592 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



as represented in the United States that has been published 

 within the last twenty years in this country is more or less 

 due to the efforts of this establishment. Among the sub- 

 jects thus provided for may be mentioned memoirs upon the 

 mammals, the birds, the serpents, the Western fishes; numer- 

 ous orders of insects, as the Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Orthop- 

 tera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, etc. ; the fresh-water and land 

 mollusks, etc. 



In botany there have appeared the very costly and elab- 

 orate memoirs on the marine algae, by Dr. Harvey, of Dublin, 

 and on the fresh-water algaa, by Dr. Wood, of Philadelphia. 

 In addition to what has actually been published, others are 

 in an advanced state of preparation, and will soon make their 

 appearance. 



Of the series referred to two works have just appeared, 

 one by Mr. George W. Tyron, Jr., of Philadelphia, upon the 

 Strepomatidw, or the American melanians, a group of fresh- 

 water shells occurring in great variety and abundance in 

 American waters. This forms a well-printed volume of near- 

 ly five hundred pages, with over eight hundred wood-cuts, 

 representing all the species known to Mr. Tryon at 'the time 

 of his memoir, and constituting the fourth and final part of 

 the series of the Land and Fresh-water Shells of North Amer- 

 ica. The preceding portions of this were prepared by Mr. 

 Temple Prime, Mr. William G. Binney, Mr. Thomas Bland, 

 and Dr. William Stimpson. 



Another recent publication of the Institution is the third 

 part of the Monographs of North American Diptera, by Bar- 

 on R. Ostensacken and Dr. H. Loew. The fourth part was 

 published several years ago. 



ORDNANCE BUREAU REPORT ON SMALL ARMS, ETC. 



The report of the Ordnance Bureau for the j^ear 1873 is a 

 valuable document, especially interesting as containing the 

 report of the board of officers appointed to investigate the 

 different patterns of breech-loading muskets and carbines for 

 the military service of the United States. All the various 

 weapons submitted to them are figured in detail. About 

 one hundred different American arms and a number of for- 

 eign, including the Chassepot, the needle-gun, the Martine- 

 Henry, and others, were considered. After a very careful 



