lx.>c GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



bratcs were obtained, especially of the Dlnocerata, Quadni- 

 mana^ and Cheiroptera^ which had iirst been brought to light 

 by the researches of the party in previous years. A third 

 trip Avas made in September to the Tertiary beds of Idaho 

 and Oregon, where some interesting discoveries were made. 

 The party went from Oregon to San Francisco by sea, nar- 

 rowly esca2:)ing shipwreck, and then returned East by rail. 

 On the way, short visits were made to localities in the Mio- 

 cene of Colorado and the Cretaceous of Kansas, to complete 

 investigations began last year. The expedition as a whole was 

 very successful, not merely on account of the large number 

 of new animals discovered, but also on account of the exten- 

 sive collections made to complete the study of those pre- 

 viously found. All the collections secured are now in the 

 museum of Yale College. 



In Middle America, the principal fact is the completion of 

 the surveys for the Interoceanic Canal, several different lines, 

 as the Isthmus of Darien, the Isthmus of Nicaragua, and the 

 Isthmus of Tehuantepec, having been surveyed by United 

 States naval officers. The reports of these gentlemen are 

 now in the hands of the committee appointed for their criti- 

 cism, and will be made the subject of a careful comparison ; 

 and tlio best route for the canal, with the possibilities of its 

 construction, will doubtless soon be officially presented. 



Professor William M. Gabb, of Philadelphia, was engaged 

 during the year in carrying on a very important exploration 

 in Costa Rica, in the vicinity of the projected raihvay, and 

 in the interest of both the railway and the government. He 

 was accompanied, as zoologist, by Mr. J. Zeledon, an attache 

 of the Smithsonian Institution, and a native of Costa Rica. 

 A very extensive collection of natural history and ethnology 

 has been already forwarded by Mr. Gabb to Washington, lor 

 the ])urpose of being investigated and described. This ex- 

 pedition, in the magnitude of its zoological and geological 

 collations, promises to be of great importance. 



Mr. Osbert Salvin, Avell known from his explorations in Cen- 

 tral America, has returned to that country, wdth a view of 

 clearing up some questions connected Avith its natural histo- 

 ry, and, in his specialty of birds and butterflies, Mill doubt- 

 less obtain important results. 



In the way of exj)lorations in South America, we have to 



