§4 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



A group of Sora rail has been completed and awaits casing. 



A family of black bears, consisting of a female with two cubs, 

 and a male^ is being mounted by the Ward Natural Science Estab- 

 lishment) after sketched submitted by Mr Charles Livingston Btlll. 

 The female is shown in an attitude of protection for the young 

 against the possibly unfriendly intentions of the male. Mr Bull 

 entitles his drawing " The Intruder." 



The Taxidermist is engaged upon a mount of the muskrat and its 

 haycock nest, showing the construction of the interior. 



The Zoologist has continued his studies of the Arachnida, and has 

 completed a synoptic check list and key to all the known acarians, 

 phalangids, pseudoscorpions, pycnogonids and xiphosurans occur- 

 ring within the bofders of oUr State. This work will be offered 

 for publication as soorl as the illustrative diagfanis have befeil pM- 

 pafedj and Will be followed shortly by thfe list of New York spiders 

 Conipiied last year, whifch i-eqiiires some additional keys, thus giving 

 a (cOmpliete index to the present knowledge of our arachnid fauna. 

 In the prosecution of this labor he has been impressed by the need 

 for systematic work upon our species of mites, and especially the 

 gall mites, or Eriophyidae. As an appendix to the check list he is 

 preparing a list of all the forms of mite galls and their host plants 

 recorded from this country, together with a number of new forms 

 occurring in the collections; of this list of nearly 150 forms of galls, 

 only about one fifth have had their mites described and named. A 

 collection of pressed specimens of these mite galls has been com- 

 menced and contains many interesting Cecidia. A large collection 

 of the spiders, mites and other arachnids of the State is now avail- 

 able for study. 



The reserve collection of Unionidae, or fresh-water mussels, has 

 been partially rearranged and made available for use in illustrating 

 the forthcoming report on those forms. This rearrangement 

 should be completed as rapidly as possible. It is already evident 

 that the State collection of these forms is unusually large and sym- 

 metrical, a fact which its scattered condition did not reveal. 



The Zoologist terminated his official connection with the museum 

 on September 15th, but his interest and good will still bind him 

 to it, and he hopes to complete the check lists above mentioned at 

 an early date. 



Birds of New York. The first volume of this work covering 

 the general and introductory discussion and specifically the accoimts 

 of the water birds with 39 plates in color,, is practically ready ta 



