DEPARTMENT OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES. 119 



suitable condition to insure its safety until it can be properly worked 

 over and identified. The Echini have already been determined and 

 combined with the general collection representing that group ; the fishes 

 and mollusks have been separated out and transferred to the depart- 

 ments to which they properly belong. The collection of Fish Commis- 

 sion specimens received from Professor Verrill, in May, has also been 

 suitably arranged and catalogued. The other accessions obtained dur- 

 ing the half year and some of older date have been overhauled, assorted, 

 and preserved in good condition. Among the latter were included 

 many lots of surface towings, consisting, for the most part, of multi- 

 tudes of small objects, which required much time and careful handling, 

 and in the assorting of which several hundred homoeopathic vials were 

 used. 



Two of the groups of animals belonging to this department have now 

 been nearly completely worked up, and conveniently arranged for ref- 

 erence. These are the crayfishes and Echini. Eor the revision of the 

 former group we are indebted to the volunteer assistance of Prof. Wal- 

 ter Faxon, of Harvard College, whose studies upon our collections have 

 been referred to in previous reports. All of the specimens have now 

 been identified, placed in suitable bottles, and systematically arranged 

 in the cases. A list of the same has also been furnished for publica- 

 tion,- it records 47 species and varieties, and 201 lots of specimens, 

 mostly from North America. The collection of Echini, which is of much 

 greater extent, is in equally good condition, except as to the few doubt- 

 ful species which it is proposed to take to Cambridge for identification. 

 It is partly dried and partly preserved in alcohol. The dried specimens 

 are contained in covered pasteboard boxes, as an additional precau- 

 tion against the attack of museum pests, and have been mostly arranged 

 in the drawers under the exhibition cases, on the east side of the marine 

 invertebrate hall. In addition to the labels placed inside the boxes, a 

 brief inscription is written on the covers, to facilitate reference to the 

 specimeus of the several species from each locality. Many of the dried 

 specimens have also been mounted for exhibition. The alcoholic speci- 

 mens are arranged in cases in the west basement hall, where they are 

 easy of access. The systematic card catalogue of this collection is now 

 complete, and a list of all the specimens will soon be ready for publi- 

 cation. 



The collection of dried specimens of Gorgoniau corals has been en- 

 tirely arranged in unit trays, excepting the specimens on exhibition, 

 and a large number of the species have been identified. This collection 

 has been greatly increased in size and value during the past two years 

 by accessions from Dr. Edward Palmer, Mr. Henry Hemphill, Prof. E. 

 E. C. Stearns, and the Fish Commission. The sponges collected in 

 Florida by Dr. Edward Palmer, in 1884, have all been catalogued, and 

 add many entries to our record book. Some of the stony corals ob- 

 tained by him have also been identified and catalogued. 



