usual annual appropriation for printing and binding and the additional amount appropriated by Congress for printing delayed by war work.

RESEARCHES AND EXPLORATIONS.

An important phase of the Institution's work in the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men " is the scientific exploration of little-known parts of the earth, as well as the extending of existing knowledge concerning better-known regions through field-work. Although the Institution's funds for this purpose are extremely limited, it is often able to cooperate advantageously with other establishments in putting expeditions in the field. The results of these numerous explorations in every quarter of the globe have not only advanced scientific knowledge, but have greatly enriched the collections in the United States National Museum in biology, geology, and anthropology.

A number of the expeditions sent out during the past year are described in the appendices to this report, and others are here reviewed briefly to indicate the character of the Institution's work in this direction.

GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES.

Your secretary continued his geological field-work in the Canadian Rockies with two main objects in view, (1) the determination of the character and extent of the great interval of nondeposition of sedimentary rock-forming material along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains west of Calgary, Alberta; (2) the clearing up of the relations of the summit and base of the great Glacier Lake section of 1919 to the geological formation above and below. Work was begun early in July along the Ghost River northeast of Banff, Alberta.

The solution of the two problems attacked may be briefly described as follows:

The Rocky Mountain front is formed of masses of evenly bedded limestone that have been pushed eastward over the softer rocks of the Cretaceous plains-forming rocks. This overthrust is many miles. in extent and occurred long before the Devils Gap, Ghost River Gap, and other openings were cut through the cliffs by running water and rivers of ice. Great headlands and high buttes have been formed by the silent forces of water and frost, many of which stand out against the western sky as seen from the distant foothills and plains. It was among these cliffs that we found that the first great cliff was of lower Middle Cambrian age, and that resting on its upper

surface there were 285 feet (86 meters) of a yellowish weathering magnesian limestone, named the Ghost River formation, which represents the great interval between the Cambrian below and the Devonian above. Sixty miles to the west, over 4 miles in thickness of limestone, shales and sandstones occur in the break in sedimentation of Ghost River cliffs.

Returning to Bow Valley, the party left the Canadian Pacific Railroad at Lake Louise and went north over Pipestone Pass to the Siffleur River, which is tributary to the Saskatchewan. In the northward facing cliffs, 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of the Glacier Lake section of 1919, and 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Lake Louise, a geological section was studied that tied in the base of the Glacier Lake section of 1919 with the Middle and Lower Cambrian formations. Returning up the canyon valley of the Siffleur River to the wide upper valley of the Clearwater River, a most perfectly exposed series of limestones, shales, and sandstones of Upper Cambrian and later formations was found, which cleared up the relations of the upper portion of the Glacier Lake section to the Ordovician above. The work was considerably handicapped by forest fires in July and August and by unusually stormy weather in September.

PALEONTOLOGICAL FIELD-WORK.

Dr. R. S. Bassler, curator of paleontology, National Museum, succeeded during the year in securing for the Museum's collections two much-desired specimens, one a large well-preserved fossil elephant skull formerly exhibited in Cincinnati, the other a highly fossiliferous limestone slab of Silurian age quarried out by him near Oxford, Ohio. Such a slab has long been desired to show the advancement in life from the primitive Cambrian forms, represented in the large Cambrian sea-beach sandstone exhibit, to the higher and more complex species of succeeding geological periods. Notwithstanding the numerous occurrences of fossiliferous limestone of Ordovician and Silurian age, it was not until the past year that a layer affording slabs of suitable size and sufficient perfection of preservation was brought to the attention of the Museum. Numerous large blocks of stone had to be removed before the real task of quarrying the desired slab was begun. The work was successfully accomplished with the generous assistance of Dr. W. H. Shideler, professor of geology at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, who first located the specimen, and before the close of the year this valuable educational exhibit was installed in the hall of invertebrate paleontology.

At the conclusion of this work Doctor Bassler proceeded to Chicago for the purpose of securing casts of type specimens of fossils in the

collections of the Walker Museum, University of Chicago. Regarding this work, Doctor Bassler says:

The paleontological collection of the National Museum, which includes the celebrated Walcott, Ulrich, Springer, Harris, Nettelroth, and Rominger collections, is especially rich in type specimens of early Paleozoic fossils, but nevertheless the Walker Museum possesses many unique types not represented at all in Washington. Permission to prepare casts of these and thus advance our study series toward the completeness which the National collections should attain was generously granted by Dr. Stuart Weller, director of the Walker Museum. In two weeks' time I was enabled to finish casting all of the Ordovician and Silurian types, leaving the remaining Paleozoic species for a future trip. The work was done quickly by using the modeling compound (plasticene) to make the mold from which the cast is prepared.

THE SMITHSONIAN AFRICAN EXPEDITION.

The Smithsonian African expedition, in conjunction with the Universal Film Manufacturing Co., which was described in my last report, concluded its work shortly after the beginning of the fiscal year, and somewhat later the collections made by Mr. H. C. Raven, the Institution's representative on the expedition, were received by the National Museum. Among the more important material may be mentioned 697 mammals (including 272 specimens from South Africa, a region hitherto very imperfectly represented in the Museum's collections; 152 from Lake Tanganyika; and the chimpanzee of Uganda), 575 birds, 206 reptiles, and 193 fishes. Although not numerically large, these collections are of unusual interest on account of the manner in which they supplement those obtained by other expeditions to Africa in which the Smithsonian Institution has been interested.

Dr. H. L. Shantz, of the United States Department of Agriculture, also accompanied the expedition with the objects in view of securing live plants of agricultural value for introduction into the United States, of studying the agricultural methods of both natives and Europeans, and of collecting plants for the National Herbarium of the United States National Museum. Over 1,000 botanical specimens were secured for the Museum, and first-hand observations were made of the methods of agriculture pursued by African tribes as well as the Europeans. About 1,600 plants were collected for growth as agricultural plants in this country, the more important being forage plants, nut plants, fruits, and vegetables.

AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITION.

Through the generosity of Dr. W. L. Abbott, Mr. Charles M. Hoy continued his work of collecting for the Museum specimens of the very interesting fauna of Australia. The results of this expedition are of especial value for two reasons: First, the Australian fauna

has heretofore been but scantily represented in the Museum, and, second, the remarkable fauna of that continent is rapidly being exterminated through various causes. During the year two shipments were received from Mr. Hoy containing a total of 440 mammals well prepared, several of which were hitherto unrepresented in the collection, together with series of skeletal and embryological material; 570 bird skins, with 24 additional examples in alcohol, and smaller collections of reptiles, amphibians, insects, marine specimens, etc.

MALACOLOGICAL FIELD-WORK IN CALIFORNIA AND THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

On the way to the First Pan-Pacific Scientific Congress, held in Honolulu, August 2 to 20, 1920, Dr. Paul Bartsch, curator of mollusks, United States National Museum, spent one day on shipworm investigation at Mare Island, Calif. A tug was placed at his disposal by the commandant of the station in order to make every minute of the brief visit count, and the investigation resulted in the discovery that the mollusk which caused damage to the extent of some $25,000,000 last year is a new species of Teredo, which Dr. Bartsch named Teredo beachi, in honor of the commandant of Mare Island.

In the Hawaiian Islands, collections of mollusks were made at several localities, and dredgings were made in Pearl Harbor, where the commandant placed a dredge at the disposal of Doctor Bartsch and Mr. John B. Henderson. Here also a new species of shipworm was discovered, which was named Teredo parksi, in honor of Admiral Parks.

An interesting observation made at the southeast point of Hanouma Bay was the finding of an existing marine flora and fauna at a considerable elevation above the level of the sea. Regarding this occurrence, Doctor Bartsch says:

This flora and fauna consist of algae, quite a number of species of mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, and other marine organisms, which occupy pools and puddles kept ever moist and supplied with fresh water by the spray from the breaking surf, which incessantly pounds that shore. I consider this an important observation, since the occurrence of fossiliferous laminæ bearing marine organisms between sheets of lava has been held to indicate that they were deposited at or below sea level, and their occurrence above this has been held as evidence of elevation. We have here an instance which indicates that this is not necessarily the case, for such a lamina would be produced if a new outpouring of lava were to cover up the place mentioned.

BOTANICAL RESEARCHES IN THE ORIENT.

Dr. A. S. Hitchcock, custodian, section of grasses, United States National Museum, left Washington the last of April for several months' botanical work in the Orient under the auspices of the

United States Department of Agriculture. This journey was undertaken with two main objects in view: (1) To study the grasses of the Philippine Islands in response to a request from the director of the Philippine Bureau of Science (Dr. E. D. Merrill) to prepare the manuscript on the grasses for a flora of the Philippine Islands; (2) to study the native and cultivated bamboos of the Philippines, Japan, and China with special reference (1) to their introduction into the United States and (2) to the publication of a revision of the economic bamboos of the world.

Doctor Hitchcock arrived in Manila June 9 and spent 19 days in the islands, mostly in Luzon. He visited Los Baños and from there ascended to the summit of Makiling, 3,300 feet, through virgin forest. He also ascended Baguio, 5,000 feet, and Santo Thomas, 8,000 feet.

At the close of the year he was en route to Japan by way of Hongkong. In Japan he intends to visit Hokone and to ascend Mount Fuji and other mountains, studying and collecting bamboos. From there he will proceed to China, and, if time permits, to Java, returning to Washington the latter part of December.

RESEARCHES ON A MULTIPLE-CHARGE ROCKET FOR REACHING GREAT

ALTITUDES.

As mentioned in my last report, Prof. Robert H. Goddard, of Clark University, is working under a grant from the Hodgkins fund of the Institution, on a multiple-charge rocket for exploring the unknown upper layers of the earth's atmosphere. During the year the work has consisted entirely of the construction and test of a small model, illustrating the multiple-charge principle.

The experiments and tests carried on during the year have been specifically for the purpose of eliminating jamming, of improving and simplifying the firing devices, of securing proper protection for the propelling charges, and of overcoming difficulties introduced by changes in the manufacture of materials used.

A parachute device for preventing damage to the rocket and any apparatus or instruments carried has been made which operates for a fall of 60 feet. In addition to this, a modification has been constructed suitable for operating the parachute after a short fall in rarefied air, such as is to be encountered at high elevations.

The intention has been to demonstrate as early as possible a model multiple-charge rocket such as has been mentioned, a successful demonstration of which, it is believed, should show clearly that a larger multiple-charge rocket, constructed upon the same lines, will make possible the reaching of great altitudes.