2Q REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



uniformity in the popular designation of a species, to supersede the 

 numerous local names in use, by giving an English equivalent of the 

 technical Latin and Greek titles employed by naturalists. The next, 

 and larger portion of the work is devoted to a specification of the locality, 

 source, and nature of the various preserved examples of each species, 

 with a biblographical reference to a good published description thereof. 

 Following this is a " List of specimens desired by the National Museum," 

 numbering in all 132, of which, however, 78 are duplicates wished for 

 of examples already in the collection, leaving but 54 new species desired 

 to complete the Museum series. The whole is followed by copious in- 

 dexes ; 1st, to the generic and specific names ; 2d, to the common names ; 

 3d, to the localities whence obtained; 4th, to the names of contributors; 

 and lastly, the general index. This bulletin forms an octavo volume of 

 254 pages. This work is to be followed by a supplementary one giving 

 a careful and concise description of each species of the class. This is 

 now in preparation. 



Bulletin ffo. 22 of the National Museum has been published during 

 the year. It is entitled " Guide to the Flora of Washington and vicinity,'' 

 by Lester F. Ward. The work, besides the catalogue of the flora of the 

 District, with full notes, contains a sketch of the early botanical labors 

 undertaken by former students, the range of the flora, notices of local- 

 ities of special interest, the flowering-time of plants, and many interest- 

 ing facts relating to autumnal flowering, albinos, and double flowers, a 

 statistical view of the flora, a comparison with others, notes upon abun- 

 dant and scarce species, classification, common names, &c. There is also 

 included a check-list of the plants for the use of those who may be form- 

 ing herbaria and an excellent map of the region considered. An ap- 

 pendix is devoted to directions for collecting, which gives ample instruc- 

 tion for the j)reparation of an herbarium, the collection, preservation, 

 and identification of plants, as well as the proper way to arrange dupli- 

 cates for readily making exchanges. This is also published in separate 

 form as No. 4G0 of Smithsonian series. A full and complete index forms 

 a useful feature of the work, the whole making an octavo volume of 2G5 

 pages. 



Another Bulletin of the National Museum, No. 11, which had been for 

 a long time in the hands of the printer, was issued during 1882. It is 

 entitled "Bibliography of the Fishes of the Pacific Coast of the United 

 States to the end of 1879," by Theodore Gill. The author gives an 

 enumeration in chronological order of the memoirs and articles of all 

 kinds that have been published on the fishes of the Pacific coast of the 

 United States. The Bulletin forms an octavo volume of 77 pages. 



The important work of Mr. Samuel H. Scudder, referred to in the 

 report for 1880, relative to the names which have been given by writers 

 on natural history to genera, has been published in part during the 

 year. It forms Bulletin No. 19 of the National Museum, and is entitled 

 ^' Nomenclator Zoologicus. An alphabetical list of all generic names 



