REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHES 

 IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1890. 



By Tarleton H. Bean, M. D., Honorary Curator. 



Under instructions from the U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fish- 

 eries, I left Washington on the 19th of Jane, 1889, for Alaska, to ex- 

 amine and report upon the condition of the salmon rivers and fisheries 

 of that territory. This investigation covered a period of several months, 

 and I did not return to Washington until October 13. After my return 

 I prepared a report covering 170 manuscript pages, which will be 

 printed by order of Congress, as a House document. The general rou- 

 tine work of the department was carried on by my assistant, B. A. 

 Bean, alone, until January 1, 1890, when the force of the office was 

 increased by the appointment of A. S. Herr, as skilled laborer. On 

 February 1, the work of picking out duplicates and disposing of worth- 

 less material was begun. A series of east coast fishes was sent to the 

 Boston Society of Natural History. Hundreds of specimens have been 

 selected for distribution to other museums, and much bad matter has 

 been cleared out, thus relieving the overcrowded shelves. As this 

 work progresses, the collections are receiving attention generally. Tin- 

 tags, labels, and alcohol are supplied where needed. A full series of 

 each species from a locality is kept, and great care is being taken to 

 reserve enough for the needs of the Museum. 



ACCESSIONS. 



The total number of accessions during the year is 38, several of which 

 are large; notably, a box from Switzerland containing 45 species, rep- 

 resented by 89 specimens. A very large collection of Pacific fishes 

 from Galapagos Islands, Panama, etc., collected by the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission steamer Albatross in 1888, has been received. This collection 

 contains numerous types of new species, papers upon which have been 

 published in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum. A collec- 

 tion of South American Siluroids was received from the Museum of Com- 

 parative Zoology, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Many of these were 

 desiderata. A series of the fishes collected in the Yellowstone Park dur- 

 ing September and October, 1889, was received from the U. S. Fish Com- 



205 



