Mr. Sass, of the staff, has shown that a specimen of the 

 Black-headed Grosbeak, Zamelodia melanocephala (Swains.), 

 in the Museum, is almost certainly the original specimen 

 figured and described by Audubon in his great work on 

 American birds. The specimen was found among rubbish 

 and is another illustration of the necessity of the new system 

 of records and of an adequate and efficient staff. 



Considerable progress has been made in the revision of 

 the extensive conchological collections. 



A few mammals have been put up as skins and several 

 skeletons are in preparation. 



Geology 



This department again owes much to its devoted honorary 

 curator, Professor D. S. Martin, who has made further 

 donations of books and specimens. Professor Martin spent 

 three months revising the geological collections, and through 

 his efforts more than 800 specimens of rocks and fossils 

 have been identified and catalogued. The value of Professor 

 Martin's labors can hardly be over-estimated and his de- 

 votion to the interests of the Museum is shown not only by 

 his painstaking work but also by his many generous dona- 

 tions. 



From the phosphate beds in the vicinity of Charleston a 

 wonderful variety of valuable fossil material might be 

 obtained, if the time and the means were available. The 

 Museum already contains a valuable series of phosphate 

 fossils and a number of new accessions have been made 

 during the past year. The Museum is still unable, however, 

 to undertake systematic collecting in the phosphate beds— 

 a fact greatly to be deplored as it is certain that much 

 valuable material could be obtained at very small expense. 



Anthropology 

 Professor F. W. Putnam, head of the Peabody Museum 

 at Harvard and of the department of Anthropology at the 



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