_^4 Rcrnicc P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin 



which once crowned the tops of pillars in the native burial grounds. Excavations 

 at their feet uncovered quantities of stone and shell adzes, chisels, sling stones and 

 other implements. Several stone dishes are noteworthy, while many objects of more 

 recent origin serve to illustrate methods of by-gone times. Further contributions 

 from this field are anticipated with interest. 



The botanical collections in the Museum liave been enriched from several 

 sources. Mr. D. Wesley Garber, in carrying out his generous offer to procure for 

 the Museum such specimens and data as his duties at the Naval Hospital in Apia 

 will allow, has already sent in about 300 preserved plants from Samoa. From still 

 farther westward have come two collections that should prove valuable in tracing 

 tlie origin of the Polynesian flora. Of these, one, consisting of nearly 400 Philippine 

 plants, is a gift from Mr. E. D. Merrill, Director of the Bureau of Science in 

 Manila. The other, purchased from Mr. A. E. D. Elmer, gives our herbarium 274 

 representative plants from Borneo. 



Supplementing the botanical collection made by members of the Bayard Domi- 

 nick Expedition are several large lots of specimens collected in southern Poly- 

 nesia by the Whitney South Seas Expedition and forwarded to the Bishop Museum 

 by the American Museum of Natural History in New York. After determination by 

 Forest B. H. Brown the names will be sent to the American Museum, which has 

 retained a duplicate set of the plants. 



In tlic transfer of the J. F. Rock collection from the University of Hawaii, 

 the Museum became the custodian of approximately 2800 well labeled native plants. 

 The importance of this herbarium cannot be too strongly emphasized. 



The purchase of the Victoria Buffandeau collection of ethnological material 

 added many old Hawaiian speciincns, which are valued both for their quality and 

 for their association with the Kamehameha and Sumner families. Included with 

 these are several objects that once Felonged to the royal Pomare line of Tahiti. 

 Attention may be called to the considerable number of zoological specimens 

 collected and presented by Mr. L. A. Thurston and Mr. David Thaanum. A large 

 proportion of these came from the little-studied island of Palmyra and its sur- 

 rounding waters. C. Montague Cooke, Jr. has dwelt upon the importance of the 

 D. D. and E. D. Baldwin collection of Hawaiian land and marine shells which was 

 purchased for the Museum. (See p. 30.) 



fixniiirriox ii.\li,s 



While progress in the exhibition halls has not during the year reached the 

 stage anticipated, some encouragement has been derived from the continued op- 

 portunities for studying the impressions made upon visitors by the exhibits as they 

 are. Many have been glad on request to express their estimates of the halls as a 

 whole and to point out in particular those features which met their approval. A 

 few have been willing to explain wherein they have felt that from their stand- 

 point modifications would bring added comfort and ease of comprehension. 



In a number of instances the experience of members of the Museum staff, 

 corroborated by teachers who have brought classes of students, has made evident 

 the desirability of changing the location of specimens so as to bring them into 

 closer relation to others with which they might well be associated. In this way 

 certain topics could be more clearly presented, not only to school classes but to 

 the general visitor as well. Something toward this end has already been done. 



