of Reparatory Inflamation in Arteries after Ligature, Acupressure, and Torsion. By Edward O. Shakespeare, M. D., 1879, 74 pp.

4th. Circular relative to Smithsonian Scientific and Literary Exchanges, 1879, 2 pp.

5th. Circular relative to Business Arrangements of the Smithsonian Institution, 1879, 7 pp.

6th. List of described Species of Humming Birds. By Daniel Giraud Elliot, 1879, 22 pp.

7th. List of the principal Scientific and Literary Institutions in the United States. May, 1879, 6 pp.

8th. List of the publications of the Smithsonian Institution, July, 1879, 18 pp.

The Seventeenth volume consists of:

The Smithsonian Institution: Documents relative to its origin and history: Edited by William J. Rhees, 1879, 1027 pp.

The Eighteenth volume consists of:

The Smithsonian Institution, Journals of the Board of Regents, Reports of Committees, Statistics, &c. Edited by William J. Rhees, 1879, 852 pp.

The Nineteenth volume contains:

1st. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Vol. I, 1878, 524 pp.

2d. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Vol. II, 1879, 503 pp.

Memoir of James Smithson.-It has long been the intention of the Institution to publish a memoir of its founder, and from time to time efforts have been made to collect materials for this purpose. It is much to be regretted, however, that this work was not undertaken at an earlier date, while some of Smithson's contemporaries were living who could have imparted valuable information as to his peculiarities and characteristics.

Mr. Rhees, Chief Clerk of the Institution, has at last supplied the want so long felt in the history of this establishment, and has made use of every known source of information in the preparation of the work in question. By extensive correspondence and advertisements in several of the leading English periodicals some facts of interest not hitherto known were secured, and the author was thus enabled to present a more extended notice of Smithson than was at first anticipated.

The memoir under notice commences with a sketch of the ancestry of the Smithson family, gives an account of the education of James Smithson at the Oxford University, where he graduated in 1786, describes his devotion to scientific pursuits, his love of adventure in the search for knowledge, recounts his achievements as a chemist and mineralogist, enumerates his published scientific works, and gives the testimonials to his worth and ability from the president of the Royal Society and others.

An inventory of his personal effects is presented, and an account of the likenesses of Mr. Smithson known to be in existence and in the possession of the Institution.

Some attention is paid to a consideration of the motives which probably actuated Smithson in bequeathing his fortune to the United States, and a resumé is given of the intellectual condition of the period in which he lived, which is shown to have exhibited a remarkable spirit of scientific activity, and the formation at that time of some of the most important organizations for the advancement of science, education, and philanthropy.

S. Mis. 31-3

The promotion of knowledge was peculiarly a characteristic of the period, and Smithson was undoubtedly impressed with this idea.

Full details of the will and a fac simile of it are given.

Mr. Rhees then traces the steps taken by the United States Government to secure the bequest, the various acts of Congress, the debates, resolutions, messages of Presidents, &c., in relation to the subject, and finally the reception, on the 29th of August, 1838, of £104,960 8s. 6d, which, converted into American gold, realized $508,318.46 as the Smithson foundation.

A recapitulation is next furnished of the legislation of Congress in relation to the disposition of the Smithson fund, and a brief abstract of the notable speeches made from time to time in which various plans for establishing the Smithsonian Institution were advocated. These speeches are given in full in the "Documents relative to the history of the Smithsonian Institution," published in 1879; but in the present volume the narrative is continuous and the references to the names and localities of the Senators and members of Congress more minute and explicit. In an appendix additional facts are given relative to the father of Smithson, the first Duke of Northumberland; the half brother of Smithson, Earl Percy, who commanded the British re-enforcements at the battle of Lexington, 1775; notices of some of Smithson's papers; extracts from his writings; a catalogue of his library now deposited in the Smithsonian Institution; and notices of the city of Washington found in Smithson's books.

The whole forms an octavo of 76 pages, with the following illustrations:

Portrait of Smithson. Heliotype; from an oil miniature by Johns. 1816.

Portrait of Smithson. Heliotype; from an oil painting. Cabinet size; full-length figure, sitting, in the costume of an Oxford student. 1786.

Portrait of Smithson. Profile; engraved on steel; from a medallion. Tomb of Smithson, at Genoa, Italy. Wood-engraving; from a recent photograph.

Fac simile of Smithson's visiting card, and of his dinner invitation card.

Silhouette portrait of Henry James Hungerford, nephew of Smithson. Fac simile of Smithson's will. Two sheets, of four quarto pages. Portrait of Smithson's father, Sir Hugh Smithson. From an engraving belonging to James Smithson.

North view of the Smithsonian Institution building at Washington.

The Memorial Volume in honor of the late Professor Henry, authorized to be published by Congress, though somewhat delayed, has been completed, and is now practically ready for distribution. It forms a handsome octavo book of 528 pages, of which the main subject-matter