58 Report of the President 



additional room in the basement, adjoining the present store- 

 room, was made available for use by the department to 

 accommodate the alcoholic and dried herpetological collections. 

 This room has been fitted with metal fire-proof shelving, 

 similar to that in use in the United States National Museum 

 storerooms, and is now ready for occupancy. Removing the 

 herpetological collections to this room will allow more space 

 for the fish collections, and during the coming year the fish 

 storeroom will be fitted up similarly to the herpetology room. 

 The fossil fish storeroom on the fifth floor has been provided 

 with additional metal cases, which will more than double its 

 previous storage capacity. 



In connection with the growth of the collections of the 

 department, it should be mentioned that Professor Dean has 

 made special efforts, during the year, to arrange exchanges 

 with museums throughout the world. Many valuable speci- 

 mens have thereby been received from distant localities, e.g., 

 British Guiana, Australia, Formosa, South Africa, as well as 

 many museums in Europe and America. 



Expeditions. — Thanks to the Cleveland H. Dodge Fund, 

 the department has been able to participate, to some extent, 

 in the large expeditions sent out by the Museum, and also to 

 meet the expense of several minor expeditions. In this way 

 the department has had entire or partial interest in six expedi- 

 tions, namely, to Wisconsin, for the collection of ganoid fishes; 

 to Cuban waters; to South Georgia Island; to British Guiana 

 and Central America; to Japan and Korea, and to the Belgian 

 Colony of the Congo. The Arizona desert expedition was 

 financed from the "Director's Fund." The expeditions already 

 returned have brought valuable material to the Museum. 



Research. — The officers of the department have devoted 

 such time as could be spared from their other duties to the 

 scientific study of the collections in their charge. Some of 

 these studies have already appeared, and a number of others 

 are in hand and will be carried on as opportunity offers. Seven 

 Museum Bulletins were published by the department during 

 the year, and a number of popular articles have appeared 

 in the American Museum Journal. 



