1867.] 175 [Annual Report. 



and by far the largest ever given to the Society ; it contains 

 14,284 choice specimens in the very best condition. The gen- 

 era Marginella, Pyramidella, Mnrex, HaHotis, Conus, OUva, 

 Cyprffia, Rostellaria, AnciHaria, Bnlla and Argonanta are re- 

 markable for the beauty and variety of the specimens ; the 

 Puhnonifera, particularly the exotic forms of Bulimus and 

 Achatina, form one of the most important parts of the col- 

 lection. As the bequest included a fund of ten thousand 

 dollars to provide for the care and increase of the collection, 

 the services of a conchologist have been secured, and the 

 furnishing of the exhibition room is nearly completed. 



Apart from Miss Pratt's collection, 1,484 specimens have 

 been added to this department. The Curator would again 

 call special attention to the necessity of procuring specimens 

 preserved in alcohol for the study of the soft parts, — the 

 only large collection of this kind was presented by Mr. S. 

 H. Scudder ; it contained two hundred and fifty specimens 

 of land and fresh water shells, collected in Texas. 



Nearly one thousand shells from- the Hawaiian and Mar- 

 quesas Islands have been presented by the Rev. Edw. John- 

 son. The other donors to this department are Dr. S. Knee- 

 land and Messrs. David Baker, W. T. Brighara, H. D. Child, 

 IT. Davis, Seth Goldsmith, Luther Hills, "W. L. Robinson and 

 R. E. C. Stearns. 



The labor of identifying, labelling and cataloguing the 

 Radiates has been much advanced during the year. The 

 want of alcohol and bottles prevents the arrangement of the 

 small but valuable alcoholic collection, but it has been ex- 

 amined and most of the species identified; the final labels 

 have been written for a portion of the dried corals and echin- 

 oderms. Eleven donations have been received, containing two 

 hundred and seventy specimens of about seventy-two si^ecies. 

 The greater part came from the Hawaiian Islands, and were 

 the gift of Messrs. Brighara and Mann. Capt. R. C. Adams 

 presented twenty-three specimens of twelve species of cor- 

 als from the East Indies, and Rev. Edw. Johnson eight spec- 

 imens of eight species from Micronesia. AH these specimens 

 have been labelled and arrang-ed. 



