44 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1923. 



ferent expeditions have already been carried on in Ecuador, British 

 and French Guiana, Trinidad, Venezuela, and Colombia. Ever 

 since 1882 the Department of Biology has shared with the Bureau of 

 Fisheries the investigations of the history of the North Pacific fur- 

 seals and fur-seal industry. The study of the Asiatic fur-seal fell 

 particularly to the Museum, and as recent as the present fiscal year 

 it cooperated to the extent of having one of its staff visit and report 

 upon the fur-seals of the Commander Islands and the Japanese 

 seal island in the Sea of Okhotsk. I may also call attention to the 

 I'ecent cooperation with the National Park Service for the purpose 

 of botanical exploration of the national parks and the preparation 

 of guide books to their floras. This is not the place to go into 

 further detail, but the whole matter can be summed up in the brief 

 statement, that the work of this Department is one large, continuous 

 cooperation with practically all public and private agencies con- 

 cerned in biological investigations in this country and a large number 

 of similar agencies abroad. 



COMPAEISON OF INCREMENT OF SPECIMENS OF 1922-23 WITH THAT OF 1921-22. 



Numerically stated the increment of specimens is less than one- 

 half of what it was during the preceding fiscal year. Nevertheless, 

 the scientific value, according to the reports of the divisions, not only 

 compares favorably with that of the previous year, but on the whole 

 is characterized as of superior interest, except in three of the di- 

 visions, in one of which the relative inferiority is due to the prepon- 

 derating importance of a single accession, namely, the Buchtien 

 Herbarium purchased in 1922. Moreover, the decrease in numbers 

 was universal in all the divisions, except one, that of Marine Inverte- 

 brates. The curious fact noted in last year's report that there was a 

 sharp distinction between the decrease in the increment of the verte- 

 brate di^dsions and the increase in that of the invertebrates, is shown 

 to be a coincidence devoid of further significance. The number of 

 specimens received in any one year, as compared with a previous one, 

 is more or less accidental, and affords only a means of appraising the 

 relative amount of manual and curatorial labor spent. Hence it is 

 evident that the past year has been favorable to the sadly under- 

 manned divisions in allowing more time for catching up with ar- 

 rears and for systematic study of the collections. 



The question of the importance of quality over that of quantity is 

 well illustrated by the figures of accessions in the Division of Insects. 

 It will be remembered that in last year's report the number of in- 

 sects accessioned was 138,500, which w^ere characterized by the cura- 

 tor as greatly surpassing in scientific value those of any previous 

 year for some time back. During the present year the number is only 



