38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1924 



of Napoleon I was presented by H. deB. Parsons, Miss Katharine 

 deB. Parsons, and Livingston Parsons, of New York City. A very 

 handsome gold snuffbox, the lid of which is set with diamonds, which 

 was presented about 1836 to Col. Rene E. De Russy, United States 

 Army, by the Prince de Joinville, was donated to the Museum by 

 Mi-s. Laura R. De Russy, of New York City. A silver tureen and 

 platter presented to the Hon. James R. Mann, Republican leader, by 

 Members of the United States House of Representatives, Sixty-fifth 

 Congress, March 3, 1919, were donated by Mrs. Mann. 



EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK 



The Museum draws its increment in large measure from explora- 

 tions and expeditions undertaken chiefly by other Government agen- 

 cies and by private institutions and individuals. This year the 

 Museum benefited from an unusual number of such enterprises. 

 Biological and botanical explorations in North America, Central 

 America, South America, Asia, and various islands added to the 

 collections representing the fauna and flora of various countries, 

 while geological field work was carried on within the borders of our 

 own continent. 



During the summer and early fall of 1923 Secretary Walcott, ac- 

 companied and aided by Mrs. Walcott, was engaged on geological 

 exploration in the Canadian Rockies in continuation of the work 

 of previous years. Special studies were made of the Mons forma- 

 tion of the Ozarkian system, 3,800 feet in thickness, which on the 

 eastern side of the Columbia River Valley was found to contain 

 four well-developed fossil faunas, indicating its position between 

 the Upper Cambrian and Ordovician systems of the geologic time 

 scale. Collections of fossils illustrating new horizons in the Ozark- 

 ian system were made in this area, also in the Upper Cambrian and 

 Silurian limestone of this region, together with small lots of desir- 

 able biological and botanical material. 



Biological explorations in China included the expedition of the 

 National Geographic Society under Mr. Wulsin along the Yellow 

 River to Lake Kokonor in Thibet and the field work of Mr. Graham 

 in the Province of Szechwan, and of Mr. Hoy in Hunan, all before 

 mentioned. Mr. Graham in his trip to Tatsienlu practically dupli- 

 cated the route of A. E. Pratt, going by way of Mount Omei, secur- 

 ing topotype material of species based on Pratt's and Potanin's ex- 

 peditions as well as undescribed material which had escaped his 

 predecessors. 



Arthur de C. Sowerby continued his collecting in China for the 

 Museum, under the auspices of Col. Robert Sterling Clark, but on 

 account of the disturbed conditions in that countiy he was unable 



