REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 31 



Agriculture sent laud nud fresb-water shells gathered by its agents in 

 Arizona. The U. S. Fish Commission contributed several collections 

 from the Pacific coast and from the coast of Labrador. 



During the year the entire Lea collection has lieeu registered. The 

 bibliographical notices under the names Dull, vSimpson, and Stearns 

 (see Section iv) will indicate the extent and character of the researches 

 made in this department during the year. 



About 5,000 specimens were received during the year, making a total 

 of about 465,500 specimens now in the collection. The catalogue entries 

 for the year were 5,764 in number. 



Twelve thousand specimens have been added to the collection during 

 the year. The routine work has been confined to the making up of 

 collections for exchange, the naming of specimens for collections, and 

 the arranging of all the collections in permanent shape. The North 

 American Myriapoda have been rearranged. This collection includes 

 the Bollman collection, which was purchased by the Museum last 

 year, and which ranks as the largest in existence. It contains 160 

 named species, arranged in 325 alcoholic vials. Among the important 

 accessions of the year are : A collection representing about 63 species 

 of insects of various orders, collected in Angola and St. Thomas, Africa, 

 and presented by Mr. Hell Chatelain, of Washington, D. C. ; a large 

 collection of African insects, collected and presented by Dr. W. L. 

 Abbott, Philadelphia, Pa. ; 425 specimens of Lepidoptera and 2,400 

 specimens of Coleoptera collected in California and Washington by Mr. 

 A. Koebele, and received from the Department of Agriculture ; 1,100 

 specimens, representing 240 spetdes of ISforth American Microlepidop- 

 tera, also transmitted by the Department of Agriculture. The number 

 of catalogue entries for the year was 174. The collections are in a 

 very satisfactory condition. 



MARINE INVERTEBRATES. 



Favorable progress is reported in the work of this department by the 

 honorary curator, Mr. Richard Rathbun. The construction of a new 

 roof over the west hall of the Smithsonian Institution has necessitated 

 the temporary removal of the greater part of the collection stored there. 

 The number of specimens has been considerably increased by additions 

 from various sources. The work of the department has been actively 

 carried on by Mr. James E. Benedict, assistant curator, and Miss M. 

 J. Rathbun. Mr. Benedict accompanied the U. S. Fish Commission 

 steamer Fish Raivk for three months, while making surveys of oyster- 

 beds in Long Island Sound and on the coast of North Carolina. The 

 number of accessions recorded was 32, embracing 6,750 specimens. 

 The contributions made by the Fish Commission included 56 species 

 of Brachyurans and Anomourans, dredged by the Fish Commission 



