20 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



ceived from Mr. E. Billings, of Canada, and Dr. Josiah Curtis, of 

 Chelmsford, Massachusetts. 



Mr. Brittan has contributed Permian fossils from Kansas ; Mr. U. P. 

 James, a series of Ohio Lower Silurian fossils ; Mr. S. A. Miller, fossils 

 from Ohio, and a fossil tree-trunk of the genus Psaronius; Mr. D. M. 

 Shafer, Lower Silurian fossils. 



Specimens of woods have been presented by Mr. George Davidson, of 

 the Coast Survey ; of birds, reptiles, and fishes, from Illinois, by Mr. R. 

 Eidgeway ; fishes, reptiles, and vertebrates, by W. H. Clarke, of the 

 Tehuantepec expedition. 



As usual, the amount of material received from the Old World is much 

 less than that from our own continent, the most noteworthy being a col- 

 lection of specimens in alcohol, presented by the museum of Bergen, in 

 Norway. 



Mr. Knudsen has sent a collection of human crania from the Sand- 

 wich Islands. The museum of Wellington, New Zealand, under the 

 charge of Dr. Hector, has presented casts of the eggs of the Dinomis 

 and Apteryx, with casts of bones of the. former animal, and various 

 ethnological objects. 



To Mr. Genio Scott, and to Messrs. Middleton & Carman, of New 

 York, the Institution is indebted for specimens of Cybium caballa, or 

 Cero, a food-fish but lately indicated as occurring on our coast. The 

 museum at Bergen has also supplied a number of fishes peculiar to the 

 coast of Norway. 



All the specimens of ethnology and natural history, not at present on 

 exhibition in the public museum, are now stored in the west basement, 

 and the various operations connected with unpacking, labeling, clean- 

 ing, assorting, poisoning, etc., have been transferred to that part of the 

 building. The necessity of making this transfer in a limited space of 

 time involved considerable derangement of the specimens, and much time 

 has been occupied during the fall and winter in re-arranging them. This 

 work, however, is in great measure accomplished; and Professor 

 Baird, with assistants, is now occupied in assorting and classifying the 

 material for the purpose of selecting duplicates to be distributed for the 

 advance of science. A very extensive distribution of specimens has been 

 made during the year, partly in the way of giving general series for 

 educational purposes to colleges, academies, and scientific institutions, 

 and partly in the way of exchanges with the principal museums at home 

 and abroad. The amount of work done in the distribution of specimens 

 will be shown in the following table : 



