KEPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 35 



sent to Mr. E. C. Starks for dissection. Mr. Starks afterwards 

 returned excellently prepared skeletons of these fishes. 



A series of specimens of mice was sent to Mr. Barrett-Hamilton, 

 London, England, who is engaged in a revision of the European species 

 of the genus Mti^. 



A series of 70 small shrikes was sent to Mr. R. M. Strong, Cam- 

 bridge, Massachusetts, to assist him in the determination of the 

 percentage of variation in that group. Dr. Jonathan D wight, jr., 

 obtained the loan of some 00 specimens for use in his study of the 

 molting of birds. A collection of house wrens was sent to Mr. W. E. 

 Loucks, Peoria, Illinois, for examination. Messrs. Outram Bangs 

 and Arthur Stone obtained the use of Colombian birds. A series of 

 specimens of wrens and sparrows was lent to Mr. William Brewster, 

 Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



Mr. F. W. Gamble, of Owens College. Manchester, England, who 

 is monographing certain families of annelids, was furnished the speci- 

 mens of several genera. 



Dr. J. Percy Moore received additional installments of leeches. 

 The Museum collection of gephyreans w-as sent to Prof. Henry B. 

 Ward, University of Nebraska, who is monographing the group. 



The Caprellidw in the Museum were placed in the hands of Doctor 

 Mayer, of the Naples Biological Station, to assist him in preparing a 

 supplement to his monograph. 



Dr. F. Meinert, Zoological Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark, was 

 accorded the use of the collection of Pycnogonida for a monograph of 

 that group. 



Loans of insects were made to 12 experts during the year, among 

 whom were the following: Dr. Philip P. Calvert, of the Philadel- 

 phia Academy of Sciences, received all the unworked dragon-flies 

 (Odonata), partly for naming and partly in connection with his work 

 on the Biologia Centrali-America. In the interest also of this great 

 faunal publication, the Mexican and Central American Acrididfe were 

 sent to Professor Lawrence, University of Nebraska, for study. The 

 specimens of the family Pyralida3 were placed in the hands of Prof. 

 C. H. Fernald, of the Agricultural College, Amherst, Massachusetts, 

 for monographic purposes. 



Loans of about 1,800 herbarium specimens were made during the 

 year, chiefly in small lots for purposes of identification. 



PERSONNEL. 



Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, jr., received a temporary appointment as 

 assistant curator. Division of Mammals, July 13, 1898, and on October 

 15, 18!>8, was regularly added to the staff. Mr. J. H. Riley was 

 appointed aid August 8, 1898, and Mr. M. W. Lyon, jr., August 15, 

 1898. Mr. Riley was assigned to the Section of Birds' Eggs, and Mr. 

 Lyon to the Division of Mammals. 



