BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY 125 



I 



reached the four hundredth page. The annual report, the first issue of the publication 

 called the "' Annual," a physical map of North America, the fourth part of the Memoirs, 

 and the first volume of the Occasional papers had all appeared, the latter containing the 

 Entomological correspondence of the late Dr. T. W. Harris, embellished with steel plates 

 and wood cuts. 



It will be remembered that in 1867, an appropriation of $500 was made by the Council 

 towards the expenses of some explorations to be made under the auspices of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, with the understanding that the Society should receive the first choice 

 among the duplicates of objects of Natural History collected by the explorers. Under 

 this arrangement the Society received within the first year a series of birds from the 

 Island of Socorro, the natural history of which had been explored by Col. Grayson. The 

 specimens received were of peculiar interest, being nearly all new to science, and distinct 

 from the species of the neighboring continent, or of islands nearer the coast. Only a 

 portion of the sum appropriated having been called for, the Council again voted in 1868, 

 that $200 should be at the disposal of the Smithsonian Institution for further explorations 

 by Col. Grayson in Central America, and $100 towards an expedition to be made by 

 Prof. Sumichrast in Tehuantepec, the $300 being what remained unexpended of the 

 original appropriation. 



During the past year, after leaving the Island of Socorro, Col. Grayson had been study- 

 ing the natural history of the Sierra Madre, from which, however, returns had not been 

 made of objects obtained by him. A fine collection of birds had, nevertheless, been pre- 

 sented to the Society, by Prof. Henry of the Smithsonian Institution, collected at Costa 

 Rica. 



From the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, for the exploration of which by Prof. Sumichrast 

 the Society contributed $100, news had been received of a very promising character. 

 The Smithsonian Institution had already received specimens which had been distributed 

 for identification. 



One of our own members, Mr. W. H. Dall, had been employed by the Society for sev- 

 eral months selecting specimens from the Smithsonian duplicates, partly in return for the 

 contributions made by the Society towards the explorations referred to, and partly as a 

 donation from the Institution. 



Already many fossils and mollusks had been received by the Society, and a collection 

 of the nests and eggs of birds was expected to arrive. 



The visitors to the Museum had exceeded thirty-six thousand. It had been open to 

 the public one hundred and four days. 



In the department of Mammals and Comparative Anatomy, a movement had been made 

 towards obtaining specimens of all our New England mammals, and to make room for 

 them, the Ethnological collection was to be removed. A black bear and an antelope, one 

 the donation of Mr. W. T. Adams, the other of the City, had already been received. 



The collection of birds had been increased by a donation of twenty-five specimens 

 of the land species of Massachusetts, from Mr. L. L. Thaxter of Newton. Mrs. Bryant 

 had again shown her interest in the Society by the gift of a large and valuable collection 

 of unmounted birds from, the West Indies and Central and North America, and from Pro- 

 fessor Ik-nry of the Smithsonian Institution, eighty specimens from Costa Rica had been 

 received, all labelled by Mi-. Lawrence. 



