44 REPORT OF NATIONAL, MUSEUM, 1911. 



tions for the herbarium storage cases, and an adjacent room in the 

 south tower has been fitted up as a library and reference room. The 

 transfer of the division was accomplished during the year. The 

 furniture equipment of the herbarium comprises 643 steel-covered, 

 insect-proof cases, with 14,468 pigeonholes, of which 75 cases, pro- 

 viding 1,800 pigeonholes, were added during the year. The number 

 of plants mounted was 62,432, covering all arrears in this respect and 

 greatly exceeding any previous record. A total of 69,253 sheets of 

 plants was recorded. 



The associate curator, Dr. J. N. Rose, continued his studies of 

 Mexican and Central American plants and his cactus investigations. 

 Mr. W. R. Maxon, assistant curator, continued his work on the ferns 

 of North America, and Mr. E. S. Steele his studies of Laciniaria. 

 Capt. John Donnell Smith, of Baltimore, an associate of the Museum, 

 described a number of interesting new species from Central America, 

 and, in conjunction with Dr. Rose, is writing a monograph of the 

 genus Hauya and two allied new genera from Mexico and Central 

 America. Prof. E. O. Wooton, who is preparing a paper on the flora 

 of New Mexico for the division, spent the" winter and spring at the 

 Museum, working with Mr. Paul C. Standley, assistant curator, and 

 satisfactory progress is reported. Besides members of the scientific 

 staff of the Department of Agriculture, who consulted the herbarium 

 freely, the following persons visited the division for the purpose of 

 examining specimens: Dr. Ezra Brainerd, of Middlebury, Vermont; 

 Dr. William Trelease, director of the Missouri Botanical' Garden ; 

 Dr. John K. Small, of the New York Botanical Garden; Mr. E. L. 

 Morris, of Brooklyn, New York; Prof. W. A. Setchell, of the Uni- 

 versity of California ; Miss Mary Wilkins, of Washington ; and Mr. 

 A. A. Heller, of Reno, Nevada. Nearly 1,200 specimens of plants 

 were lent for study to botanists both in this country and abroad. 



Explorations. — Beginning in the latter part of the winter the 

 Bureau of Fisheries in conjunction with the American Museum of 

 Natural History, which paid a part of the expenses, conducted an 

 exploration along the west coast of Mexico, the steamer Albatross 

 being used for the purpose. By invitation, the National Museum 

 detailed two members of its staff to participate in the expedition, Dr. 

 J. N. Rose, associate curator of plants, and Dr. Paul Bartsch, assistant 

 curator of mollusks. The Albatross left San Diego, California, Feb- 

 ruary 28, 1911, visited Guadaloupe Island, and then proceeded down 

 the coast of Lower California to the Gulf of California, which was 

 traversed as far north as Angel de la Guarda Island. Dredgings 

 were made off the outer coast of Lower California both going and 

 returning, and shore and shallow water collecting was carried on 

 in the Gulf. Owing to the short duration of the cruise, somewhat 

 less than two months, it was impossible to make more than a brief 



