The United States National Museum 337 



A series of casts of porpoises and other cetaceans, includ- 

 ing a young humpback whale, forms a unique feature of the 

 Department. 



The representation of foreign mammals, though deficient in 

 many directions, includes a considerable number of type-spe- 

 cimens, and some important local collections, chief among 

 which are those from German East Africa and from Kash- 

 mir and Eastern Turkestan, made and presented by Doctor 

 William L. Abbott. 



The collection of skulls of North American mammals is 

 probably unrivaled elsewhere in extent, and the Department 

 also contains a large alcoholic series. 



Of the Department of Birds, the Curator, Mr. Robert Ridg- 

 way, writes: 



"Among the most important collections and single objects 

 contained in the Department of Birds are the following : 



" (i) The collections made by the Wilkes Exploring Expe- 

 dition, the various Pacific Railroad Surveys, the Mexican 

 Boundary Survey, the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth 

 Parallel, the Geological Survey of the Territories, Geo- 

 graphical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian, 

 the United States Astronomical Expedition (Gilliss), and 

 various other government expeditions. 1 



" (2) The collection made by Colonel A. J. Grayson in 

 Western Mexico, including the Tres Marias and Revilla- 

 Gigedo Islands ; collections made by Professor F. Sumichrast 

 on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and by Professor C. Sartorius 

 in the State of Vera Cruz, Mexico ; collections made by 

 F. A. Ober in the various islands of the Lesser Antilles. 



" (3) The collections made by the United States Fish Com- 

 mission during a cruise of the steamer A Ibatross around Cape 

 Horn and in the Bahamas. 



IThe valuable collections of birds made Merriam in the United States and Mexico 

 by the United States Department of Agricul- are deposited in the Museum building, as in 

 ture under the direction of Doctor C. Hart the case of the mammals. 



