132 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 



fog, if even a considerable coalescence of the minute particles into 

 large ones could be effected, it would become much more transparent, 

 even aside from the more rapid settling of the drops. New difficul- 

 ties are to be expected, however, such as the matter of insulation, 

 for the reason that the whole apparatus is of necessity continuously 

 immersed in the wet atmosphere. 



Harrimnn trust fund. — Dr. C. Hart Merriam, operating under the 

 trust fund established by Mrs. E. H. Harriman, has continued the 

 study of the Big Bears of North America, and the preparation of 

 manuscript and illustrations for the press. Owing to the scarcity 

 of specimens of some of the less known species, final effort was 

 made to obtain additional skulls, and more than 50 were secured 

 which have j)roved of value in clearing up points previously in doubt 

 as to the characters of several of the species. 



The labor of searching the literature relating to early explora- 

 tion, hunting, and travel for records of bear and other animals, has 

 been continued, and large additions have been made to the files of 

 material relating to North American mammals and to the Indian 

 tribes of California and Nevada. 



Borneo and Celebes expedition. — As previously stated. Dr. W. L. 

 Abbott, a collaborator of the National Museum, contributed $11,000 

 in money and between $500 and $1,000 in ammunition and supplies 

 for the purpose of conducting a collecting expedition in Borneo and 

 Celebes. Mr. Henry C. Eaven, Dr. Abbott's personal representative 

 in this enterprise, spent about two years in Borneo and nearly a year 

 in Celebes. He returned to Washington during the summer of 1915. 

 The expedition has been briefly described in a pamphlet recently is- 

 sued by the Institution. Its main results include a collection of 465 

 mammals, 870 birds, 50 reptiles, and a miscellaneous series of ethno- 

 logical and zoological material. 



Dr. Abbott has recently added to his generous gifts a donation of 

 $2,000 to provide for a second expedition to make natural history col- 

 lections and explorations in the Dutch East Indies, particularly 

 in Celebes. Mr. Raven was selected for this new expedition, and 

 after outfitting at Washington, he sailed October 19, 1915, from 

 Seattle for the field of his new operations via Singapore. The 

 expedition is expected to last about three years, and the results will 

 be presented to the National Museum. 



Siberian Expedition. — As previously reported, an expedition to 

 Siberia was financed by the Telluride Association, of Ithaca, N. Y., 

 which generously donated $3,500 for the purpose. The expedition 

 was under the direction of Capt. John Koren, who was accompanied 

 by Mr. Copley Amory, jr., a collaborator of the National Museum, 

 and by Mr. Benno Alexander, who specially represented the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. 



