34 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1961 



atoll, their shorelines and reefs, and collected mollusks and other 

 marine life. At the 42 field stations made on the various islands 

 composing the atoll a fairly complete collection of the reef and shal- 

 low-water mollusks was made, amounting to thousands of specimens. 

 This collection will give the National Museum a good representation 

 of the reef fauna of the southern Marshalls and will complement exist- 

 ing collections from the other parts of the Marshall Islands. 



Between the middle of November and the middle of February, Dr. 

 Joseph P. E. Morrison, associate curator of mollusks, and Thomas 

 G. Baker, of the office of exhibits, made intensive explorations in New 

 Caledonia to acquire specimens and data for a coral-reef group being 

 planned in the new Hall of Oceanic Life. The cooperation of various 

 residents of Noumea, New Caledonia, including staff members of the 

 Oceanographic Institution and the South Pacific Commission, made 

 it possible for them to spend much time on the reefs near Noumea and 

 to make productive dives from small boats. The barrier reef off the 

 coast of New Caledonia presents diverse habitats, and a very rich 

 fauna was observed in many spots. It is anticipated that the materials 

 and photographs returned to the Museum will permit the exhibits 

 staff to design and build an exceptionally fine replica of a Pacific coral 

 reef, although some further exploration may be necessary in order 

 to obtain certain fishes and a few other typical elements of the fauna. 



Dr. Richard S. Cowan, associate curator of phanerogams, in mid- 

 June, accompanied by four staff members of the office of exhibits, 

 examined nine sites along the eastern coast of Virginia and North 

 Carolina for the purpose of selecting one that would serve as a basis 

 for constructing a coastal-life group in the future liall of plant science. 

 A large number of photographs were made, sketches and watercolor 

 paintings of scenes and objects were executed, and the leaves of plants 

 were cast in plaster for future use in our exhibits laboratory. 



Dr. Velva E. Rudd, associate curator of phanerogams, spent about 

 3 weeks in Mexico, where she attended the First Botanical Congress 

 of that country. Subsequently she traveled about 900 miles in Mexico 

 studying the different types of vegetation, such as montane pine forest, 

 cactus, desert, and tropical selva. Specimens were obtained for the 

 National Herbarium, and many botanists in Mexico were encouraged 

 to make collections and send them to Washington for study. 



Early in August, Dr. G. A. Cooper, head curator of the department 

 of geology, accompanied by Henry B. Roberts, museum aide, and 

 Dr. Druid Wilson of the U.S. Geological Survey, made a very profit- 

 able trip to the vicinity of Hampton, Va., where they collected Mio- 

 cene fossils along the James River. Two borrow pits were visited, 

 Wilson's Pit and Rice's Pit, which have a great surface from which 

 to collect in contrast to the usual cliff sections found in the Chesa- 

 peake Bay area. Consequently hundreds of very fine specimens were 



