EnjTORIAL. 3 



Annals to l)ring the publication of these rccortls to coniplclion. Many 

 thanks are due to Mr. r.oycl Crumrinc for the careful manner in which 

 he has attended to their transcri])tion. 



Mr. Hroo Kahi., formerly connected with the University of Kan- 

 sas and latterly with the University of Illinois has taken the place on 

 the staff of the Museum as assistant custodian in entomology formerly 

 held by Mr. Herbert H. Smith. 



The following Afeinoirs hsiwe. issued from the press: No. 2, Oligo- 

 cene CaniJce, l)y J. B. Hatcher ; No. 3, The Osteology of the Stega- 

 nopodes, by R. W. Shufeldt. An elaborate Memoir upon the Classifica- 

 tion of the Superfamily Chalcidoidea with descriptions of new species 

 contained in the collections of the Carnegie Museum, has been pre- 

 pared by Mr. W. H. Ashmead of the U. S. National Museum, and 

 will be issued as Memoir No. 4. of the Carnegie Museum. It is now 

 passing through the press. 



The paleontological explorations conducted by the Museum in Mon- 

 tana, Wyoming, and Nebraska have resulted in the acquisition of 

 much new and valuable material, which will constitute the basis for 

 a number of important papers shortly to be published. 



Since the last number of the Annals was issued the Museum has 

 acquired the entire collection of the birds of Holland made by Baron 

 Snouckaert van Schauburg. The collection consists of mounted speci- 

 mens in beautiful condition, having been mounted by ter Meer, one of 

 the ablest of Dutch taxidermists. There are about three hundred 

 species represented in the collection, in most cases by both sexes as 

 well as by the young. A small collection of the birds of Costa Rica 

 made by Mr. M. A. Carriker, Jr., has also been acquired. Among 

 the specimens collected by Mr. Carriker are a number of rarities. 

 Mr. W . W. W'orthington is engaged in collecting the birds of Florida 

 for the Museum. 



A SYSTEMATIC effort is being made to increase the collection of 

 minerals belonging to the Museum. Within the past month several 

 hundreds of species not heretofore represented in the collection have 

 been accjuired. The beautiful collection of gems and gemstones pre- 



k 



