advkrtise:\[ent. 



This work (Bulletin No. 40) i.s one of a series of papers intended to 

 illustrate the collections belouj;inj>' to the United States, and constitut- 

 in<? the National Museum, of which the Sniithsouiau Institution was 

 l)laeed in charge hy the act of Congress of August 10, 184(}. 



The publications of the National ^luseuni consist of two series — the 

 Bulletin, of which this is No. 40, in continuous series, and the Proceed- 

 ings, of which the iifteenth volume is now in press. A small etlifion 

 of each paper in the J*roceedings is distrituited in pamphlet form to 

 specialists in advance of the publication of the bound volume. 



The Bulk'tin of the National ^Museum, the publicati(m of Avhich was 

 commenced in 1875, consists of elaborate papers based upon the collec- 

 tions of the Museum, reports of expeditious, etc., while the Proceedings 

 is intended to facilitate the i)rom})tpubbcati(m of freshly aecjuired facts 

 relating to biology, anthropology, and geoh>gy, descriptions of restricted 

 groups of animals and plants, the discussion of particular questions rela- 

 tive to the synonymy of species, ami the diaries of minor expeditions. 



Other pajters, of more general p()})ular interest, are printed in the 

 Ai)itendix to the Annual lieport. 



Full lists of the pul)licati(ms of the .Museum maybe ibund in tlu cur- 

 rent catalogues of the publii^ations of the Smithsonian Institution. 



Papers intended for publication in the Proceedings and Bulletin of 

 the National Museum are referred to the Committee on Publications, 

 composed as follows: T. 11. Bean (chairman). A, Ploward Clark, R. E. 

 Karll, Otis T. Mason, riohn Murdoch, Leonhard Steineger, Frederick 

 W. True, and Lester I'\ Ward. 



S. P. LA-NCtLEY, 

 ISccrefary of the Smithsonidn Inatitution. 



Washington, 1>. C, June 13, li^!):J. 

 II 



