REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM. 253 



of star coral, Oculina varicosa Lesueur, growing about one end of a long 

 iron crow-bar, obtained at Key West, Fla., and contributed by Mr. E. 

 E. Peary, civil engineer, U. S. N. The history of this specimen, as given 

 by Mr. Peary, is as follows: "It was found in some 6 feet of water, 

 on the site of a former coal wharf, belonging to the naval station. This 

 wharf, as I am informed, was built in 1865 and destroyed by a hurri- 

 cane in 1873. The inference is that the crow-bar, to which the coral is 

 attached, fell overboard from the wharf some time between those two 

 dates." The coral mass, which consists of rather large and closely- 

 growing branches, measures about 20 inches in height by 15 inches in 

 diameter. 



The following accessions, although not of great extent, are worthy of 

 special mention : Pine collection of the edible Crustacea of the vicinity 

 of San Francisco, Cal., from Prof. P. E. C. Stearns. Collection of fresh- 

 water shrimps and crabs, from mountain streams of Ohiriqui, United 

 States of Colombia, at an elevation of about 4,000 feet above the level 

 of the sea, presented by Mr. J. A. McNiel. Alcoholic marine inverte- 

 brates from the Mauritius Islands, presented by Col. 1ST. Pike. Fresh- 

 water invertebrates from Utah and Wyoming Territories, and marine 

 invertebrates from Buzzard's Bay and Long Island Sound, collected by 

 Willard Nye, jr. 



Outline of work accomplished during the year. 



During the first three months of this year, the curator was mainly 

 occupied in preparing for the London Fisheries Exhibition the collec- 

 tions illustrating the marine invertebrate industries of the United 

 States, exclusive of the mollusca, and the scientific investigation of the 

 sea and fresh waters by American explorers. In making up the former 

 collection, the collections of the National Museum were largely drawn 

 upon for specimens of the economic crustaceans, worms, echiuoderms, 

 and sponges, of which every American species known to be of direct 

 importance to mankind, either as food, as bait, or otherwise, was fully 

 represented by carefully made preparations. In several instances, 

 where the Museum collections were deficient in materials required, the 

 deficiencies were supplied by donations to the Museum, resulting in 

 permanent gain to that institution. In this manner were obtained for 

 the Museum large numbers of Florida commercial sponges, many anne- 

 lids from the eastern coast of the United States, and crustaceans from 

 the coast of California, as noted above in the list of important dona- 

 tions. The catalogue descriptive of this industrial collection, prepared 

 by the curator, contains eighteen pages of introductory matter, briefly 

 describing the present state of, and the methods of conducting, the 

 marine invertebrate fisheries, and a list of seventy-four species of crus- 

 taceans, worms, echinoderms, and sponges, useful or injurious to man. 

 At the Fisheries Exhibition three awards were made in this section, as 

 follows : A gold medal to the U. S. Fish Commission, for a model of a 



