minor groups, as well as the "Report on the bottoms. It has been 

 decided to publish only the final Reports of the fishes of the east 

 coast and of the Holothurians. That on the fishes will be pub- 

 lished in connection with the United States Fish Commission, and 

 include many species of shallower waters, first brought to light 

 by the dredgings of the " Fish Hawk." Professor G. B. Goode and 

 Dr. Bean have already prepared the greater part of this Report. 

 Dr. H. Theel, of Stockholm, who has undertaken to work up the 

 Holothurians, hopes next spring to transmit his final Report to 

 the Royal Swedish Academy of Stockholm, where it is to be pub- 

 lished. Professor Verrill has completed the examination of the east 

 coast Halcyonarians and Actinarias, and is preparing a Report of 

 these and of those of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico for the 

 Museum Bulletin. "Work is progressing favorably on the other 

 Reports. I have myself nearly completed Part I. of the final 

 Report on the Echini, twenty plates are already on stone, and 

 the remaining plates are well advanced. Concerning the results 

 of the explorations of the Tortugas, undertaken in 1881 under 

 the auspices of the United States Coast Survey, I am preparing 

 for the Museum Memoirs a monograph on the Porpitida? and Vel- 

 ellida? of the Gulf Stream. The twelve plates to accompany this 

 Memoir are completed. A second memoir on the structure of 

 the Tortugas, and the distribution of the corals forming that part 

 of the Florida Reefs, is also nearly completed. It will be illus- 

 trated by two maps and two plates, representing sections of the 

 reef. 



Mr. W. H. Dall is now engaged in preparing the final report 

 on the " Blake " mollusca. His preliminary Report on the m©l- 

 lusca collected by the United States Coast Survey Steamer 

 " Blake " has been issued in parts from July to December, 1881. 

 Bull. M. C. Z. IX. No 2 ; pp. 111. 



Mr. P. H. Carpenter has concluded his preliminary Report on 

 the Comatula: of the " Blake." It was published in October, 

 1881. Bull. M. C. Z. IX. No'. 4 ; pp. 18. The crinoids of the 

 "Blake" collection, which had been placed in the hands of the 

 late Sir Wyville Thomson for determination, to be worked up in 

 connection with the "Challenger" material, have been trans- 

 ferred by Mr. John Murray, of the "Challenger" office, to Mr. 

 Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter proposes in connection with his father, 

 Dr. W. 15. Carpenter, to work out as fully as practicable I In- 



