BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 187 



catalogued, labelled and placed on exhibition, all the fossils of the Triassic and the Cre- 

 taceous periods, together with the larger part of the European Jurassic ; whilst the latter 

 had re-arranged, catalogued, and re-labelled all the fossils from the Devonian to the Cre- 

 t.KTous periods inclusive. A great amount of work too had been done in identifying the 

 new specimens,- the additions to the collection having been very numerous. The Jurassic, 

 Triassic, and Carboniferous plants of North America had been tripled in number and 

 value by accessions from the Rogers collection, and the Devonian and Cretaceous fossils 

 much increased by additions from the Hale and Cleveland collections. 



The Botanical department, under the charge of Mr. Cummings, had received much at- 

 tention, and great progress had been made in the revision of the general collection by Miss 

 Carter. 



The collection of the department of Comparative Anatomy had had much labor bestowed 

 upon it by Mr. Van Vleck. More work was necessary upon this collection than antici- 

 pated, and there yet remained much to do before its arrangement would be completed. 



The cataloguing of the Microscopical collection had been finished by Miss Washburn 

 early in the year. The whole was reported as consisting of 2606 slides and preparations ; 

 of these, 567 were preparations of parasitic insects acquired by purchase from the Burnett 

 estate ; 1838 were received in the bequest of Professor-Bailey, and consisted largely of for- 

 aminiferae and diatoms ; 135 were miscellaneous preparations of worms, Crustacea and 

 embryos of various kinds, prepared by Mr. J. H. Emerton when assistant in the Museum, 

 and 113 were preparations of the anatomy and skeletons of sponges, prepared by Mr. 

 Crosby and the Custodian. Besides these, there was reported a great quantity of un- 

 mounted material. Subsequently to the close of Miss Washburn's work, the collection 

 was enriched by the presentation to it of 477 slides prepared by Mr. William Glen, for- 

 merly of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Cambridge. These were purchased and 

 given to the Society by Mr. R. C. Greenleaf and Dr. A. D. Sinclair. This collection was 

 especially rich in sections of the spines of Echini and the tongues of Mollusks. Including 

 this accession and some specimens of miscellaneous character presented by Messrs. E. Sam- 

 uels, C. S. Busch and others, the Society collection was reported as containing, exclusive 

 of duplicate material, 3356 slides and preparations. 



The collection of Corals and Echinoderms was reported as undergoing revision by Mr. 

 Van Vleck, who was likewise preparing the specimens for labelling. The Poriferae were 

 receiving the same attention from the Custodian. 



In the Molluscan department valuable work had been continued by Dr. W. K. Brooks 

 upon the models of the animals, anatomical preparations of them, and in explanatory out- 

 line drawings. He had also completed the re-arrangement of the shells. Much to the 

 regret of the Society, Dr. Brooks removed to Baltimore, having been appointed assis- 

 tant professor in the Johns Hopkins University. After his departure the work upon the 

 collection of the Mollusca was continued under the direction of Mr. Van Vleck, who re- 

 ported that about one third of the specimens on exhibition had been re-labelled by Miss 

 Washburn. Dr. P. P. Carpenter of Montreal had continued the work of identification 

 and had completed a large part of the terrestrial shells. 



In the Entomological department Mr. Henshaw had continued his valuable labors. 

 The New England collection of the Coleoptera had been completed, and the Neurop- 

 tera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera re-arranged. Very important additions 



