KEPOKT OF DEPARTMENT OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES. 201 



rcctiou of proofs of the sauie, has occupieil much of the curator's time, 

 but unavoidable delays prevented the issuing of any of those reports 

 during 1SS4. 



The collection of Afitacida' (cray-hshcs) lent to Prof. Waller ]<\ixon,of 

 Harvard College, for study, in the winter of 1882-'83, was returued to 

 the Museum in .Tune last, fully identitied. This collection is now one of 

 the nu)st conii)le(e in the world, es])C('i:illy as regiirds North American 

 forms, containing 40 species (-14 being North American), of which !) are 

 new to science, having been described by Professor Faxon during the 

 year in the Proceedings of the American Academy (<f Arts iind Sciences, 

 Vol. XX. The total number of jars in the collection is 210, and of speci- 

 mens 1,084, many of the species being represented from several localities. 



Mr. John Murdoch, one of the naturalists of the U. S. Signal Service 

 expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska, from 1881 to 1883, was engaged 

 at the Smithsonian Institution during the winter and spring in working 

 u[) the collection of marine invertebrates obtained by that expedition. 

 This collection was found to contain 119 s[)ecies, as follows: Pycnogo- 

 uida, 2; Crustacea, 44, of which 7 are new; Vermes, 20, of which 1 is 

 new; Echinotlermata, 17; Anthozoa, 4; Hydrozoa, 17; Tunicata, 6; 

 Brachiopoda, 1 ; Polyzoa, 5; and Porifera, 3. It is now in the i)osscs- 

 jeion of tlie iMuseum. A preliminary account of the new species has been 

 presented for publication in the Proceedings of the Museum, and a com- 

 plete report upon the collection is in the hands of the Public Printer, as 

 part of the "Eeport of the International Polar Exixidition to J*oint 

 Barrow, Alaska, by First Lieut. P. H.Kay, Eighth Infantry, acting sig- 

 nal officer, commander of the expedition." 



PRESENT STATE OF THE COLLECTIONS. 



The collections belonging to this department are now in exceptionally 

 good condition, although, from the want of sufficient storage space, they 

 are not, for the most part, suitably arranged for convenience of refer- 

 ence. As above noted, materials have lately been received in such 

 large quantities as to necessitate the constant attention of the small 

 force assigned to this work in order to provide for their safety; and the 

 careful preservation of specimens, rather than their scientific classifica- 

 tion, has been the chief endeavor. IMuch has been accom])lish'3d, how- 

 ever, in the working up of certain portions of the collections, and as a 

 large proportion of the materials turned in by the Fish Commission has 

 passed through the hands of specialists, the scientific value of the col- 

 lections now in the department is very great. Nearly all the specimens 

 received have been catalogued in the record books, and of all i)roperly 

 identified collections card catalogues have been made and are arranged 

 in sj'stematic order. 



Most of the alcoholic si)ecimens are stored in the basement of the 

 Smithsonian Institution. The small room in the west basement, origi- 

 nally assigned to this department, is now completely filled with jars and 



