38 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



have been numerous and amount together to about 4,000 specimens. 

 Prof. O. F. Cook presented Cr>L> specimens of Liberian plants in excel- 

 lent condition and of much interest. Dr. B. L. Eobiuson, of Cam- 

 bridge, Massachusetts, presented a large series of valuable Mexican 

 plants, numbering in all about 1,700 specimens. These were admirably 

 supplemented by another collection of Mexican plants presented by 

 Mr. E. A. Goldman, of Alila, California. About 6,000 plants were 

 acquired by exchange during the year. 



As already stated, about 20,000 herbarium specimens were pur- 

 chased. Every important American collection offered for sale was 

 obtained, with the result that the National Herbarium has been greatly 

 enriched. 



The scientific bureaus of the Government, particularly the IT. S. Fish 

 Commission and the Biological Survey and Division of Botany of the 

 Department of Agriculture, have continued to make very valuable 

 additions to the national collections. Especially to be mentioned are 

 the invertebrates collected by the naturalists of the Albatross, in ISOn, 

 on the coasts of California, Japan, and Kamchatka, and in Bering Sea, 

 and the specimens obtained by the assistants of the Commission during 

 the past thirteen years, comprising more than 600 lots. Numerous 

 valuable types and cotypes of different species of fishes collected by 

 the Commission have also been transmitted. The Biological Snrvey 

 collected in Mexico a large series of land shells, which are regarded by 

 Mr. Dall, the curator of the Division of Mollusks, as the most intrinsi 

 cally valuable acquisition of the year in that direction. Mr. Dall 

 remarks : 



This series, collected :it various times and localities, contains an unusnal number 

 of fine undescribed species and numerous others new to the collection. The propor- 

 tion which may be described as really valuable is unusually large. 



The accumulation of valuable specimens received singly or in small 

 lots from numerous friends of the Museum deserves notice. An enu- 

 meration of these will be found in Appendix ii. 



With the exception of plants, few purchases of importance were made 

 for the Department during the year, but a series of rodents from Pata- 

 gonia, collected by Mr. W. A. Peterson, comprising „239 specimens is 

 deserving of notice. The collection of mammals is very deficient iu 

 South American specimens, and this material was especially desirable. 



An extended reference to the explorations of members of the Museum 

 staff will be found on page 09. Collections were made by Messrs. 

 Rose and Pollard in Mexico and Florida, respectively; by Dr. Leon- 

 hard Stejneger in the vicinity of the Commander Islands; by Messrs. 

 Schuchert and White on the coast of Greenland, and by Mr, Robert 

 Ridgway in Florida. The explorations of Mr. R. P. Currie in Liberia 

 were referred to in the last Annual Report, although the larger portion 

 of the material obtained was not received until after the beginning of 

 the present fiscal year. 



