Maudsley moulds, a copy of the sculpture at Quirigua in Guate- 

 mala, known as the " Great Turtle " of Quirigua. He has sup- 

 plemented this by an order for a cast of the leaning monolith, 

 twenty-eight feet high, from the same place ; and for a tablet to 

 complete the inner shrine of the Temple of the Cross from 

 Palenque. The original of this tablet is in the National Museum 

 at Washington. 



Another of his gifts, a fac-simile reproduction of the " Codex 

 Vatican us," an ancient Aztec book on deerskin, preserved in the 

 Vatican Library, Rome, has been spread in a frame twenty-three 

 feet long, where it can be easily examined. He has also given ten 

 photographs of another ancient Mexican book preserved in the 

 Library of the Chamber of Deputies, Paris, which has heretofore 

 been practically inaccessible for reference. Every student of 

 American Archaeology and Ethnology is deeply indebted to him 

 for thus making the work comparatively accessible. Full and 

 complete labels accompany the objects. 



Mr. Francis Child Nicholas has donated two gold pendants of 

 human form from Antioquia, Colombia, S. A., and two objects of 

 jadeite from Costa Rica. 



Civil Engineer R. E. Peary, U.S.N., made a visit to Green- 

 land during the summer, accompanied by a party of scientists ; 

 good use was made of his opportunity, and he brought on his 

 return a number of costumes and a series of objects from the 

 various tribes of Eskimo, not met with on his expeditions of 

 1894 and 1895. These objects will be incorporated with the 

 material brought back in 1895 by the Peary Relief Expedition. 



The Peabody Museum, Harvard University, sent a cast of a 

 sculptured head from Uxmal, Yucatan, and moulds of the sculp- 

 tured chamber, ruins of Chichen-Itza, to complete the Charnay 

 casts. 



Early in the year the Mexican Legislature enacted a law author- 

 izing His Excellency, President Porfirio Diaz, to grant a concession 

 to this Museum enabling it to prosecute archaeological research in 

 Mexico and Yucatan. The terms of the contract provide that the 

 explorations shall be carried on at the sole cost of the Museum. 

 As compensation for this expenditure the concession grants a 

 remission of import duties on the material sent into Mexico for 



