24 REPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1902. 



The additions to the technological collections include several of his- 

 torical value, such as pieces of apparatus devised and used by Dr. 

 Elisha .Graj^ in his experiments with harmonic multiple telegraph}^ 

 and with the telephone, received from Mrs. Gray; one of the tin-foil 

 records made by Edison's first phonograph when exhibited before the 

 National Academy of Sciences at the Smithsonian Institution in 1878, 

 contributed by Mr. William J. Rhees; a number of electric-lighting 

 and telephone devices, and one of the early forms of typewriting 

 machines. 



In the Department of Biology the additions numbered 377,227 speci- 

 mens, of which 324,687 were zoological and 52,540 botanical. Among 

 the zoological divisions the greatest increase was of mollusks, namel}^, 

 173,262 specimens, followed by insects with 118,292, marine inverte- 

 brates, exclusive of mollusks. with 18,380, mammals with 6,301 

 specimens, etc. 



The collections sent b}^ Dr. W. L. Abbott from the East Indies, con- 

 sisting principally of mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects, formed the 

 most important zoological accessions. Of mammals there were 848 

 specimens, including many new species, from the islands of Andaman, 

 Nicobar, Sumatra, Linga, Sinkep, Johore, and others farther eastward; 

 of birds, over 700 specimens, and of reptiles, a considerable number. 

 The region visited by Dr. Abl)ott is in large part a new field, not 

 previousl}^ represented in the National Museum, and the generous 

 contributions from this indefatigable explorer give the Museum a col- 

 lection from this region which is absolutely unrivaled. 



Other specimens of mammals received deserving of mention were 

 a fine skeleton of the huge Kadiak (Alaska) bear from Mr. J. H. 

 Kidder, of Boston; African antelopes, monkeys, and birds from Dr. A. 

 Donaldson Smith, of Philadelphia; many skulls of moose, elk, and 

 other deer from Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton, of New York, and a 

 large series of small mammals from Germany and of squirrels from 

 Asia. 



Among the ornithological material were about 300 Cuban and Porto 

 Rican birds collected by Mr. B. S. Bowdish; a quantity of Cuban 

 birds collected by Mr. William Palmer; a series of East Indian birds 

 from the Ro^^al Museum of Natural History at Leiden, Holland; a 

 large number of Brazilian birds from the Museu Paulista at Sao 

 Paulo, Brazil, besides smaller collections from Mexico, Cocos Island, 

 Hawaii, and Great Britain. Several rare species of birds' eggs were 

 also obtained. 



The reptilian collection was enriched by the field work in Cuba and 

 Porto Rico of Mr. B. S. Bowdish and Mr. William Palmer, and 

 valuables specimens were also received from Japan, Sumatra, and the 

 Philippine Islands. 



The Division of Fishes was fortunate in securing, through Messrs. 



