18 EEPOET OF THE SECRETARY. 



W. D. Whitney. With this corps of helpers it was quite possible to 

 make a very thorough exploration of everything connected with the 

 general economical and natural history of the fauna of the waters on 

 the southern coast of New England; and while Professor Baird and 

 some of his party were engaged in visiting different parts of the coast and 

 taking testimony as to the actual condition of the fisheries, others of the 

 party were occupied in trawling, dredging, and in otherwise collecting 

 the various inhabitants of the sea. 



A large amount of information was gathered which will have an impor- 

 tant bearing upon the objects of the commission, and of which Professor 

 Baird will present a reportinfull to Congress atari early date. The inquir- 

 ies include numerous observations in regard to currents, temperatures, 

 distribution of life at different depths, &c. The collections made during 

 the exploration were very extensive, embracing a full series of all the 

 fishes of the coast, as well as of the invertebrates, from which sets will 

 be made up for distribution by the Institution. Among other results of 

 the expedition should be mentioned a series of nearly three hundred 

 photographs of a large size, representing all the fishes found, in their 

 various stages of growth, the whole constituting an almost unique col- 

 lection of portraits, and especially important as relating to the larger 

 fishes, like the sharks, rays, sturgeons, tunnys, sword-fish, &c. 



Dr. Hayden, in the prosecution of his researches as United States 

 geologist for. the Territories, gathered very large collections of miner- 

 als, skins of mammals and birds, eggs, &c, filling forty-five boses, 

 illustrative of the natural history of Montana, and of the region about 

 the head- waters of the Yellowstone, a report of which he has presented 

 to the Secretary of the Interior. This exploration has excited a great 

 degree of interest on account of the wonderful series of geysers and 

 remarkable scenery, of which it has furnished an authentic description. 

 Indeed such has been the interest manifested in the Yellowstone dis- 

 trict that a proposition, originally made by Mr. Catlin as early as 1832, 

 has been revived and presented to Congress, to reserve the country 

 around these geysers as a public park. It is thought this proposition 

 will be adopted by the Government ; and if so, we doubt not that in 

 time the Yellowstone region will become a favorite resort for travelers 

 from every part of the world. 



After reserving a full set of the specimens for the National Museum 

 the duplicates of Hayden's collections will be made up into sets for dis- 

 tribution. 



Among the persons to whom the obligations of the Institution are 

 particularly due for the magnitude and variety of contribution of speci- 

 mens we should mention Mrs. James A. McMinn. She gave the 

 valuable herbarium described in the last report, and has since pre- 

 sented the entire collection of objects of natural history belonging to 

 her late husband, who was for many years a correspondent of the In- 

 stitution. This gentleman had accumulated large numbers of minerals, 



