Report of the President 6 1 



as well as portions of the Sierra de Luquillo. During the 

 summer, Mr. Roy W. Miner investigated the marine life of 

 the shores and shallow waters, especially in and about San 

 Juan Harbor. Also, during the summer, Mr. F. E. Watson 

 and Mr. H. G. Barber carried on entomological studies in 

 characteristic localities. The fruits of these expeditions in 

 Porto Rico during the year number more than 22,000 speci- 

 mens, which will enable the department to extend materially 

 its general studies upon the American fauna of invertebrates. 



Curator Gratacap has completed the time-consuming and 

 laborious work of installing the shell collections in the new 

 _. „ Hall of Mollusca, which has been opened to the 



She11 t.i- rri . , , j , K. , 



_ ,, . public. I he novel methods of display, new 



Collections ; , r _,,- , * 1 • 1 



labeling and the introduction of hitherto unex- 



hibited collections mark an epoch in the history of this 

 division of invertebrates in the Museum. Among the most 

 important accessions are a series of Mediterranean mollusks, 

 shell and animal, clusters of the Coon-oyster (O. cristatd) 

 on mangrove roots from Florida, which were presented by 

 Mr. and Mrs. Frederick F. Hunt, a model showing lamelli- 

 branch anatomy, and a collection of marine univalves pre- 

 sented by Mrs. W. R. Grace. Curator Gratacap has taken 

 up the assemblage of a systematic study collection apart 

 from the systematized general exhibition series; this task 

 involves the overhauling of all the accessions for the past 

 ten or twelve years, with a view to arranging the material 

 not needed for exhibition in the drawers under the flat 

 table-cases. 



Notable progress has been made in the construction of the 



Nahant Tide Pool Group and of the Bryozoa Group, under the 



_ . supervision of Mr. Miner. Like the groups 



Invertebrates x 



. r . already completed, these will give faithful 



presentations of the organisms existing in 



certain characteristic ecological situations that are distinctive. 



A life-sized model in glass of Physalia has been placed on 



exhibition in a special case, where it attracts considerable 



attention. Many other models have been made for this and 



other departments, and the study collections have been 



