720 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XII. No. 306. 



fectly preserved casts. In a neighboring 

 locality in the lower Titanotherium beds a 

 fruit-bearing horizon was discovered in 

 which were found the fossil fruits and silici- 

 fied woods of the various trees and plants 

 which grew in the Oligocene and Miocene 

 forests of this region. From these fortu- 

 nate discoveries we shall learn something 

 of the invertebrate and plant life of this re- 

 gion in middle Tertiary times, and be the 

 better able to form an intelligent idea of the 

 physical conditions that prevailed here dur- 

 ing the deposition of the clays, sandstones 

 and limestones of the White River series. 

 In his work in this region the writer was 

 very materiallj' assisted by Mr. W. H. Ut- 

 terback, and in all some ninety boxes of 

 fossils have been packed by this party 

 alone. Taken as a whole, the field work of 

 the Department of Paleontology of the Car- 

 negie Museum for the season of 1900 may 

 be considered as successful, and the friends 

 of the Museum have every reason to be 

 grateful to its founder for the generosity 

 shown in supplying the needed funds, with- 

 out which the successful accomplishment 

 of the work would have been impossible. 

 The best thanks of the writer, under whose 

 direction the work has been carried on, are 

 due to Dr. W. J. Holland, the Director of 

 the Museum, and to the President and mem- 

 bers of the Museum Board for the very 

 great interest they have shown in the work 

 and their ever-ready aid in facilitating its 

 accomplishment. 



J. B. Hatcher. 



OPENING OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL COL- 

 LECTIONS IN THE AMERICAN 3IU- 

 8E0M OF NATURAL HISTORY. 

 On October 30th the new anthropological 

 collections in the American Museum of 

 Natural History were opened to the public. 

 While three years ago the anthropological 

 material gathered in the Museum was in- 

 stalled in a single hall, its increase has 



been so rapid that at the present time the 

 collections occupy five halls of the building, 

 and two more halls are being arranged and 

 will probably be opened in the near future. 



The accessions to the anthropological col- 

 lections of the Museum obtained during the 

 last three years have largely been due to 

 extended scientific research undertaken by 

 the institution. In this respect the methods 

 of the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory differ considerably from those pursued 

 by a number of other institutions. It has 

 not been the policy of the Museum to ac- 

 cumulate rapidly and indiscriminately more 

 or less valuable specimens collected on trad- 

 ing expeditions or purchased from dealers, 

 but an endeavor has been made to build up 

 representative collections, and to obtain at 

 the same time the fullest and most detailed 

 information in regard to specimens, so that 

 each addition to the exhibit of the Museum 

 can be made thoroughly instructive and will 

 represent a material contribution to science. 



In South America Dr. A. F. Bandelier 

 carried on researches on the plateaus of 

 Peru and Bolivia. Dr. Bandelier first went 

 to South America for the Museum under 

 the patronage of Mr. Henry Villard, while 

 during later years the expenses of the ex- 

 pedition were borne by the Museum. The 

 results of his work fill one of the new halls. 

 Setting aside the beautiful fabrics, pottery, 

 and other specimens, the collection abounds 

 in skeletons and crania, which will be of 

 great value in determining the physical 

 characteristics of the ancient Peruvians. 



Extensive archeological investigations 

 have been carried on in Mexico. These were 

 in charge of Mr. Marshall H. Saville. The 

 work was liberally supported by the Mu- 

 seum and by the Duke of Loubat, to whose 

 interest the Museum also owes a magnifi- 

 cent collection of reproductions of Central 

 American sculptures. It is believed that 

 in no other museum are the monumental 

 works of the ancient inhabitants of Mexico 



