EEPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 28 



donations during the past year, transmitting- a series of plants from 

 the West Indies and Central America. 



The collections in the Department of (xeology were increased b}- 

 about 102,000 specimens, of which 97,000 were fossil invertebrates. 

 As in past j^ears, the principal accessions were from the U. S. 

 Geological Survey. Among the more important ones were a series of 

 minerals, rocks, and ores, constituting a portion of the exhibit made 

 by the Survey at the expositions recently held in Buffalo and Charles- 

 ton, and a collection of rocks from Arizona, California, Idaho, Colo- 

 rado, Oregon, and Washington. An interesting lot of tourmalinitic 

 quartz from Little Pipestone district, Montana, of which some of the 

 specimens are covered on one side with parallel layers of amethysts of 

 different hues, accompanied the former. 



A valuable series of massive and cut polished stalactites and stalag- 

 mites from the Copper Queen mine was presented by Mr. James 

 Douglas, of Bisbee, Arizona. Interesting examples of volcanic bombs 

 and lavas from Cinder Buttes, Idaho, were received from Prof. I. C. 

 Russell; specimens of fluorite and associated rocks, from Mr. R. S. 

 Bassler and Mr. E. O. Ulrich; specimens of hallo3^site from Hart 

 County, Kentucky, from Hon. J. H. Stotsenburg, of New Albany, 

 Indiana; specimens of talc, from the North Carolina Talc and Mining 

 Compan}', and a collection of igneous rocks from Holyoke, Massachu- 

 setts, from Prof. B. K. Emerson. 



A specimen of pallasite, weighing 351 pounds, from Mount Vernon, 

 Kentucky; a mass of meteoric iron from Arispe, Mexico, weighing 

 116 pounds; a mass of meteoric iron from Persinmion Creek, in North 

 Carolina, weighing 9 pounds, and a meteoric stone weighing nearl}^ 9 

 pounds, from Henderson ville, North Carolina, are among the most 

 important additions to the meteoric collections. 



A small piece of the only known specimen of footeite was donated 

 by Mr. Warren M. Foote, of Philadelphia, and man}^ very desirable 

 minerals, some of which were not previously represented in the 

 Museum collection, were obtained from different sources. 



The largest and most valuable addition to the Division of Strati- 

 graphic Paleontology was the second installment of the E. O. Ulrich 

 collection of Paleozoic bryozoans, comprising about 75,000 specimens 

 and 2,500 microscopic slides. The collection as a whole is the most 

 extensive of its kind in existence and contains many unique specimens. 

 About 11,000 corals, crinoids, mollusks, and other fossil invertebrates 

 from the Mississippi Valley Paleozoic were received from Dr. Carl 

 Rominger, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Many of these have been figured 

 and described in the reports of the Geological Survey of Michigan. 

 The Andrew Sherwood collection of Penns3dvania Upper Devonic 

 vertebrate and invertebrate fossils is also entitled to special notice. 

 It was brought together by Mr. Sherwood, and includes many choice 

 slabs filled with large brachiopods and mollusks, besides about 3,000 



