The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-04
KNOWLEDGE KEPT ON TAP.
ALE SORTS OF QUESTIONS SENT TO
THE SMITHBONIAM.

Firty Tsuuana Hpauir,es Answered Yearly ~
People All Over the Uaitcd states-No oaes.
tion That the Late Prof. Henry Couid net
Ansver-Ths Hnstttntion's Rzchasee work.
w~AsHINeToN, July 3.-ono branch of the
work done by the Smithsonian Institution In
little known, and yet 1t In probably tho most i'm
portant from q popular standpoint. This In the
answering OF questions received from people all
over the United Statcs- When q Sun reporter
called at the National Museum yesterday he
found Prof Otis I. Mason with q number Of
letters all dealing with the Same subject.
II am engaged said Prot Mason, "in i'd
ing q suitable name for q country scat for n lady
in California This In an example OF tho work
we do in this line Some time ago / received a
letter from the lady telling me that she desired
a name for her country seat in Marin county,
Cal Sho wanted q name taken from the Indian
language Iwroto her that as there were some
ffty-eight Indian languages and moro than 200
dialects i would like hor TO be more specific. I
also suggested that she select q name from the
language Of one Of tho Indian tribes of Califor-
MIA She replied that she would prefer to have
a California name and would accept any but ono
from tho Digger Indians, to whom she appears
to have an antipathy. She wants q name indi-
eating mountain rest mountain retreat or
something else of that kind have been Roinr
over our books and Dictionaries and will find
her the name.
1T takes a great deal Of labor to answer these
questions, but the Smithsonian makes It q point
to answer every sensible or well.intended ques-
ton which Ii propoundod to It We receive ffty
thousand inquiries . year, and none of them 10
neglected II it is a question that can DO an
swered- This IL the only Government that does
sSeh a thing such such question: sbo s! as that ! have
would would b s0 thrown o. sem into 70 the sH waste srs' bssho Mu' P4of.
Henry inaugursted the system in vogue hero
some forty years ago. He held that a weii.in-
ignorant one, and that it was hts duty to impart
information Whenever requested If such infor-
You must have a marvellous fund of infor-
mem ssS 81, 4 II; n + nc! 'ss r 81 H'f ' Fl S saEi know tho
PROF. Young said that in tho course of his
long experience at tho Smithsonian no had
body in Warrington was not able to answer.
All these questions go to Prot. Langley, Secre-
Si9s to &c, tho Se1 proper e%l rdspart&o ans A 4 fG sSIG dasS aS S5
had ono from n man In Kansas, who wanted TO
know IL at some time the letter was not in:
Britannica, but l dug. it up out Of an Old
and V in the Roman alphabet are the same, so
Il was In this way that his attention had
s Sss9 of st, yosns sir Il M II AnSin Who s %sst. Ts 70
her that a book fully explaining these grasses
ten BY ono Of the scientists of the Department OF
Agriculture and referred her to him. A few
s scSsl.s ago s.m 1wo 10 iSs mn, s0ys' ,n SUNDAY nd ~ Sc sSh %!
widows, mite They had been reading about
It at Sunday school. and wanted to SEQ It. Mr..
CaZenovitch, tho Hebraio expert, took them 10
the case In which we keep the specimens OF the
,wilow's mite and took Tho coins from the case.
he allowed them to examine the coins infinitely
and they went away very happy.
The Smithsonian Institution Is of moro
benefit in the general distribution Of knowledge
than all tho scientific institutions OF England
quarters of the globe. There 10 not a country in
y 6aS1e thsro is : P9 Ntt o GnSS " where sSs, we ed have :. not o
formed OF al that is going on in the scientific
world. but they send US u great number OF books,
which We distribute to other scientists free Of
charge. For instance. suppose a scientist in Ice
land writes book on tho temperature of the
o mater giving the times 49,. Of taking ia |. and and
book, and II left to himself would have a
hard time to distribute the copies adyanta-
geously. go he sends them to us In bulk. From
here We redistribute them to all quarters OF the
world; as We keep q record OF scientists engaged
In different lines OF work and are thus able to
reach Thorn at W III. Sometimes we receive books
from one, %scicntist which are TO go to another
being the medium Of exchange. On those books
tho institution pays tho expense of Transports.
t poSi,, In n F,snce books ks sen; ,ssnnss to the Minister Of
we cannot frank them anywhere. This sys-
tenn Of intern! ,tional exchange Is extremely
beneficial. BY it many scientists are saved from
spending. their time in making what they be-
lieve 70 DO original researche' by tho knowi-
S %oTk. may Ye sS~ sn owe f SasI n sosn a'r sfter ' DaGw shs
Species, he received from Wallace, in the Malsy
archipelago, a letter giving the same ilea and
leading 10 the same results and asking his opin-
ion. Darwin had had his book published in
would now have tho Wallace theory OF natural
selection instead Of tho Darwinianf'