furnished living specimens of the coatimundi; and Doctor Nichols, of the Washington Insane Asylum, the body of a very large grizzly bear. Specimens of the black-tailed deer and American panther were obtained for the Institution by Mr. James Stevenson, of Doctor Hayden's survey. One of the most important contributions of the year, as far as the mammalia of North America are concerned, consisted of several specimens of the black-footed ferret, ( Putorius nigripes,) a weasel described by Mr. Audubon in 1843 from a single specimen, which has not been since caught until the present year, when specimens were transmitted to the Institution by Mr. La Munyon, Dr. Law, and Mr. L. H. Kerrick.

Especially noteworthy among the birds received during the year is a specimen of the dodo pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris) from the Samoan Islands, presented by Mr. A. B. Steinberger. This species is best known from having been collected by the Wilkes Exploring Expedition, and described nearly simultaneously by Sir William Jardine and Mr. Titian R. Peale. It is confined to these islands, where it is nearly extinct. This specimen is especially valuable from being presented entire in alcohol, thus furnishing an opportunity of a thorough anatomical investigation of its characteristics. A living specimen just received at the Zoological Garden in London has attracted great attention.

Mr. Lucien M. Turner, now stationed at Saint Michael's, in Norton Sound, as an observer in the Signal-Service, has sent a number of birds, with their eggs, of much interest, among them specimens of the Sterna aleutica and other rare species.

A cast of part of the skull of a remarkable fossil bird from the Sheppey clay, of England, (the Odontopteryx toliapicus,) has been received from Mr. Bryce M. Wright. Mr. Barnum has supplied, from the specimens that died in his menagerie, the cassowary, the emu, and the ostrich. From Dr. Gabb has been received a very large series of the birds of Costa Rica. Mr. J. E. Harting, of London, has supplied some rare specimens of the grallæ. Collections of the birds of Colorado have been furnished by Mr. C. G. Aiken and Mrs. Maxwell; of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, by Professor Sumichrast; of the Prybilov Islands, from Mr. George R. Adams. Collections of the birds of Brazil were furnished by Señor Albuquerque, and of Buenos Ayres by Dr. Burmeister; a series of rare species from Ecuador was also received from the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Conn.

A noteworthy fact is the receipt of a specimen of the Arkansas flycatcher, killed in Maryland, and presented by Mr. Jouy, this species being usually confined to the western plains.

The most important of the collections of eggs received are those furnished by Captain Charles Bendire, United States Cavalry, from Southern Arizona; those from Dr. William A. Cooper, of Santa Cruz, California; from Florida by Professor Jenks, and from Alaska by Mr. Dall and Mr. Elliott.

The collections of reptiles received during the year have not been very extensive, the most important being the series furnished by Mr. Gabb from Costa Rica, and those brought in by the expedition of Lieutenant Wheeler. Captain Bendire has furnished a specimen of the rare Heloderma horridum, a curious lizard from Arizona; and several living alligators from Florida have been supplied by Messrs. Chandler and Boyd. Mr. John Potts, a correspondent of many years' standing, has again evinced his interest in the Institution by sending a collection of reptiles and fishes from Mexico. A living sea-turtle from Florida was presented by the honorable Secretary of the Navy, and a giant snapping-turtle of the Mississippi, by Mr. Boyd. Dr. Reuss has furnished collections of reptiles from Illinois, Professor Sumichrast others from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mr. John Queseda the poisonous serpents of Nicaragua, and a series gathered during the operations of the Northern Boundary Survey was brought in by Dr. Coues. Mr. Meek obtained from Florida a specimen of Elaps distans, a serpent to which reference has already been made, as previously known only in Arizona.

The collections of fishes embrace some of the most noteworthy addi, tions of the year, these having been made with special reference to the operations of Professor Baird as United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. The most important of these were gathered by himself on the coast of New England, especially in the vicinity of Noank, Conn., where he had his headquarters during the past summer. These embrace full series of all the kinds known to occur in those waters, supplemented by rare specimens sent by his agents and correspondents at Wood's Hole, Portland, and elsewhere. Large numbers, too, of the fishes of the great lakes and of the Mississippi, &c., have been sup plied, among them specimens of the grayling of Michigan and of Montana, including several new species; and series of white-fish from Maine, New Hampshire, and elsewhere, have also been received. Mr. E. G. Blackford, the well-known dealer in fish at Fulton Market, New York, has been especially serviceable in this connection by keeping a sharp watch over the rare and curious fish coming into New York, and sending them suitably packed in ice to Washington. By means of the vari ous fresh fishes thus obtained, the series of casts of the food-fishes of the United States, commenced a few years ago, has been greatly extended during the past season, this now numbering over three hundred specimens, painted carefully from nature, and representing fishes and cetaceans, some of them of nearly a thousand pounds weight. This collection of casts is unique in this country, and is only represented on a smaller scale by that of Mr. Frank Buckland, in London, and that of the natural history museum of Trinity College, Dublin.

Other specimens of fishes are those from the coast of Virginia, supplied by Prof. H. E. Webster; skeletons of the fishes of South Carolina, from Mr. G. E. Manigault; specimens from the Sacramento Bay, sent

by Mr. L. Stone; from the vicinity of New Bedford, by Mr. John H. Thomson; from Florida, by Mr. G. B. Goode; from the Susquehanna River, by Mr. T. H. Bean and Mr. Jas. Creveling; from Montana, by Dr. Hart; from Lake Superior, by J. T. Coleman; from Michigan, by D. H. Fitzhugh, jr., and Fred. Mather; from Cooperstown, N. Y., &c., by Captain Phinney,

Of fishes from regions outside of the United States, specimens have been furnished from the fresh waters of Central Europe, by Dr. Middleton Goldsmith; from the Pacific Ocean, by the United States steamer Portsmouth; from Kamtschatka, by Col. T. L. Lee; from Cuba, by Professor Poey and Professor Shepard; and from the Mauritius, by Capt. Nicholas Pike. The last-named collection is in great variety of species and admirable preservation, constituting one of the most important contributions ever made in this department to the National Museum. Professor Poey's collection is a continuation of a systematic series, which he has undertaken to supply, and which already embraces over a hundred species.

The Zoological Museum of Copenhagen has supplied models of the common form of weir used in Denmark for the capture of fishes.

The general collections of marine invertebrates have been from Mr. William H. Dall, from Capt. Nicholas Pike, and from the United States Fish Commission, among other series. In mollusks the collections of Captain Pike and Mr. Dall are especially rich.

A series of shells from the coast of Norway, by Mr. G. O. Sars, of Christiania, will be of much value for comparison with American forms. Numerous shells of fossil mollusks have also been received from various donors.

From the fact that the collections of insects have been transferred to the Agricultural Department, not much can be announced in the way of receipts in this department, all the specimens that have come to hand having been, as usual, delivered to that establishment. It may be worthy of mention, however, that the first collections made by the United States astronomical expedition for the observation of the transit of Venus, received at the Institution, consist of a series of butterflies from Brazil, furnished by Mr. Russell.

Of plants various packages have been received from the different Government expeditions, among them some interesting fossil species from Mr. Ambler and Dr. Stevens, of Virginia, and Mr. Sternberg, of Kansas. As heretofore, all the recent specimens have been transmitted to the Agricultural Department.

Among the more important contributions to the museum have been the specimens of soundings made by Commander Belknap, on the Tuscarora, during his labors in the Pacific Ocean. These are of very great

extent, and promise to furnish large numbers of new species. They are now placed in the hands of Prof. Hamilton L. Smith for identification.

A series of dredgings has been received from the vicinity of Kotzebue Sound and other portions of Behring Sea, made by Captain Smith, of the Alaska Commercial Company.

Minerals in considerable number have been received, among them a series collected by Colonel Abert, of Tennessee, specimens deposited by Mr. J. H. Jenkins, of Northumberland, specimens from Berlandier as presented by General D. N. Couch, together with specimens from Saxony, given by Dr. Endlich; these are in addition to the large gatherings of the Government expeditions.

Dr. Endlich, in charge of the mineralogical department of the museum, states that, during the year 1874, 250 minerals have been placed in the cases, in addition to those mentioned in the last report, as well as 300 lithological specimens and 150 ores.

The metallurgical collection remains about the same.

The labeling of the minerals has been finished, and exhibits a type of what the method will be when the whole collection is completed.

A large number of minerals has been examined at the request of correspondents of the Institution, and their qualitative character determined. For purposes of education the Institution furnishes qualitative determinations of mineralogical specimens, but in no case does it undertake to furnish percentages of the different components of specimens, or give certificates, for commercial purposes, of their value.

The fossils are being arranged, and in the course of a year we hope to have series of duplicates for distribution.

During the past summer, Dr. Endlich was engaged in the southwestern portion of Colorado, in the San Juan mining region, in connection with the Hayden expedition, an account of which will be given in the reports. of that establishment.

It is, of course, impossible to enumerate all the collections and specimens, or to give in these cursory notes anything more than a general idea of the nature of the receipts of the year. The complete list of donors, with the objects presented by them, will be found arranged alphabetically in the appendix to the report.

Work done in connection with the National Museum.

As might reasonably be supposed, the magnitude of the receipts during 1874 has required much time and labor to reduce them to order, exceeding as they did by far those of any previous year. The rapid rate of increase is evinced by a comparison with the data for 1873 and 1872, as follows:

The total number of entries for 1874 is 564, from 337 donors, and embraces 712 packages; for 1873 the numbers are 441, 241, and 680, respectively; and for 1872, 315, 203, and 544.

As regards the distribution of duplicate specimens to public establishments, &c., the records show 320 entries; these include donations of specimens to 40 foreign museums and zoologists and to 165 home institutions, and embrace 32 sets of mammals, 18 of birds and eggs, 4 of reptiles, (living and dead,) 4 of fishes, 3 of crania, 5 of insects, 63 of shells, 12 of plants, 2 of fossils, 106 of minerals, rocks, and building. stones, 7 of ethnological specimens, and 5 of diatomaceous earths; in all, 261 lots.

A table in the appendix shows the total number of specimens dis tributed, including also those deposited in the care of the Department of Agriculture and the Surgeon-General's Office.

Of specimens submitted to specialists for examination and report there have been 61 lots: Mammals to H. and J. A. Allen and to Dr. Sclater; birds to Geo. N. Lawrence; reptiles and fishes to E. D. Cope; insects to Messrs. Packard, Scudder, Edwards, Ostensacken, Uhler, Ulke, Stretch, Cresson, Thomas, Glover, Emerton, and Holden; shells to Messrs. Tryon, Binney, and Sandberger; crustaceans to S. J. Smith; marine invertebrates to A. E. Verrill; plants to Messrs. Gray, Rothrock, Vasey, Englemann, Olney, James, and Carson; microscopic material to Messrs. Smith and Seaman; mineral waters to Dr. Loew.

Six lots additional to the above have been lent for study.

The number of specimens sent out for investigation is approximately estimated as follows: Mammals, 2,000; birds, 900; reptiles, 100; fishes, 100; insects, 7,000; shells, 500; marine invertebrates, 400; ethnologica, 10; packages of microscopic material, 500; plants, 9,000; in round numbers about 20,000. Some of these are included among the specimens distributed.

It is no exaggeration to say that 40,000 specimens are represented by the 320 entries in the distribution-book.

Collecting apparatus has been lent to about fifteen expeditions and collectors, principally from the stores of the United States Fish Commissioner.

GOVERNMENT EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS.

The following is a brief sketch of the surveys made under the authority of the General Government during the year 1874, the specimens from which are to be finally deposited in the museum under the care of the Institution.

Explorations and surveys west of the 100th meridian, First Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, Corps of Engineers, in charge.

Nine separate parties took the field in 1874 for operations in portions of Nebraska, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The point of departure was Pueblo, Colorado Territory, in the valley of the Arkansas. The whole area entered and occupied lies south of the latitude of the Spanish Peaks, except that included in special journeys necessary