﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  SECRETARY 
  45 
  

  

  of 
  the 
  expedition 
  were 
  not 
  engaged 
  with 
  living 
  animals, 
  were 
  pre- 
  

   pared 
  and 
  have 
  been 
  presented 
  to 
  our 
  collections. 
  The 
  collections 
  of 
  

   birds 
  preserved 
  for 
  dissection 
  is 
  especially 
  notable. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Alexander 
  Wetmore, 
  assistant 
  secretarj'- 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  the 
  

   National 
  Museum, 
  traveling 
  under 
  the 
  Swales 
  fund, 
  sailed 
  from 
  

   New 
  York 
  on 
  March 
  22, 
  1927, 
  for 
  Port 
  an 
  Prince, 
  Haiti. 
  Until 
  the 
  

   end 
  of 
  April 
  he 
  carried 
  on 
  field 
  investigations 
  in 
  Haiti 
  and 
  then 
  

   crossed 
  to 
  the 
  Dominican 
  Republic, 
  finallj^ 
  sailing 
  north 
  from 
  Puerto 
  

   Plata 
  on 
  June 
  3. 
  Through 
  the 
  interest 
  of 
  Dr. 
  W. 
  L. 
  Abbott, 
  the 
  

   Museum 
  is 
  in 
  possession 
  of 
  extensive 
  collections 
  of 
  birds, 
  mammals, 
  

   reptiles, 
  amphibians, 
  phmts, 
  and 
  otlier 
  specimens 
  from 
  Hispaniola. 
  

   Doctor 
  Wetmore's 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  field 
  was 
  planned 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  sup- 
  

   plementing 
  Doctor 
  Abbott's 
  material 
  when 
  necessary 
  and 
  to 
  gather 
  

   information 
  on 
  faunal 
  areas 
  and 
  distribution 
  that 
  will 
  be 
  useful 
  

   in 
  the 
  preparation 
  of 
  reports 
  on 
  the 
  Abbott 
  collections 
  now 
  under 
  

   way. 
  Plis 
  work 
  in 
  Haiti 
  included 
  investigations 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  

   Port 
  au 
  Prince 
  and 
  tlie 
  southern 
  peninsula; 
  exploration 
  on 
  the 
  high 
  

   La 
  Selle, 
  unknow^i 
  zoologically 
  until 
  this 
  visit; 
  a 
  trip 
  to 
  the 
  interior 
  

   plain 
  at 
  Hinche; 
  a 
  visit 
  to 
  the 
  caves 
  near 
  St. 
  Michel, 
  famous 
  for 
  their 
  

   bone 
  deposits; 
  and 
  finally 
  work 
  at 
  Caracol 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  coast. 
  In 
  

   the 
  Dominican 
  Republic 
  ho 
  worked 
  principally 
  on 
  Samana 
  Bay 
  and 
  

   in 
  the 
  high 
  interior 
  in 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  Constanza. 
  His 
  collections 
  

   have 
  included 
  many 
  items 
  of 
  interest, 
  as 
  among 
  forms 
  already 
  

   described 
  are 
  a 
  new 
  species 
  of 
  thrush 
  and 
  a 
  new 
  genus 
  of 
  lizards 
  

   from 
  La 
  Selle. 
  

  

  Owing 
  to 
  disturbed 
  conditions 
  in 
  China, 
  the 
  activities 
  of 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  de 
  

   C. 
  Sowerby, 
  under 
  the 
  auspices 
  of 
  Col. 
  R. 
  S. 
  Clark, 
  have 
  been 
  greatly 
  

   curtailed. 
  In 
  spite 
  of 
  this, 
  however, 
  he 
  has 
  succeeded 
  in 
  sending 
  the 
  

   Museum 
  large 
  and 
  valuable 
  collections, 
  especially 
  of 
  reptiles 
  and 
  

   fishes 
  which 
  have 
  added 
  notably 
  to 
  our 
  series. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Clarence 
  R. 
  Shoemaker, 
  assistant 
  curator 
  of 
  marine 
  inverte- 
  

   brates, 
  visited 
  the 
  Marine 
  Biological 
  Laboratory, 
  Dry 
  Tortugas, 
  Fla., 
  

   during 
  July 
  and 
  August, 
  192G, 
  under 
  the 
  auspices 
  of 
  the 
  Carnegie 
  

   institution 
  of 
  Washington, 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  chiefly 
  of 
  making 
  car- 
  

   cinologicai 
  studies. 
  More 
  than 
  3,300 
  specimens 
  of 
  marine 
  inver- 
  

   tebrates 
  were 
  collected 
  for 
  the 
  Museum. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Paul 
  Bartsch, 
  curator 
  of 
  mollusks, 
  in 
  1926 
  spent 
  August 
  10 
  

   to 
  21 
  at 
  the 
  Tortugas, 
  and 
  August 
  21 
  to 
  24 
  along 
  the 
  Florida 
  Keys, 
  

   examining 
  Cerion 
  colonies 
  in 
  continuation 
  of 
  his 
  experiments 
  in 
  

   heredity 
  with 
  these 
  organisms. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  J. 
  M. 
  Aldrich, 
  associate 
  curator 
  of 
  insects, 
  before 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  

   the 
  fiscal 
  year 
  departed 
  on 
  an 
  expedition 
  to 
  the 
  western 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   country 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  making 
  collections 
  of 
  insects, 
  principally 
  

   Diptera, 
  in 
  regions 
  from 
  which 
  few 
  specimens 
  have 
  been 
  received 
  in 
  

  

  