REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT, 1912. 21 



Public Record Office of Great Britain," and publication No. 163, "Guide to 

 the Materials for the History of the United States in the Principal Archives 

 of Mexico," of the Institution are now in press. No. 90A has been some- 

 what delayed by reason of a reclassification to which large sections of the 

 British Public Record Office were subjected after this work had been started 

 by Professor Andrews. Another work in press by the department is Mr. 

 David W. Parker's "Guide to the Materials for United States History in 

 Canadian Archives," publication No. 172 of the Institution. 



Further progress is reported in respect to the work in charge of Mr. W. G. 

 Leland, of the departmental staff, on materials for American history in the 

 archives of Paris. Search has been made also in several other European 

 cities for sources of American history. The Director of the department 

 spent the past summer in Europe and took occasion while there to devote 

 special attention to the materials derivable from the five French-speaking 

 cantons of Switzerland. Assistance has been rendered to the department 

 during the year by several collaborators who have been called by the Director 

 to his aid in the preparation of the proposed atlas of historical geography of 

 the United States, to which reference has been made in preceding reports. 



Dr. Burnett, of the departmental staff, has been engaged chiefly upon the 

 series of "Letters of Delegates to the Continental Congress," while Miss 

 Davenport, also of the permanent staff, has been occupied nearly continuously 

 in the collection of "European Treaties having a bearing on United States 

 History." These documents promise to furnish much material hitherto in- 

 accessible to students of American history. 



The independent transportation facilities furnished by the staunch new 



vessel, Anton Dohrn, and the repairs and improvements to the Laboratory 



completed a year ago, have proved highly advantageous 



Department of |-q ^j^g Department of Marine Biology. By means of the 



Marine Biology. ^ ^\ , . ^ ,. , , ° ,. ,. . , 



Anton Dohrn the entire Gulf and West Indian region be- 

 comes open to investigation by the department. The Director records with 

 appreciation a gift to his fleet by Hon. John B. Henderson, of Washington, 

 D. C, of a 23-foot, 6 horse-power launch, which has already proved a very 

 useful adjunct in the diversified work of the department, since many differ- 

 ent investigations are carried on simultaneously by different individuals at 

 the laboratory headquarters. 



During February and March of the current year the Director established 

 a temporary laboratory at Montego Bay, Jamaica, a region which sustains 

 important biological relations to the vicinity of the Tortugas group of 

 islands. In addition to the Director, nine other investigators pursued re- 

 searches at this laboratory. In May the Director and three collaborators 

 visited the Bahamas, making a successful cruise of 570 miles with the Anton 

 Dohrn. This expedition was of special aid to Messrs. Drew and Vaughan 

 in their studies concerning oolite deposits and corals. 



