476 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1890. 



placed under special obligation to those who have generously con- 

 trib;ited their time and assistance. To Mr. John H. Redfield, the 

 Conservator of the Herbarium, and to Mr. Thomas Meehan, the 

 Academy is indebted for the greater part of the systematic work 

 that is being done toward the expansion and proper distribution 

 of the botanical collections ; similarly, to the officers of the En- 

 tomological Section and the American Entomological Society, it 

 is placed under obligation for work done in connection with the 

 department of Entomology. 



In the early part of the year the Curator-in-Charge was desig- 

 nated as the head of a scientific expedition to Yucatan and Mexico, 

 having for its special purpose the exploration — geological, zoological, 

 and botanical — of much of the still unexplored sections of the 

 Mexican Republic. The party as organized consisted of, besides the 

 Curator-in-Charge, Messrs. J. E. Ives, Witmer Stone, Roberts Le 

 Boutillier, and Frank C. Baker. The greater part of four months 

 was passed in exploration, and a rich harvest of facts and material 

 was secured for the Academy. A special report covering the 

 general results of the expedition is herewith appended. Attention 

 has already been called in previous reports to the value of this 

 form of scientific research, and too much emphasis cannot be laid 

 upon the advisability of endowing a moderate zoogeographical re- 

 search fund, the interest from which should be annually applied to 

 exploration of the numerous regions which still await investigation. 

 In no better way, it is believed, could the good of science be 

 subserved, and the general interests of the Academy promoted. 



As in previous years, the entire collection of alcoholics has been 

 carefully examined and overhauled, and it is a satisfaction to be 

 able to state that but few removals were found to be necessary. The 

 same satisfactory condition characterizes the collection of birds, 

 which has received much attention from Mr. Witmer Stone, Jessup 

 Fund beneficiary. The Conchological department continues to 

 receive the energetic services of Mr. H. A. Pilsbry, its Con- 

 servator, and it is encouraging to know that, despite the compara- 

 tively small expenditure of money which its maintenance involves, 

 it still retains its position as the first collection of tbe kind in 

 the world. The number of trays of mounted specimens in this de- 

 partment is now upwards of 61,000. Through the hearty co- 

 operation of the American Conchologists' Association, and the special 

 endeavors of the President of that Association, Mr. John H. Camp- 



