THE RESEARCH WORK OF THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION
Mr. Carnegie's recent gift of $10,000,000 in bonds of the U. S. Steel Corporation to the institution which he established in Washington nine years ago gives it an endowment of $22,000,000 in securities bearing 5 per cent, interest and worth at least $25,000,000. The endowment of Stanford University is about the same, and Mr. Rockefeller's endowment of the University of Chicago is about $10,000,000 greater. Each of these institutions through the gift of a single man has resources larger than any university has had until very recently, and aproximately equal to the present endowments of Harvard and Columbia. If this country does not assume the leadership in scientific research and productive scholarship, it will not be through lack of endowment.
The work of the Carnegie Institution is each year reported with clearness and fullness in the year-book. The president gives an account of the financial operations and a summary of the investigations accomplished and in i progress and the heads of departments and the recipients of grants describe their work. Last year the sum of about $440,000 was appropriated for the ten research departments, about $90,000 for minor grants and research associates, about $100,000 for publications and about $45,000 for administration. Among the research departments astronomy fares the best with an appropriation of over $150,000, and geophysics and terrestrial magnetism next, with over $125,000.
The solar observatory on Mt. Wilson reports the results of nineteen researches concerned largely with sunspots and the sun's spectrum, but extending also to stellar spectroscopy and photography. The tower telescope, shown in the accompanying illustration, is now complete except the spectroscopic attachments. A well in the rock below 75 feet deep forms part of the tube of the instrument. The meeting of the Solar Union at the observatory has been described in this journal. The department of meridian astronomy has conducted observations in Argentina and compilations at the Dudley Observatory.
The geophysical laboratory has concerned itself with the study of rocks under experimental conditions more especially with reference to temperature and pressure. The non-magnetic ship of the department of terrestrial magnetism
