6 Dircctor\% Annual Report. 



The rapidly vanishing native fauna .should be saved as far as 

 is now possible by securing such collecflions as are available ; and 

 four thousand dollars can be well spent at once in this waj-. While 

 we have a collecftor at work on the land shells, we have not in our 

 cabinets more than half of the described marine shells attributed to 

 our waters. We have about half of the described species of coral, 

 and even a less proportion of the lower marine forms. The Com- 

 missioner of Fisheries has informed me that the Commission desire 

 to place in our Museum cotypes of the new species of fish collected 

 by the Albatross expedition last summer, as well as all possible of 

 the general collecftion made. This generous gift will be of great 

 value in the future study of the Hawaiian fish fauna, which under 

 the wasteful fishing of the Orientals will soon be difficult to find. 

 Our collecftion of Hawaiian Crustacea is of little importance and 

 should be made an especial object in our future work. 



But this report deals more with what we have done and are 

 doing, although all such work is continuous and must be done in 

 reference to future needs. Our Staff has changed its personnel 

 during the year. Mr. Allen M. Walcott, after several years of 

 faithful work, resigned in June to continue his .studies in the 

 University of California, and Mr. Leopold Blackman was appointed 

 in his place. Mr. Ralph C. Geer was made assistant to the Director 

 for his great skill in carpentry and general manual work. Mr. C. 

 M. Cooke, Jr., was appointed an a.ssi.stant as especially interested 

 in studying the distribution and variation of Hawaiian Land Shells, 

 and in this line he has made extensive collections in Nuuanu valley. 



Of the older members of the .staff Mr. W. A. Bryan has not 

 only, as Curator of Ornithology, cared for the collections in his 

 department, mounting groups of native birds to illustrate their life 

 history, but has al.so arranged for me the groups of casts of natives 

 at work made several j-ears ago by Allen Hutchinson but not yet 

 placed on public exhibition. The care and skill Mr. Bryan has 

 shown in this work will give pleasure to many visitors in future 

 years, and without the important accessories he has furnished, the 



