50 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1^21. 



sions" (insects). In this connection I wish to emphasize what I 

 alluded to in last j'^ear's report, namely, that an increase in the num- 

 ber of specimens received means additional demands on the time and 

 labor of the staff and that this means less time and chance for scientific 

 work unless additional help can be obtained. The showing this year 

 is gratifying because it seems to indicate a return to normal growth 

 interrupted by the war, but normal growth in the quantity and qual- 

 ity of the accessions requires also a normal growth in the staff and 

 in the appropriations for the maintainance of the ever-growing 

 collections. 



ACCKS.SIONS DBSBEVING SPECIAL NOTICE, AND WHY. 



The outstanding features of this year's accession, like those of 

 last year's, are the Australian collections made by Dr. Charles M. 

 Hoy, which we owe to the continued generosity of Dr. W. L. Abbott, 

 and those resulting from the Smithsonian African expedition. To 

 Doctor Abbott we are furthermore indebted for a valuable collection 

 of mammals, birds, and reptiles, collected by C. Boden Kloss in 

 Siam, Anam, and Cochin China, from which countries we have had 

 but scant material before. Doctor Abbott, himself, collected nu- 

 merous birds, reptiles, land mollusks, and, in conjunction with Mr. 

 E. C. Leonard, about 10,000 plants in Haiti. Miscellaneous col- 

 lections of great importance were also received from the Bureau of 

 Fisheries, Department of Commerce, and the Biological Survey, De- 

 partment of Agriculture, as will be detailed below. 



The more important accessions, distributed among the various 

 divisions, are as follows: 



Mammals. — The most valuable single specimen received by the 

 entire department was a fine skeleton of a whale, about 45 feet long, 

 which Avas generously presented by Mr. James A. xVllison, presi- 

 dent of the Miami Aquarium Association, to the National Museum 

 on behalf of the association. This specimen which was stranded 

 some years ago at Pablo Beach, Fhi., is of particular interest, as it 

 belongs to a rare species, which hitherto has been represented from 

 North American waters by fragments only. The individual bones 

 are now being photographed and studied with a view to the publi- 

 cation of a monograph, and the skeleton will then be placed on exhi- 

 bition in the whale hall. The Australian mammals collected by Mr. 

 Hoy number 571 specimens, representing about 42 genera and 75 

 species. The material consists primarily of well-prepared skins, 

 skulls, and skeletons, as well as of many embryos and pouch young 

 preserved in alcohol. The 144 mammals from Siam, Anam, and 

 Cochin China, collected by Mr. Boden Kloss, included 17 types. The 

 C99 mammals from Africa, collected by Mr. H. C. Raven, of the 



