KEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1919. 95 



October, 1918, in California, engaged in a study of the life history 

 of the west coast spiny lobster under the auspices of the Bureau of 

 Fisheries. Incidentally, shore and tide pool collections were made for 

 the Museum. Dr. P. Bartsch, curator of marine invertebrates, made 

 two trips to Florida during the spring of 1919, necessitated by his 

 Cerion breeding experiments continued under the auspices of the 

 Carnegie Institution of Washington. At the same time he collected 

 a large number of specimens for the Museum, including some birds, 

 reptiles, plants, about 10,000 mollusks, and other invertebrates. The 

 botanical expedition under the joint auspices of the New York Botan- 

 ical Garden, the Gray Herbarium, and the National Museum for the 

 exploration of the Ecuadorean Andes was conducted very success- 

 fully by Dr. J. N. Eose, associate curator of plants. This is the 

 first field expedition under a cooperative plan organized by the above 

 institutions for the investigation of the flora of Northern South 

 America, which it is hoped will not only enrich our botanical collec- 

 tions, but also furnish information regarding economic plants which 

 will be of much value to the horticultural and agricultural interests of 

 this country. The share of the Museum in this expedition was about 

 2,000 plants. Doctor Rose also added various other specimens, nota- 

 bly reptiles and fishes to the collection. During the month of 

 August, 1918, Mr. A. S.Hitchcock, custodian of the section of grasses 

 of the division of plants, visited certain parts of the Southwestern 

 States for the purpose of studying the grasses. Collections were 

 made at Fayetteville and Pine Bluff in Arkansas, Stillwater in 

 Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, in northeastern Texas, and various 

 other places.. A fuller illustrated report is found in the Smithson- 

 ian Exploration Pamphlet for 1918, Smithsonian Miscellaneous 

 Collections (vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 50-61). The Collins-Garner Congo 

 expedition in the interest of the Smithsonian Institution came to a 

 close during the year. Mr. Garner and Mr. Aschemeier left the 

 French Congo in March, arriving in New York in May. Major Col- 

 lins was unfortunately prevented by the war from joining the party 

 so that essentially the whole burden of collecting and preserving 

 specimens fell on our representative, Mr. Aschemeier. As a result 

 of his work about 1,200 mammals and more than 1,100 birds were 

 obtained. Most of these specimens reached Washington before the 

 end of the fiscal year, but so late that it has been impossible to 

 include them in the accessions covered by the present report. All 

 that have been received are in excellent condition. The collection 

 of mammals includes, besides the smaller species, 5 gorillas, 9 chim- 

 panzees, also numerous buffaloes, antelopes, and pigs. The material 

 gathered by this expedition will be of great value for comparison 

 with our East African collections, reports upon which are now being 

 prepared by specialists. 



