REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 39 



to go far afield from his lieadqiiarters in Shanghai. The resulting 

 valuable additions furnish serial material for comparison with col- 

 lections from more remote regions. 



An expedition to Japan and eastern Siberia undertaken by Prof. 

 T. D. A. Cockerell at his own expense, primarily for the purpose of 

 collecting and studying insects, was productive of large collections 

 in that class with smaller lots in other natural history classes. 



In Siam, Dr. Hugh M. Smith, who is engaged in fisheries investi- 

 gations for the Government of Siam, collected in a number of local- 

 ities birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, important as link- 

 ing up collections already in the Museum from the Malay Archi- 

 pelago and Peninsula with those of the countries farther north. 



In the Fiji Islands Dr. Casey A. Wood, a valued collaborator of 

 the division of birds, enlisted the cooperation of several native col- 

 lectors during a three months' visit, making very important addi- 

 tions of birds from that region, including many species hitherto un- 

 represented, a notable addition to the Fijian material from the 

 United States exploring expedition under Captain Wilkes. Doctor 

 Wood arranged with his local assistants to continue the work in 

 localities he himself was unable to visit. 



Under the auspices of the Bureau of Biological Survey, Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Navy Department, Dr. 

 Alexander Wetmore visited Laysan, Midway, Johnson, Wake, and 

 other islands in the Pacific and made large collections, part of 

 which have already been transferred to the Museum. 



Islands in the Atlantic were also visited. Dr. W. L. Abbott's 

 expedition to Santo Domingo has already been mentioned, with its 

 prized specimens of the long-lost rodent. In the Virgin Islands of 

 the United States and the Lesser Antilles, Gerrit S. Miller, jr., cura- 

 tor of mammals, made extensive collections of animals and plants 

 for the Museum at his own expense. Explorations in the Bahamas, 

 Cuba, and the Florida Keys in August, 1923, and June, 1924, in 

 connection with experiments in heredity which Dr. Paul Bartsch of 

 the Museum staff is conducting under the joint auspices of the 

 Carnegie Institution of Washington and the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, added to the Museum series of mollusks, birds and other 

 natural history specimens from these regions. The United States 

 Navy and the United States Army cooperated by furnishing trans- 

 portation for the workers. 



The expedition of A. H. Fisher to the lower Amazon River, Bra- 

 zil, on which the Museum was represented by C. R. Aschemeier as 

 mentioned in the last report, was completed early in the year. The 

 collections made in this region included a few species of mammals 

 and birds new to the Museum. 



