The Florida Reptile Group yy 



more than 890 titles on African herpetology, 2,500 cards; 

 that on the American Southwest includes about 270 titles, 4,500 

 cards; work on Asian herpetology has necessitated the cata- 

 loguing of 300 titles, 900 index cards ; and miscellaneous work, 

 500 titles, 600 index cards. Mr. Noble brings to this work a 

 contribution in neotropical bibliography as follows: 382 titles, 

 with 514 cards of new species of amphibians, 452 cards of new 

 species of reptiles (post-Boulenger). Mr. Camp contributes on 

 North American herpetology and morphological papers, about 

 3,000 titles, 900 index cards. 



The 191 7 publications include the paper by Mr. E. R. Dunn 

 on the North Carolina mountain reptile and amphibian collec- 

 tion in the American Museum, the field work for which was 

 done in the summer of 1916. 



Progress has been made on small pieces of exhibition work 

 such as the Florida Gopher Group and the New Zealand Sphe- 

 nodon Group, but the major piece of exhibition on 

 hand for 19 17 has continued to be the Florida 

 Group, started in the summer of 1916. This is now virtually 

 completed. The work was delayed greatly by the many months 

 of absence from the Museum and the death in October of Mr. 

 Ernest W. Smith. Mr. Smith has done the main work of 

 assembling in all the groups in the reptile series, under the 

 direction of the Associate Curator, also supervising the tech- 

 nique of assistants in the preparation of the masses of foliage. 

 His death is a very great loss ; there can scarcely be found any- 

 where a man with his skill in this particular line of work. The 

 Florida Group has been continued to completion by Mr. Fred- 

 erick H. Stoll, expert wax modeler and colorist. The back- 

 ground was painted by Mr. Hobart Nichols. 



The group is the largest yet attempted in the Museum, the 

 foreground having an area of about 275 square feet, and the 

 background of about 475 square feet. When we look at such 

 a group completed, it is difficult to comprehend how vast has 

 been the amount of fine exact reproduction of nature entailed ; 

 how involved the principles and details of the basic construc- 

 tion and lighting to produce the effect of composition and per- 

 spective; what attention to accuracy and finish has been nee- 



