REPORT OP THE SECRETARY. 37 



mained thiire nntil the installiitioii of Ibis exhibit was completed. The 

 exhibit in this di\'isiou of natural history probably surpassed, in extent 

 and general excellence, any previously made at any ^^reat Exhibition. 

 It was arranged in 21 table-cases, the specimens beiug placed in inside 

 trays and labelled. The general system followed was a geographical 

 one, and presented a characteristic representation of the more con- 

 spicuous and interesting forms of the vaiious zoological geographical 

 provinces. The exhibit included several cases of the fresh-water mus- 

 sels of the Mississippi drainage area, which is remarkable for the great 

 number and beauty of the shells ; also the rare and peculiar forms be- 

 longing to this group from other parts of the world. The land and i)ond 

 snails of the Mississip])i basin were each represented by a separate case. 

 The marine shells of the Atlantic coast of America from the Arctic Sea 

 to the Caribbean, and the sea-shells of the Pacific coast from Bering Sea 

 to Panama, were also shown, including the principal species inhabiting 

 the tidal areas of Paget Sound to the north and the Gulf of California 

 to the south. Other cases contained selected si)ecimens from the Indo- 

 Pacific region, such as live in the warm waters of the great coral areas 

 of the tro})ical and semi-tropical seas between the shores of Western 

 America and Eastern Asia. Four cases were devoted to the edible 

 moUusca of the United States. Two of these contained clams, cockles, 

 &c., of the Atlantic seaboard, and two cases were devoted to similar 

 forms peculiar to the coast of Western North America from Alaska to 

 San Diego, Cal. The systematic and critical selection of the foregoing 

 involved a great deal of work and the overhauling of a large quantity 

 of material, the accumulation of many years. This labor was however 

 incidentally advantageous to the Museum, as a considerable portion of 

 the work consisted in the examination and partial preparation of mol- 

 luscan material, hereafter to be incorporated in the national collection, 

 and of very, great importance for reference in connection with the study 

 of fossil forms of the Quaternary or even of the Tertiary age. Unlike 

 the results to some other departments of the Museum, the Exposition 

 contributed little or nothing to this section, and indeed the Museum 

 was the only contributor of an important molluscan exhibit. 



Department of Insects. — Prof. C. V. 'R]ley continues to perform the 

 duties of curator without assistance; but arrangements have been made 

 for the appointment of a paid assistant curator for the next fiscal year. 

 Professor liiley reports a number of important accessions, including a 

 large collection of Coleoptera and Lepidoptera sent from Sikkim by the 

 Rev. C. H. A. Dall, of Calcutta. A varied collection of insects was se- 

 cured by the United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross from 

 tlie West Indian region, and an important general collection of alco- 

 holic maieiial was received from Dr. P. W. Shufeldt, U. S. A., stationed 

 at Fort Wingate, New Mexico. The most valuable addition to the collec 

 tion during these six months, from a classificatory standpoint, however, 

 was the dipterological collection of Mr. Edward Burgess, treasurer of the 



