REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 53 



to the department as soon as received. Tlie most important of these 

 consist of a series of species from Japan and Asia, presented by the 

 Botanic Garden of St. Tetersbnrg. Professor Sargent, of the Botanic 

 Garden at Cambridge, has contribnted quite a number of vakiable living 

 aquatic plants for the purpose of embellishing the United States carp- 

 ponds on the Monument lot in this city, and of furnishing desirable food 

 for the herbivorous fish. 



Dr. William G. Farlow, of Cambridge, ^^hile associated Avith the Fish 

 Commission at Gloucester, made a large collection of marine algse, of 

 which, as heretofore, a part will be presented to the National Museum. 



A circular issued by the Institution some years ago, relative to the 

 habits, &c., of the grasshopper and other insects, elicited many responses, 

 which were referred to Prof. S. H. Scudder. The material, however, was 

 never fully worked up, and it has been transferred, with the consent of 

 the Institution, by Professor Scudder, to the United Slates Entomolog- 

 ical Commission lately organized by Congress. 



I have thus furnished as briefly as possible a review of some of the 

 more important contributions to the jSTational Museum, but as the limit 

 of space has prevented my going into much detail, I have been obliged 

 to make selections from large numbers of contributions of value fully 

 equal to those- specially noted. All these, as stated, Avill be found in the 

 list of donations entered in the record-books of the Institution. Every 

 specimen received has, as far as possible, been recorded in its proper 

 register, with a number affixed in some irremovable form ; and whenever 

 the size of the specimen would admit, with the name of the locality and 

 of the donor attached. Of these entries no less than 9,973 have been 

 made during the year, as shown by the table at the end of this Eeport. 

 As heretofore explained, however, one entry may embrace a large number 

 of specimens, especially of the same general character, without any spe- 

 cial individuality, gathered at the same date, in the same locality, and 

 received from the same person. It may fairly be assumed that the total 

 number of pieces actually recorded and provided with numbers amounts 

 to 15,000. 



Considered with reference to geographical distribution — illustrating 

 the several faunas of the various quarters of the globe, as would nat- 

 urally be expected, by far the greater portion of these accessions has 

 been received from North America, the regions from which the most 

 important materials have been derived being Alaska, furnished by Mr. 

 Nelson, Arctic America, by Mr. Kumlien, and the eastern coast of New 

 England by the Fish Commission itself and its friends at Gloucester ; 

 of fishes and invertebrates from Puget Sound by Mr. Swan, fishes of the 

 Upper Sacramento by Mr. Stone, fishes of Florida by Mr. Stearns, Dr. 

 Porter, and ]\Ir. Moore ; and general collections by Mr. llidgway, are 

 among the most notewoithy. 



From South America were received ethnological specimens from Peru, 



