REPOET ON THE DEPARTMENT <>E BIOLOGY. 69 



with extraordinary plumes. The last i entioned is t -x lii I >i t «< 1 in the 

 children's room. 



Dr. William L. Ralph continued his generous donation of rare birds' 

 eggs, included among which were eggs of the Everglade kite ami Ileus- 

 low's sparrow. Some small collections of eggs from the western United 

 States and Mexico, received from the Biological Survey, Department 

 of Agriculture, were extremely rich in rarities. 



The naturalist of the United States Fish Commission Steamer Alba- 

 tross obtained for the Museum a collection of 55 reptiles from the Poly- 

 nesian Islands during the recent cruise of the vessel in the South Seas, 

 a welcome addition to the scant collections from that part of the world. 

 Thirty-seven reptiles from the island of St. Kitts. West Indies, were 

 presented by Mr. W. II. Alexander, United States weather observer. 



The types of the new species of fish collected by the Fish Hawk 

 expedition of L899, to Porto Rico, were deposited in the Museum by 

 the United States Fish Commission, together with other specimens 

 from that island. 



Dr. O. P. Jenkins, of Leland Stanford Junior University, presented 

 the type of Hawaiian fishes collected in the islands by himself and 

 Mr. T. D. Wood. The university also presented a series of Japanese 

 fishes. 



Regarding important accessions of mollusks, Mi 1 . William IT. Dall. 

 honorary curator, writes as follows: 



Scientifically the most interesting lot of material received was from Dr. W. East- 

 lake, of Tokyo, Japan (through Mr. II. F. Moore, of the Fish Commission), com- 

 prising about 500 species of oriental shells, a department in which we are 

 exceptionally weak and which this donation materially assisted. 



Next, perhaps, comes the collection made by Mr. .1. I!. Henderson, jr., and Mr. 

 Simpson, in Haiti and Jamaica, comprising over 200 species and 3,000 specimens, 

 which have not been fully administered upon, hut which will add valuable and 

 needed materia] to the collection. 



A collection of Naiades from South and Central America, sent by Dr. II. von 

 Ihering and comprising some 225 species, has proved especially valuable, filling 

 many gaps. 



A collection of Australian shells, sent m exchange by the Australian Museum, is 

 among the more noteworthy additions. 



Other accessions worthy of special mention are those from the Malay Peninsula 

 and adjacent islands, sent by Dr. \V. L. Abbott; the collections made in Mexico and 

 Yucatan by Mr. E. W. Nelson, of the Department of Agriculture, and a small col- 

 lection from the vicinity of Pernambuco, Brazil, received from Dr. .1. ('. Branner. 



The accessions of insects are so numerous, amounting to 297, com- 

 prising :'»7.<h>() specimens, that it is impossible to mention even the 

 more important ones in detail inthisplace. Preeminent among them, 

 however, wasthe Hofmann collection of European Lepidoptera. This 

 collection was formed by the late Dr. (). Hofmann, and was purchased 

 by the Museum from Prof. A. R. Grote, of Hildesheim, Germany. 



