■Infonuation Furnished. 21 



Rochester, New York, a large colledlion of palaeozoic corals from 

 the Niagara region. From the same source we have obtained an 

 excellent series of mounted skeletons or vertebrates found in the 

 Pacific region. Among the mounted mammals furnished by 

 Ward's mention should be made of a fine Pacific walrus, a pair of 

 fur seals and a sea lion. Other accessions will be noticed in the 

 lists appended. 



As a Bureau of Information. So far as has been possi- 

 ble the Museum staff have endeavored to ansBwer questions as to 

 matters within the province of their work. Hitherto most of this 

 information has been sought by persons abroad, and of this two 

 illustrations may be given. We have in the collection one of those 

 most interesting stick charts {Mede) formerly used b}^ the Marshall 

 Islanders. These have become ver\' rare as they have not been 

 made or used for many years, and those in the museums of the 

 world could be counted on the fingers of one hand. An officer of 

 the Italian government sought some time ago for information con- 

 cerning this, and lately a distinguished geographer of Hamburg 

 has requested and obtained photographs and such information as 

 was available. So far as I am aware our specimen is the best 

 known, and we have also in necessary complement a model of the 

 stick compass used with the mede. This compass has not been 

 noticed by most of those who have studied the mede, and we owe 

 it to Dr. Hyde's painstaking that this was obtained and its use 

 learned from Marshall Islanders who had not forgotten the arts of 

 their ancestors. 



In the United States several machines have been invented for 

 winding thread and cord in fancy patterns, and one form was 

 found desirable because it was most stable and kept its fcrm until 

 nearly unwound. In litigation over the patent it was suggested 

 that this was a method of winding well known to this region, and 

 on appeal to this Museum photographs were sent which determined 

 the matter. The peculiar wind is interesting and as it is wide 



