24 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



"From the boy who found the cave I secured a few pot-covers and 

 other specimens, which he took from the cave after his first find. 



" The season's work has resulted in a collection of over fifty skins and 

 skulls of mammals, eighteen of which are of deer and antelope ; over 

 one thousand bird skins, and eighty birds' eggs ; about one hundred 

 and fifty ethnological specimens, and some alcoholic specimens of fishes 

 and mammals." 



Eastern Portion of the United States. — ^Yery large numbers of collec- 

 tions from the eastern portion of the United States have also been re- 

 ceived, but as having less relation to additions to our knowledge of the 

 natural history and ethnology of the region, they are less noteworthy in 

 the present portion of the report. I should, however, especially mention 

 the exploration of the fresh- water fish fauna of the Mississippi Valley 

 made by Professors Jordan and Gilbert in behalf of the New Orleans 

 International Exposition. As a specially desirable presentation on that 

 occasion, it was determined to show as fully as possible the fishery 

 resources of the region at the outlet of which Kew Orleans is situated, 

 and to furnish, if possible, every kind of fish known to inhabit the 

 waters of the great river. Several months were occupied in this serv- 

 ice, and many hundreds of species obtained and prepared for exhibi- 

 tion. With a somewhat similar object Dr. Palmer was detailed for 

 service in Florida with special reference to securing collections of the 

 corals of the Florida Keys and the Tortugas. Henry Hemphill also 

 assisted in making collections of the invertebrates of Florida. 



The display made under the auspices of the ^National Museum at 

 New Orleans of the economical and attractive natural history of the 

 Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Valley were in great part made 

 especially for the occasion, and will constitute a noteworthy feature in 

 the history of American science. 



As usual, the collections made under the auspices of the United 

 States Fish Commission along the eastern coast of the United States 

 have been noteworthy in value and extent, resulting from the continual 

 research at the station at Wood's Holl, and especially from the labors 

 of the Fish Commission steamer "Albatross" in the deep waters off the 

 coast. Here, as in previous years, the occasion has been taken to secure 

 large numbers of duplicate specimens for distribution, as educational 

 material, to colleges and academies. 



A subsidiary research of the Fish Commission in this connection was 

 accomplished by sending Dr. T. H. Bean to Long Island to explore the 

 adjacent waters, especially those of the Great South Bay, and this re- 

 sulted in making some discoveries of scientific interest as well as of 

 practical importance. 



The West Indies. — Many important contributions to our knowledge of 

 these regions have been made during the year, the most noteworthy 

 being the gatherings in the Caribbean Sea and the adjacent islands, 

 Bisid« by the Fish Commission steamer " Albatross," which was detailed 



