llEroKT (>:<^ ASSISTANT SKCllETAUV. 59 



III the Division of Fishes Dr. B. W. Kvin-iiiaiiii. Dr. H. M. Smith, 

 iind Mr. W, C. IvciuUill, of tiic U. 8. Fisli Coiuniission, have uiiidii use 

 of the collections. Mr. E. C. Starks, of the University of Washington, 

 cxuniined certain fishes in working up the osteology of several aT)er- 

 runt forms. 



The committee on nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' 

 Union spent several days in the Division of Birds in(juiring into the 

 validity of, various subspecies described during the previous year. 

 Mr. K. W. Nelson, of the Department of Agriculture, was engaged 

 for some time in a study of Mexican l)irds in connection with the 

 determination of material collected 1)y him. Mr. H. C. Oberholser 

 named several collections of birds at the request of the curator. Mr. 

 William Palmer studied the small shrikes of North America and the 

 eastern species of Gcotldijph. Mr. W. H. Osgood, of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, examined the wren-tits. Miss Florence Merriam, 

 of Washington, studied various Western birds. Mr. Outram Bangs, 

 of Boston, Massachusetts, gave attention to the rails, meadow larks, etc., 

 for the purpose of ascertaining the status of certain new forms which 

 he was about to describe. 



Sir Charles Elliot, second secretary of the British embassy and British 

 Commissioner to Samoa, prosecuted investigations on the Nudibranchs 

 represented in the Division of MoUusks. Mr. G . A. Drew, of Johns 

 Hopkins University, made a study of the famil}^ Ledidai, and has 

 published the results of his work. 



In the Division of Plants, Mr. A. M. Ferguson, of St. Louis, Mis- 

 souri, gave some time to researches on the genus Croton; Miss 

 Lewanna Wilkins, of Washington, was engaged during the winter in 

 determining a set of California plants; Mr. J. J. Smith, of Washing- 

 ton, studied the genus L<y])th)carpus and its allies, and Mr. Elmer I. 

 Applegate, of Klamath Falls, Oregon, spent about two months in 

 working up a set of Oregon plants. Mr. J. B. Leiberg, of Hope, 

 Idaho, was occupied during a part of January and February with 

 plants collected in the Western timber reserves. Prof. W. L. Bray 

 has rccentl}^ carried on extensive studies in the herbarium. Prof. 

 E. L. Greene, of the Catholic University, Washington, has consulted 

 material in various genera and has made determinations for the Mu- 

 seum. Prof. L. M. Underwood, of Columbia University, New York 

 Cit3% visited the herbarium earl}^ in the spring for the pui-pose of 

 examining certain fern groups. 



Prof. A. Wanner, who has discovered Triassic plants near York, 

 Pennsylvania, where he resides, has visited the Museum on two occa- 

 sions for the purpose of comparing his collections with those from the 

 Richmond coal fields of Virginia. Researches on vertebrate fossils 

 have been carried on by Dr. O. P. Hay, of Washington, who has 

 described a new species of fossil turtle. Dr. Anton Fritsch, director 



