PREFACE. 



The collectioDS that famished material for this bulletin* were made, 

 one in 1873-74, by Surgeon William H. Jones, F. S. K, and the writer, 

 while serving on board the United States ship Portsmouth, Commander 

 Joseph S. Skerrett commanding, engaged in the survey of the islands 

 of the North Pacific Ocean ; and the other by the writer alone, in 1874- 

 75, while on board the United States steamer Narragansett, Commander 

 George Dewey commanding, engaged in the survey of the coasts of the 

 peninsula of Lower California. 



The' first collection very well represents the fish-fauna of the har- 

 bor of Honolulu and the avifauna of the Fanning group. While 

 among the latter islands, our means for the preservation of specimens 

 were too limited to permit of a very extensive collection of fish. A 

 complete botanical collection was made at Palmyra and Christmas 

 Islands. The plants were sent home from the Pacific; and before 1 

 arrived there to commence the work of arranging the collection, they 

 had been identified by Prof A. Gray, and distributed through the gen- 

 eral collection of the Agricultural Department at Washington, so that 

 it was impossible to get a list of them except by overhauling the entire 

 collection. The present list, therefore, represents little more than the 

 duplicate series. I am indebted to Prof. Gray and Dr. Yasey, Botanist 

 of the Agricultural Department, for the notes accompanying the list of 

 plants from Lower California. 



The Fanning group, with the exception of the Hawaiian, were the 

 only islands visited in the Pacific. This group comprises the islands of 

 Christmas, Fanning, Washington, and Palmyra. They are situated 

 immediately north of the equator from latitude 1° 57' to 5° 49', and 

 extend from longitude 157° 27' W. to 102° 11' W. Palmyra is the most 

 northern and western, and Christmas the most southern and eastern of 

 the group. From these two came the largest part of our collection. 

 They are uninhabited, save by parties that go there to harvest the crop 



* Excepting the Crustaceans, the invertebrate portion of the collection is excluded 

 from this bulletin. 



