78 Report of the President 



present synoptic series includes a number of duplicates; 

 some of these will be placed in habitat groups while others 

 will be sent away in exchange. 



Great strides were made during the year towards furnish- 

 ing the exhibits with permanent labels. The entire set of 

 labels for the synoptic series was revised and others were 

 prepared for the new exhibits. The label for the Horned 

 Iguana Group was rewritten and a huge double label for the 

 Florida Group well started. 



As the study collections have developed, and it was recog- 

 nized that the Department was in a position to give technical 



as well as popular information on many phases 

 th P bl' °* h er P e t°l°gy> the number of institutions and 



individuals who have applied to us for assist- 

 ance has greatly increased. Fifty-six specimens were sent 

 to the Department during 1921 for identification and return, 

 while the identification of many specimens donated to the 

 Museum was requested. The method of studying micro- 

 skeletons as developed by the Department has been adopted 

 elsewhere. Typewritten directions have been sent in answer 

 to requests from a number of investigators. Numerous 

 queries on various features of reptilian and amphibian life 

 are made by correspondents and visitors each year, while the 

 growing ( exhibits furnish answers to the questions of many 

 others. The several popular and semi-technical lectures 

 given to the Boy Scouts and other interested audiences have 

 done much to bring the Department into closer contact with 

 the public. 



Several important researches were completed this year. A 

 report on the collections secured by the "Albatross" in 1911 



was presented for publication. The report in- 

 Publicatio eludes a discussion of the distribution and origin 



of the Lower Californian herpetological fauna, 

 a check list of the amphibians and reptiles known from the 

 peninsula and neighboring islands, together with many taxo- 

 nomic notes on the species collected by the Albatross Expedi- 

 tion. In the course of the work on this Lower Californian 

 material, Assistant Curator Schmidt has prepared a number 

 of shorter papers on the taxonomic relations of North Ameri- 



