REPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 115 



given generous support to field worlv, mainly, if not wholly, in its 

 interest. 



Dr. W. L. Abbott, an associate of the Museum, continued his own 

 explorations in the Himalayas, besides maintaining Mr. H. C. Raven 

 in Dutch East Borneo, where, as elsewhere explained, he has been 

 making large and valuable collections. Dr. Abbott recently sent 

 Mr. Raven to the island of Celebes on a similar mission, and has 

 placed at the disposition of the Institution sufficient funds to keep 

 him in the field for another year. In July, 1913, Mr. John B. 

 Henderson, a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, made a dredg- 

 ing trip to the waters around Chincoteague Island, Va., taking with 

 him as a guest Dr. Paul Bartsch, assistant curator of moUusks. 

 They secured a large quantity of material, including several new 

 mollusks. During May and a part of June, 1914, Mr. Henderson 

 undertook a much more elaborate expedition to the region off the 

 northwestern coast of Cuba, having chartered a fishing vessel and 

 well equipped it for the f)urpose. By his kind invitation, Dr. 

 Bartsch was again able to join in the W'ork, his special mission being 

 to collect and make special preparations of marine invertebrates 

 needed for the West Indian fauna in the exhibition series. The 

 party also included Mr. G. W. Gill, who was charged with reproduc- 

 ing the natural colors of specimens for the exhibits. The explora- 

 tion was entirely successful, and its results, liberally shared wdth 

 the Museum, consisted . of both invertebrates and fishes secured by 

 extensive dredging, towing, and shore collecting. Many specimens 

 of land animals were also collected during occasional visits on shore. 



With Dr. Alfred G. Mayer, director of the Marine Biological 

 Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution, Dr. Bartsch again visited, 

 during the latter part of April, the Bahama Cerion plantations on 

 the Florida Keys, of which accounts were given in the last two re- 

 jDorts. These transplantations of large numbers of two races of 

 Bahama shells of the genus Cerion were undertaken to ascertain the 

 effect of their transference to a new enviromnent. During this 

 year's examination the adults of the first generation were found, and 

 most interesting results are reported regarding the changes which 

 these present as compared with the material introduced. A trip 

 made by Dr. J. N. Rose, as a research assistant of the Carnegie In- 

 stitution of Washington, through portions of Colorado, New Mexico, 

 and Texas, was productive of a large and valuable collection of 

 Cactaceae and also of other groups of plants, a large proportion of 

 w'hich wall be deposited in the Museum. Mr. G. S. Miller, jr., 

 curator of mammals, spent part of his vacation, during February, 

 1914, at Biloxi, Miss., where he secured many interesting specimens. 

 Other members of the staff on short trips have also added material 

 to the collection, a large number of plants and some crayfishes hav- 



