328 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OP [1883. 



It is with sincere regret tliat we record the death of our valued 

 member, Mr. Charles F. Parker, which occun-ed September Y, 

 1883. Mr. Parker was one of the founders of the Section, and a 

 very large portion of the leisure time at his command was devoted 

 to its interests. In his death the Academy and Section have lost 

 a faithful and efficient officer, and the members a worthy associate. 



Our Conservator, Mr. Geo. W. Try on, Jr., repoits forty-seven 

 donations of shells from twenty -nine diffei-ent sources, all of which 

 have been labeled and arranged in the museum. " These aggre- 

 gate 1097 trays and labels, containing 4150 specimens, being a 

 larger accession than for several previous years." Including them, 

 the Conchological collection embraces 41,822 trays and tablets, 

 with 145,791 specimens. 



It ma}^ be stated as an illustration of the rapid growth of our 

 museum that about one-third of these specimens have been received 

 since the removal of the Academy to its pi-esent building in 1876. 

 Among the donations may be particularized as important, the large 

 collections of New Caledonian, French and Eastern European 

 shells, generously given by Messrs. E. Marie, A. Locard, A. Mon- 

 tandon,and S. Clessin ; also the fine collection from Mauritius and 

 Madagascar, purchased from Mr. V. Robillard. Several other 

 purchases of good shells were made, partly with the income of the 

 Museum Fund, partly' b}^ money received from the sale of our publi- 

 cations. To obtain all purchasable novelties and desiderata would 

 require a fund yielding an income of not less than five hundred 

 dollars per annum ; some rare opportunities were declined during 

 the past year for want of means. 



Inadequate as our resources are, our progress has been such as 

 to receive recentl}^ the commendation of the distinguished editor 

 of the "Journal de Conchyliologie," who writes of tlie " immense 

 bibliographical and conchological collections of the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, scientific treasures to which 

 each 3^ear adds considerably, and which constitute working 

 facilities of the first order." The re-arrangement of tbe museum, 

 in connection with the publication of the monographs of the 

 genera in the " Manual of Conchology," steadily progresses. The 

 Columhellidse and Gonidee have been carefully studied and largely 

 re-labeled during the year; the Pleui'otomidee are now undergoing 

 revision. 



