4G liEPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1885. 



little more to offer than a record of such uneventful work which is in- 

 (lispeusable for making' the collections useful for the paleontologist or 

 the conchologist who may desire to consult it. The most interesting- 

 accession was a small lot of Jai^anese shells contributed by Mr. Uchi- 

 mura, and containing several great rarities. The x>reparation of ma- 

 terial for the 'New Orleans Exposition, which absorbed several months' 

 time prior to the beginning of the year, was completed under the direc- 

 tion of Dr. Stearns, so that the boxes containing the specimens and the 

 cases required for their display reached their destination and were ready 

 for arrangement early in January. About the middle of tlie month Dr. 

 Stearns proceeded to New Orleans and remained there until tbe instal- 

 lation of this exhibit was complete. The exhibit in this division of 

 natural history probably surpassed in extent and general excellence any 

 previously made at any great Exi)Osition. It was arranged in twenty-one 

 table-cases, equivalent to a floor-space of not less than 400 square feet, 

 the species being placed in trays inside of the cases and labeled. The 

 general system followed was a geographical one, and presented a char- 

 acteristic representation of the more conspicuous and interesting forms 

 of the various zoological zoo-geographical provinces. The exhibit in- 

 cluded several cases of the fresh- water mussels of the Mississippi drain- 

 age area, which is remarkable for the great number and beauty of the 

 shells ; also the rare and peculiar forms belonging to this group from 

 other parts of the world. The land and pond snails of the Mississippi 

 basin were each represented by a separate case. The marine shells of 

 the Atlantic coast of America, from the Arctic Sea to the Caribbean, 

 and the sea-shells of the Pacific coast from Bering Sea to Panama, were 

 also shown, including the principal species inhabiting the tidal areas of 

 Puget Sound in the north, and the Gulf of California in the south. 

 Other cases contained selected specimens from the Indo-Paciflc region, 

 such as live in the warm waters of the great coral areas of the tropical 

 and semi-tropical seas between the shores of Western America and 

 Eastern Asia. Four cases were devoted to the edible mollusks of the 

 United States. Two of these contained clams, cockles, &c., of the At- 

 lantic seaboard, and two cases were devoted to similar forms peculiar 

 to the coast of Western North America from Alaska to San Diego, 

 Cal. The systematic and critical selection of the foregoing involved 

 a great deal of work and the overhauling of a large quantity of ma- 

 terial, the accumulation of many years. This labor was, however, 

 incidentally advantageous to the Museum, as a considerable portion of 

 the work consisted in the examination and partial preparation of mol 

 luscan material, hereafter to be incorporated in the national collection, 

 and of very great importance for reference in connection with the study 

 of fossil forms of Quaternary or even of the Tertiary ages. Unlike the 

 results to some other departments of the Museum, the additions made 

 to this exhibit at the Exjposition were of very small moment, and, in- 

 deed, the Museum was the only contributor of an important molluscan 

 exhibit. 



