2 2 Report of the President. 



Rocky Mountains and an account of the very important acquisi- 

 tions which have been made by purchase and exchange. There 

 are altogether in the collection 8,534 specimens of fossil mammals, 

 varying from a single tooth to complete skeletons. Six hundred 

 and forty-eight specimens of fossil reptiles have been collected, 

 and this number will be increased by 3,245 specimens in the 

 second Cope collection. The exhibition has been enriched by 

 many exchanges. Four hundred and thirty-eight specimens, and 

 one hundred and fifteen casts have been sent out in exchange, 

 chiefly to Museums in Europe. The total number of specimens 

 in the department is now estimated at 12,708. The department 

 has thus advanced a long way towards its original purpose of 

 giving a complete history of the vertebrate life on the North 

 American continent, but there are some important gaps to be filled, 

 especially among the fishes. 



During the past year valuable exchanges have been received, 

 especially from Stuttgart, and additional exchange collections are 

 expected in the near future. 



Four separate expeditions were sent into the field ; the largest 

 force returned to the famous "Bone Cabin" quarry in Wyoming 

 and secured 100 specimens, including parts of skulls, limbs and 

 separate bones of Dinosaurs not hitherto represented in the col- 

 lection. Late in the season, with the cooperation of Mr. G. R. 

 Wieland of Yale University, through the courtesy of Professor 

 Beecher, an extensive survey was made in the Black Hills region, 

 which resulted in the securing of parts of two more Dinosaurs. 



Mr. Barnum Brown returned from Patagonia with twenty-four 

 boxes of the ancient fossil mammals of South America, which are 

 now being worked up for immediate exhibition. In July he was 

 sent by the Curator into the Laramie beds of Wyoming and 

 returned in January with a complete skeleton of a duck-bill Dino- 

 saur, and an incomplete skeleton of a carnivorous Dinosaur ; 

 these will make beautiful exhibition specimens. 



The fourth expedition, under Mr. Gidley, revisited the fossil 

 mammal beds of Texas and secured a fine skull and jaws of a new 

 type of elephant, portions of the skeletons of fossil horses and 

 limbs of extinct camels. 



