MUSEUM yOTKS 191 



TiiRorciU the African field work of Mr. Carl E. Akeley the Museum is 

 enriched by a series of ten skulls of the African elephant ranijing in size 

 from the yearling to the old tusker of perhaps thirty-fi\e years, the skull 

 measurements showing increase in width from twelve inches to thirty-five 

 and in length from sixteen inches to forty-five. p]xamples of this species 

 of elephant are more rare in museums in America than of even the mastodon, 

 and thus unusual value is attached to this new and very (>xtensive series. 



The Ml'SKi'M has received from Mr. Alfred J. Klein skins and skeletons 

 ready for mounting of a pair of the very remarkable giant forest pigs, 

 Ili/locho'ru.s mciiiciizhaf/rni. This species was (lisco\ered in 1S9S in the 

 wilds of British East Africa and is somewhat intermediate between the well- 

 known wart hog and the river hog, l)eing like the former in that the face 

 of tlu' male is characterized by a huge excrescence. 



]\Ir. Clarencp: H. Eagle of New York City has presented to the 

 ^Museum his private collection of about eight hundred bird skins repre- 

 senting North American species. These will be known as the C. H. Eagle 

 collection and like other collections in the ^Museum will l)e accessible to 

 students. 



The department of geology has recently come into possession of some 

 interesting meteorites which are now on exhibition in the foyer. The 

 largest of these is an entire mass of the so-called Amalia siderite or iron 

 meteorite, which is held to be a portion of the great Mukerop find, receiving 

 its name from the farm near (iibeon, (German Southwest Africa, on which 

 it was discovered. This mass weighs 675 pounds and forms an interesting 

 companion-piece to the model of the (xibeon mass from the same region. 

 A polished and etched section of Amalia is displayed in connection with 

 the large mass and shows some most interesting characteristics, chief 

 among which may be mentioned the curving of the WidmannstJitten lines 

 in certain portions of the mass, and a line of discordance running across the 

 plate in such manner as to suggest that the original mass had been broken 

 and welded together again before it struck the eartii or that it consisted of 

 two parts that were welded together. The other accessions are: a 370- 

 gram, polished slice of tlie Lampa aerolite or stone meteorite, from the 

 desert of Atacama, South .Vmerica; a 457-gram, polished section of the 

 Cullison aerolite, from Pratt County, Kansas; and a 5()7-gram, polished 

 and ctclicd sVwv of the Shrewsbury siderite, from York County, IVnn- 

 syKania. All of tliese are newly-descrilxnl finds and arc \ aluable additions 

 to our collection. 



Foru new ra(n()laiian luodels j)repari'd by Mr. II. Miillcr ha\H' recently 

 been placed on exhibition l)y the dei)artment of in\ crtebrate zoology. The 

 glasslike skeletons of these minute sea animals ari' represented enlarged 

 1500 to 2000 diameters and show clearlv their delicate and intricate struc- 



