KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 65 



which Mr. Carpeuter was at the time one of the scientific cura- 

 tors. 



"In one respect, "says Mr. Carpenter," it was fortunate for the future 

 interests of American malacology that the work was undertaken at 

 the time. It was part of the plan to duplicate, for American stu- 

 dents, names in the celebrated Cumingian collection, the largest in 

 the world, and containing the principal part of the types described 

 and figured in the modern monographs. Mr. Cuming himself liber- 

 ally and kindly undertook to compare the shells of the Institution 

 with his own. This great and wearisome labor he performed gra- 

 tuitously, in order that he might give a fair starting point to Ameri- 

 can students. The only expense was that of transportation and 

 clerk-hire. Shortly after the completion of the work, Mr. Cuming 

 died, to the irreparable loss of the students of malacology, to whom 

 he was always ready to render assistance whenever the interests of 

 science would be thereby advanced." " When the duplicates of the 

 Smithsonian collection shall have been distributed to the schools, col- 

 leges, and museums of the American continent, and students not yet 

 born shall be thereby enabled to make an accurate beginning in this 

 interesting and useful branch of study, it is hoped that the name of 

 Hugh Cuming will be remembered with grateful respect, as the man 

 to whose incessant labors during a long life is due the gathering 

 together of the largest series of known forms of shells, and to whom 

 they owe the naming of the principal part of their collection." 



Mr. Carpenter does not claim for the naming of these specimens 

 entire freedom from error; the names given represent simply, neither 

 more nor less, those in Mr. Cuming's cabinet, as identified by him- 

 self during the years 1861 to 1865, that is, the names of the more re- 

 cent monographer, whether right or Avrong. It is believed, hou^ever, 

 that there is no other collection of shells on the continent of Amer- 

 ica of an equal number of species which can lay claim to even this 

 moderate standard of accuracy. 



The several objects to which Mr. Carpenter s attention was directed 

 were as follows: 



First. To make the permanent collection of the Institution as com- 

 plete as possible by advantageous exchanges in England and else- 

 where. 



Second. To arrange the first-class duplicates of those which had a 

 special scientific value for distribution to the establishments where 

 they would be most generally useful. 

 5s 



