F. GEOGRAPHY. 273 



Paleontology. The results from this branch are the col- 

 lection of over one hundred species of vertebrates, with many 

 new genera, and more than one hundred species of inver- 

 tebrates. The former are in the hands of Professor Cope for 

 study, and the latter are to be taken up in connection with 

 a large number now being reported upon by Professor 0. A. 

 White, of Bowdoin College, who has already determined 

 1G0 species new to science from the collections of 1871, '72, 

 and '73. 



Natural History. So little has been heard from the par- 

 ties, that it is impracticable to set forth with any accuracy 

 the really great amount of work done at a minimum of ex- 

 pense, and but a few of the new species collected can here 

 be referred to. The party operating in New Mexico and 

 Arizona in charge of Dr. Rothrock have secured over 900 

 species of plants of 15 specimens each, over 1000 bird-skins, 

 representing several species new to science, or to the United 

 States, besides numerous insects, reptiles, fish, Indian crania, 

 dresses, implements, etc. 



The party operating in New Mexico and Colorado, under 

 Dr. Yarrow and Professor Cope, in addition to the collection 

 of fossils already mentioned, secured many fine specimens of 

 insects, reptiles, and fish. Of the latter, quite a number of 

 Cyprinoids from the tributaries of the Rio Grande are as j^et 

 undescribed. An interesting discovery by this party was that 

 of an ancient village on the Chama at Abiquiu, near which 

 was found a pre-historic cemetery containing numerous re- 

 mains of the former people of this valley. A number of these 

 skeletons were secured for the Army Medical Museum. The 

 ethnological collection of the recent Indian tribes made bv 

 this party is also large and interesting. 



The collector accompanying Lieutenant Wheeler's party, 

 Mr. Aiken, has also made a very fine collection in all branch- 

 es of natural history, and quite a number of his specimens 

 are new to the fauna of Colorado. 



The parties will return from the field of survey early in 

 December, and resume, as usual, their office work in Washing- 

 ton, condensing the material as rapidly as possible into the 

 form of reports, to be embraced either in quarto publica- 

 tions of the Survey, the Annual Report of the Chief of Engi- 

 neers, or in such minor publications as it may be found neces- 



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