4 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Theodore Lyman, a generosity effectively increased by Col. 

 John E. Thayer who added an experienced field naturalist to the 

 personnel of the party. Fortunate in having the generous interest 

 of Colonel Thayer and Professor Lyman, the Museum was equally 

 fortunate in the men, Messrs. Joseph Dixon and W. Sprague 

 Brooks, selected for the zoological work. In addition to Messrs. 

 Mixter, Brooks, and Dixon, Messrs. E. S. Draper, John Heard, Jr., 

 Dunbar Lockwood, and G. S. Silsbee, all recent students in 

 Harvard University, accompanied the expedition. Originally 

 planned for six months' work, chiefly on the Kamtchatkan 

 Peninsula and along its coast, conditions proving unfavorable, 

 most of the collecting was done along the coasts of Siberia and 

 Alaska, and the time extended from the proposed six months to 

 sixteen included an Arctic winter when both material and oppor- 

 tunities for zoological work are limited. Notwithstanding the 

 many untoward circumstances, Messrs. Dixon and Brooks by their 

 skill, industry, and perseverance, gathered a representative series 

 of mammals and birds together with a smaller collection of insects 

 and shells. After his return, Mr. Brooks studied the series of 

 birds and has prepared a report on the 160 species contained in 

 the collection. 



Through Dr. Thomas Barbour's interest in the West Indian 

 fauna, very many of the departmental collections have been sub- 

 stantially increased. In addition to material presented by local 

 naturalists, notably Dr. C. de la Torre, Sr. V. J. Rodriguey, Sr. 

 Francisco Morales, and Mr. C. T. Ramsden, Dr. Barbour aided 

 in securing the collections made by Mr. J. L. Peters in Cuba and 

 by Mr. G. K. Noble in Guadeloupe. Mr. Noble's collection of 

 birds includes not only all the species known from Guadeloupe and 

 adjacent islands, but also series sufficient in many cases for the 

 characterization of insular variation. He also collected a large 

 number of reptiles in excellent preservation with accurate data. 

 During March and April, 1915, Dr. Barbour, assisted by Mr. 

 W. S, Brooks, made large collections in Cuba and the Isle of Pines. 

 Directing their attention principally to the species of birds and 

 reptiles not represented in the collections of the Museum, they 

 were so fortunate as to secure many of the rarest and most desir- 

 able Cuban species. Though at times, owing to severe physical 

 disability, Mr. Brooks was better fitted for the hospital than the 

 field, he gave Dr. Barbour invaluable aid throughout the trip. 



Dr. H. B. Bigelow has continued in charge of the scientific work 

 carried on by the U. S. F. S. Grampus in the North Atlantic. 



