Report of the President. 15 



which has arisen relative to the antiquity of man in the Delaware 

 Valley. In this connection it may be stated that a subscription 

 has been made by Mr. B. Talbot B. Hyde to defray the cost of 

 further continuing the work in 1898. 



Acting under the concession granted to this Institution by the 

 Mexican Government, Mr. Marshall H. Saville, Assistant Curator 

 in charge of the division. of Archaeology, has been for several 

 months in Mexico, engaged in the exploration of ancient ruins, 

 from which he has gained information of great scientific import- 

 ance, and has also sent valuable material for our exhibits. Mr. 

 Saville will not return until May next. 



Messrs. B. Talbot B. Hyde and Frederick E. Hyde, Jr., have 

 at their personal cost continued the explorations in the ancient 

 pueblos in New Mexico. The present year forms the third season 

 of the work they have very generously prosecuted in the interest 

 of the Museum. Fully as valuable results are expected from the 

 continuation of the work next year, and it is a source of sincere 

 pleasure to feel that the efforts of the Trustees meet with such 

 earnest cooperation. 



Another important expedition was undertaken in the interest 

 of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology by Mr. A. J. Stone, a 

 trained collector. His plans provide for a series of journeys, 

 begun this year, and to be continued till the close of the autumn 

 of 1900. His operations will cover the territory from Montana 

 to Bering Strait. The Department will thus acquire a full repre- 

 sentation of the game and other large animals to be found in the 

 countries he will visit. This material will greatly enrich our 

 display of North American Mammals, for which additions the 

 Museum is indebted to Mr. James M. Constable. 



It is of interest to note that an important plan has been arranged 

 conjointly with the Carnegie Museum, whereby Mr. Herbert H. 

 Smith, late a curator there, and a skilled collector, will make 

 an extended trip to the United States of Colombia. He will 

 gather specimens for both institutions, which will provide this 

 Museum with a large series of species now unrepresented in our 

 collections. 



Mention was made in the report of the preceding year of the 

 valuable results which would accrue to science from a systematic 



