42 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1889. 



A collection of marine specimens was prepared and transmitted to the 

 Cincinnati Exposition. It consisted mainly of large specimens, and also 

 contained examples of fish food and many microscopical preparations. 

 Upon its return from Cincinnati the more interesting portions of the 

 exhibit were placed in the exhibition hall. 



Mr. Rathbun has found it impracticable to devote very much time to 

 original research, but has given a limited amount of study to the Madre- 

 porarian corals, and particularly to those collected by the steamer Al- 

 batross in the Gulf of Mexico and on the voyage from Norfolk to San 

 Francisco. 



Prof. A. E. Verrill and Prof. S. I. Smith have continued their work 

 upon the invertebrate collections of the Fish Commission. Prof. Edwin 

 Linton is making a special study of internal parasites of fishes. Ar- 

 rangements have been made with Prof. Walter Faxon to prepare a report 

 upon the crayfishes added to the department since 1885, and Mr. J. 

 Walter Fewkes has completed a paper on certain of the Medusae ob- 

 tained by the Fish Commission steamer Albatross in the region of the 

 Gulf Stream. Several of the groups of marine invertebrates obtained 

 by the Albatross during its voyage around South America have been 

 assigned to specialists outside of Washington for study and report. 



Nineteen sets of marine invertebrates have been distributed to schools 

 and colleges during the year. Each set contained about one hundred 

 and ten species, the greater part of which are preserved in alcohol. 



Mr. Rathbun in his report briefly reviews the marine explorations of 

 the steamers Albatross and Fish Haiclc and of the schooner Grampus. 



The number of catalogue entries has been 3,214. 



Department of Comparative Anatomy. — Mr. F. W. True, Acting Curator 

 of this department, reports that his activities have been principally 

 directed towards reducing the accumulations of osteological material. 

 A large number of skulls and skeletons have been cleaned and made 

 available for use. The skulls of about five hundred specimens of small 

 animals, deposited by the Department of Agriculture, have also been 

 prepared. Mr. F. A. Lucas, Assistant Curator, has been occupied in 

 the arrangement of the collection of vertebrate fossils, and in mount- 

 ing a cast of the skeleton of Dinoceras, received from the Tale College 

 Museum. Mr. Lucas also had charge of the preparation for shipment 

 of the collection of mammals for exhibition at the Cincinnati Expo- 

 sition. 



The preparation of a card catalogue of alcoholic birds has been com- 

 menced, and is well advanced, and a large amount of work has been 

 done in classifying and caring for this valuable portion of the collec- 

 tion. 



Some work has been done in the preparation of specimens of soft 

 anatomy and of the invertebrate material. The preparation and ar- 

 rangement of the vertebrate fossils have also received some attention. 



The principal accessions during the year were of mammals and birds. 



