REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Distribution of- duplicate specimens to the end of 187 1 . 



21 



Class. 



Skeletons and skulls 



Mammals 



Birds 



Reptiles 



Fishes 



Eggs of birds 



Shells 



Radiates 



Crustaceans r 



Marine invertebrates 



Plants and packages of seeds. 



Fossils 



Minerals and rocks 



Ethnological specimens 



Insects 



Diatomaceous earths 



Total 



Distribution in 1871. 



Species. 



Ill 

 25 



410 



100 



42 



151 



2,534 



3,000 

 151 



1,000 



152 



204 



1 



7, 881 



Specim's. 



156 



40 

 477 

 100 

 100 

 304 

 3, 000 



4,000 

 151 



1,400 



152 



204 



55 



10, 139 



Total to the end 

 of 1871. 



Species. Specim's. 



325 



941 



22, 940 



1,841 



2,477 



6,606 



83, 712 



583 



1,078 



1,838 



18, 503 



4,109 



4,630 



1,295 



1,836 



29 



152, 743 



827 



1,822 



35,428 



2,970 



5,311 



16, 698 



186, 157 



778 



2,650 



5,152 



25, 063 



10, 135 



9,974 



1,342 



3,150 



623 



308, 080 



As heretofore, a great amount of labor lias been expended in cata- 

 loguing the specimens received, their enumeration having been carried 

 forward from 164,700 to 169,750, the increase representing about the 

 average of the last ten years. 



As in previous years, the collections of the Institution have been placed 

 freely at the service of naturalists in this country and Europe, and large 

 numbers of specimens are now in the hands of collaborators. Among 

 these may be mentioned Dr. Elliott Cones, assistant surgeon, United 

 States Army, who has undertaken a critical revision of a special family 

 of Rodents of North America. This group is very extensive, embracing 

 numerous genera and species differing entirely from the corresponding 

 families in the Old World. The large amount of material we have placed 

 in the hands of Dr. Coues will enable him to solve many interesting 

 questions as to the geographical distribution and zoological affinities of 

 the family in question. Dr. Coues' memoir on this group will be pub- 

 lished by the Institution, and series of type specimens will be distributed 

 to other museums. To Professor Cope have been intrusted, as before, 

 the collections of reptiles, and other material has been furnished to 

 Professor Leidy, Professor Marsh, Professor Agassiz, Dr. Stimpson, and 

 others. Type specimens of American birds have been sent to Messrs. 

 Sclater, Salvin, and Dresser, of London, for use by them in the prepa- 

 ration of descriptive works. 



