42 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



A fine mass of amethystine quartz, weighing about 400 pounds, was obtained from 

 Ward's Natural Science Establishment, Rochester, N. Y. 



The Division of Minerals was enriciied by a large collection illustrating the occur- 

 rence and association of the zeolites and siliceous minerals of New Jersey, obtained 

 through the assistance of Dr. W. S. Disbrow, of Newark, N. J., who also transmitted 

 one of the first known crystals of American spodumene. Other important gifts were 

 a specimen of pink spodumene, from Mr. F. M. Sickler; a series of artificial stones 

 used in the gem trade, from Mr. Oscar T. Jonassohn; a cut turquoise from North 

 Carolina, from Mr. Eugene A. Smith, and some fine specimens of smoky quartz from 

 Messrs. A. P. Pohndorf and J. R. Wharton. 



For the meteorite collection specimens illustrating the Trenzano fall, the France- 

 ville iron, the Mukerop iron, and the Finnmarken pallasite have been acquired. 



Of invertebrate fossils, the accession next in importance to that transferred by tlie 

 United States Geological Survey was the last portion of the E. O. Ulrich collection, 

 containing about 15,000 specimens, besides 500 lots of original types or of specimens 

 that have been used for illustration. A series of Lower Silurian fossils, selected by 

 Mr. Charles Schuchert while in Russia, was presented by the Imperial Academy of 

 Sciences, of St. Petersburg, through the cooperation of Dr. Frederich von Schmidt, 

 and a valuable donation consisting of nearly 600 specimens of Hamilton brachiopods 

 was received from the Yale University Museum. By exchange with the Zoological 

 Museum of the University of Copenhagen, more than a hundred specimens of 

 identified European mesozoic and tertiary bryozoans were obtained. 



To the collection of fossil vertebrates were added fine specimens of pterodactyl, 

 ichthyosaurus, and teleosaurus; some fishes from the lithographic limestone, and a 

 fossil skull of Bison Alleni from a placer deposit of frozen gravel, 25 feet below the 

 surface. The object last mentioned was presented by Messrs. McLain and Ballou, of 

 Rampart City, Alaska, and is especially noteworthy as being the first specimen of the 

 species discovered in Alaska. 



One hundred and thirty-two fossil plants collected in the Iowa anthracite beds 

 were donated by Mr. C. W. Unger, of Pottsville, Pa., and 190 specimens of fossil 

 plants from Illinois, Ohio, and other localities, forming part of the Carl Rominger 

 collection, were also obtained. 



Explorations. — But few explorations were carried on last year by members of the 

 Museum staff, owing to the lack of funds. Dr. Waltei Hough spent some time in 

 Arizona and New Mexico, where he made a large collection of ethnological and 

 archeological objects. The expedition sent to the Bahamas during the summer of 

 1903 by the Baltimore Geographical Society and Johns Hopkins University, under 

 the direction of Dr. G. B. Shattuck, was accompanied by Mr. Barton A. Bean and 

 Mr. J. H. Riley, who took an active part in the work of collecting and observation. 

 Dr. Harrison G. Dyar and Mr. Rolla P. Currie were members of a party sent to 

 British Columbia by the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburg, during a trip to Europe Mr. 

 Charles Schuchert collected some valuable fossils, and while seeking material for the 

 Louisiana Purchase Exposition Dr. George P. Merrill obtained many geological 

 specimens for the Museum on the Pacific coast and in Canada and western Mexico. 



Having been designated by the State Department and the Smithsonian Institution 

 as delegates to the International Congress of Zoology at Berne, Switzerland, during 

 the sununer of 1904, Dr. Leonhard Stejneger and Mr. (ierrit S. Miller, jr., left Wash- 

 ington in May with the obje(!t also of making collections of mammals and reptiles in 

 Europe, and of studying the specimens of these groups in the principal European 

 museums. Short collecting trips, not necessary to mention here, were also made by 

 other members of the staff. 



There have been many explorations through which the Museum has profited, by 

 private individuals and by other Government bureaus, of which a few may be noted. 

 Dr. William L. Abbot has continued his field work in Sumatra, the Mentawei Archi- 



