The Detroit times., 1910-10-21

tlons OF the age may be traced 10
vork done at the Smithsonian lnsu-
tuition, and the foundations OF many
.nciences were laid here.
Joeeph Henry, the frst secretary
az the institution, constructed the
worlds earliest electrical magnetic
fnIeeraph. Upon his theories were
cvoived the Beu telephone and the
Worro telograph. The first weather
Uan uubliphed was issued by the In
nfffnffoa. and the United states
40 Sknr bureau, recognized every
Were a the worlds leading organi-
ration Tor meteorological invesuga-
hons. had Its beginning In the actiyi.
de- 6 the Smithsonian. The GROUND
work az the present science OF nsn
uult1re vns laid here. Spencer +.
Dafrd. the second secretary OF the In
irfituf1hn, began the experiments AND
llnysrkiHaticns which have made the
1Dnfood States the foremost fish cub
Ituriot Of the globe.
\. Whon Professor Langley built nis
toeaGbraAod asrodrome and tried to ny
u C wide water ON the Potomac
k4vue. he was Uveatly ridfculed. As
6yer tho Langt0y machine was fail
-. hut the lessons learned through
- construction and operation have
6ormad the basis Of aeronautic SCI
nncs. Those who were most skepti-
hal Of the Langley airship are now
Ieoremoet In honoring his memory 40
~ father Of aerial navigation
Professor Langley made other val
Ia Ma contributions to general knowl-
{odre during his career as secretary
IL Inofffnff0n Ha
hnvented q httle instrument which
)may solve some OF the most trouble
nome problems that confront the hui
Inan race, This instrument is known
~ the bolometer, and 10 so delicately
joonstructed that 1t will register the
hundred-millidnth part OF single DO
leree Of temperature. A spiders web,
the cause of q fiy's wing. q mirror 90
small a D pin-head but as perfect a.
= $50, 900 reflector, thread OF spun
wlass, are some Of, the. delicate things
which enter into its construction.
!, Although the heat Of a star Ia no
greater than that Of q candle at .
distance of many miles. the bolometer
vihrates markedly when such a slight
amount Of heat IL thrown upon 1t.
This instrument Is used for study
Ing the constancy of the sun. II
long has been recognized that weather
! seems to move in cycles. The bolo-
meter has disclosed the fact that the
heat from the sun shows marked
vnfiktions. II was Professor Langley
theory that there might be q relation
between the variations OF the heat
Sof the sun and the changes of the
weather. He bequeathed his invee-
ti9ntions to Professor Abbott, direc-
tor Of the astrophysical observatory,
who now IL engaged in fathoming the
mysteries of solar radiation II IL
thought that the lessons he learned
mny yet enable scientists to forecast
the weather as accurately as they fore
cast the eclipse of the sun or the
coming Of comet.
The advantages which would accrue
from an accurate forecast OF the
\ weather are manifold. The farmer
could know whether the season ahead
of him was to be wet one or a dry
one. and could plant such crops as
Z would be most advantageously
crown under such conditions. The
ship owner could know whether IL
was safe for his vessels TO leave port,
+ the big conventions could be held on
fair days, and In a thousand ways this
knowledge could be used in the ad-
vancement OF the welfare of man.
kind.
Through the bureau OF ethnology
the songs. customs and traditions OF
the aboriginal American are being
preserved. Handbooks dealing with
\ Indian languages, Indian arts, and In
dian habits are being published.
Through the national geological park
there IL being gathered together one
\ Of the finest collections of wild ami
n mails In the world. From every con
tinept and almost every country
species that are rare and interesting
have come TO enrich the collections
) 1t the national zoo. The Roosevelt
African expedition gathered many in
teresting specimens of birds and ami
mails for this collection.
No finer museum for scientific re