REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 29 



Bird skins have been exchanged with M. Milne Edwards,* of the 

 Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. 



Dr. T. Jeffrey Parker, Otago University Museum, Dunedin, New 

 Zealand, has offered fishes, and desires American species in return. 

 Negotiations are pending for an exchange of ethnological material with 

 Signor L. Pigorini, director Museo Preistorico-Etnografico, Rome, Italy. 

 A series of textile fabrics (manufactured and raw) has been sent to 

 Count Ito, minister of the Imperial household department, Tokyo, Japan, 

 for the Japanese Government. Four boxes of Japanese porcelains have 

 been received from the Educational Department in Tokyo. An exchange 

 of mammal skins has been effected with Prof. Tycho Tullberg, Upsala, 

 Sweden, and an offer of birds and marine invertebrates in return for 

 similar material has been made by the National Museum. 



Seventeen mammal skins have been received from Dr. 0. W. de Vis, 

 director of the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia. Specimens 

 in exchange are being prepared for shipment. Dr. de Vis also offers a 

 foetus and skeleton of dugong in exchange for a manatee. This offer 

 is now under consideration. Mr. L. Wray, jr., curator of the Perak 

 Government Museum, Perak, Straits Settlements, has offered to present 

 mammals, and to exchange tin-sand and wash-dirt from Perak tin-mines 

 for mineralogical or geological specimens from the United States. 



Extensive exchanges have been arranged with Prof. Fernando Fer- 

 rari Perez, of the Mexican Geographical and Exploring Expedition. 



Publications. 



The eighth volume of the Proceedings has not yet appeared, although 

 the last signature is dated December 7, 1885. A list of the signatures 

 of this volume is given in Part iv of this report. 



During the year Bulletins 23, 28, 29 and 30 were issued, and are briefly 

 reviewed here. 



Bulletin 23 forms Part n of u Bibliographies of American Natural- 

 ists," and is entitled Published Writings of Isaac Lea, ll. d., by 

 Newton Pratt Scudder, 8vo., pp. lix + 278. The list of writings is pre- 

 ceded by a biographical sketch. The bibliography is arranged chrono- 

 logically. A list of genera and species, discussed and described, is ar- 

 ranged alphabetically ; in addition there is a general index. 



The collections of the National Museum were largely increased by 

 gifts from Dr. Lea's collections, and his writings are based, in large 

 part, upon this and other material belonging to the National Museum. 



Bulletin 28. A Manual of North American Land Shells, by 

 W. G. Binney, 8vo., pp. 528. 



This bulletin is an enlarged edition of a work entitled "The land and 

 Freshwater Shells of North America, Part I," published by the Smith- 



* Before completion of this exchange M. Milne Edwards died, and the negotiations 

 were continued with M. Oustalet. 



