62 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



Mr. Charles T. iSiinpsou lias completed liis investigations of the land 

 suailsof the West Indies, and has carried on through the year his studies 

 of the Naiads of the Lea and general collections, resulting in a paper 

 soon to appear in the Proceedings of the National Museum on the 

 classification and geographical distribution of these forms. 



The collection has been enriched during the year by the results of the 

 explorations of Prof. Alexander Agassiz on the yacht Wild I)ucl\ among 

 the Bahamas. The Museum was presented with a series in return for 

 tlie services of Dr. Dall in woildng up the collections. 



Explorations of the mollusk fauna of San Pedro Bay, California, have 

 been carried on systematically by a group of couchologists, especially 

 Miss Ida Shepard and Mr. T. S. Oldroyd, for some years. The doubtful 

 forms have been worked out at the Museum, and a series of them, 

 including many varieties, has been donated by the collectors. Explo- 

 rations by the California Academy of Sciences in the Lower California 

 Peninsula have resulted in collecting some fine and rare land shells, of 

 which a series lias been donated to the Museum by the academy. 



Assistance has been extended to several couchologists by the loan 

 of material from the collections for study in connection with special 

 investigations. To three specialists have been accorded facilities for 

 studying the collections of this department in the curator's laboratory. 

 A list of these transactions will be found in another part of thelleport. 



The curator has determined a large amount of material, including 

 1,701 species forwarded for examination and report by seventy students 

 and institutions. He has also carried on an extensive correspondence 

 in the way of supplying technical information in reply to special 

 inquiries from conchological students in all parts of the world. 



The curator has published sixteen papers during the year, almost 

 all of which have a direct bearing on the work of this department. 

 Dr. R. E. C. Stearns i)ublished two papers in the "Nautilus." Five 

 papers based on material belonging to the department were published 

 by Mr. Simpson — four in the "Nautilus" and one in the Proceedings 

 of the National Museum. 



In connection with the entry in the catalogue of material belonging 

 to this department, several volumes are used for convenience, and the 

 total number of entries in these books indicates the entire number 

 made during the year. 



Catalogue entries for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1SD5. 



