REPORT OF DEPARTMENT OF FTSHES. 1 G9 



There is, of course, some material wbicli must be called distinctly bad, 

 but the amount is beeomiDg less and less every day. 



RECOMMENDATIONS AND GENERAL REMAJIKS. 



The duplicate fishes should be disposed of as soon as the sets can be 

 ijiude up. 



There should also be sonu' instructions to collectors, cautioning* them 

 a«;ainst sliipi)iiij4 lary,e iiumbors of fishes belonging to well-known sjjecies. 



Souie pro\ isions should be made for a proper storage of the skele- 

 tons of lishes, which are now lying in boxes, where they are inacces- 

 sible. 



1 take pleasure in referring again to the assistance which I have de- 

 rived from the following-named gentlemen in my work upon the tishes: 

 Mr. Barton A. Bean, Ensign H. ii. Dresel, U. S. N., and Mr. Peter 

 l^arker, jr. \\'i(liont the vahiable help of these gentlemen much of the 

 woik which has been accomplished wonld have remained undone. 



The Museum is to be congratulated al.so upon the addition to its 

 corps of artists of Miss Mary M. Smith, of Bainbridge, Pa. Through 

 the help of Mr. H. L. Todd and Miss Smith we are now able to produce 

 very satisfactory illustiations of tishes. 



I herewith append a statement, prepared by Prof. D. S. Jordan, re- 

 garding the collections of fishes made by himself under the auspices of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum, and the Fish Commission. 

 The collecting expedition of 1884 is of special value, being probably 

 the most extensive yet undertaken in the fresh waters of the United 

 States. The object of this exploration was the gathering together of a 

 collection of fresh water tishes to be exhibited by the National Museum 

 at New Orleans. 



A KECOKD OF COLLECTIONS OF FISHES MADE UNDER THE 

 AUSPICES OF THE U. S. FISH COMMISSION AND THE U. 

 S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, FKOM 1875 TO 1885. 



by Davii> H. Jordan. 



For the past ten years the writer has been engaged in a special study 

 of the distribution of fishes in the waters of North America. In this 

 studj' he has had occasion to do a good deal of field work in the collec- 

 tion of and preservation of fishes. In this he has been aided by sev- 

 eral students and associates, especially by Mr. Charles H. Gilbert, now 

 professor of biology in the University of Cincinnati. 



All this work has been carried on under the auspices of the U. S. 

 National Museum and the U. S. Fish Commission. It has been per- 

 formed, in a greater or less degree, under the direction of Professor 

 Baird, and in all cases most of the material obtained, including the 

 types of all new species, has been sent to the U. S. National Museum. 



