REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 105 



Mollusks. — The accession of greatest moment was the gift by Mr. 

 Thomas H. Bryant, of Cincinnati, of the collection of the late Prof. 

 F. W. Bryant, of Lakeside, CaL, consisting of five cases of miscel- 

 laneous shells of which a large number were desirable for the reserve 

 series. A contribution of about 2,000 specimens was received as 

 the results of a dredging expedition by Mr. John B. Henderson, to 

 Chincoteague, Va., in which the assistant curator. Dr. Paul Bartsch, 

 also took part. Several of the species obtained are apparently new. 

 A miscellaneous lot of marine shells, mostly from the Gulf of Cal- 

 ifornia, presented by Mrs. Julian James, consists of material ob- 

 tained by her brother, the late Lieut. Commander T. B. M. Mason, 

 United States Navy. A collection of minute marine shells of con- 

 siderable interest from the island of Mujeres, off the coast of Yuca- 

 tan, was donated by Mr. Russell H. IVIillward; and a fine series of 

 nearly 1,000 specimens of Bidiinulus from 43 localities in Texas, was 

 presented by the Hon. J. D. Mitchell, of Victoria, Tex., an old friend 

 and correspondent of the Museum. Mr. Charles E. Orcutt added to 

 the collections previously sent by him from various places in Mexico 

 about 500 specimens of very acceptable mollusks ; Mrs. T. S. Oldroyd 

 furnished some excellent Californian marine specimens from the 

 vicinity of San Pedro; and Mr. James Zetek presented interesting 

 specimens from Panama. 



The reserve collection has been kept in good condition and is 

 readily accessible for study and reference. The western American 

 marine material has been partly gone over, recent acquisitions have 

 been incorporated in their proper places and the nomenclature has 

 been so far revised as to present the latest data for about one-fifth 

 of the entire series from the Pacific coast. A very large amount of 

 fine dredgings, bottom samples, etc., has been searched for minute 

 shells, and the pickings have been submitted to rough sorting and 

 labeled with the locality and other data preparatory to further study 

 and identification. Part of this material came from Philippine 

 dredgings by the Fisheries steamer Albatross and part from the Gulf 

 of California. The series of mollusks for the faunal exhibit of the 

 District of Columbia was completed, and the assistant curator also 

 gave much time to the preparation and arrangement of marine in- 

 vertebrates for the general exhibition. 



The special investigations of the curator. Dr. William H. Dall, 

 were directed to the fauna of the northwest coast of America pre- 

 liminary to a manual of this fauna which he is preparing, but on 

 which progress has been slow, owing to the pressure of routine work. 

 A small collection of shells made on both coasts of Canada was 

 studied and a report made to the Dominion Geological and Natural 

 History Survey, which has been printed in the Bulletin of the Vic- 

 toria Memorial Museum at Ottawa. Dr. Paul Bartsch, the assistant 



