DEPARTMENT OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES. 125 



DISTRIBUTION OF DUPLICATES. 



No new sets of duplicates were made up during the period covered 

 by this report, as the stock of duplicates of identified species is now 

 rather small. It is intended, however, to prepare a limited number of 

 special sets, representing a few subjects only, in the course of a year or 

 two. Eegular duplicate sets of the old series, described in previous re- 

 ports, were distributed to the following institutions : 



Eipon College, Eipon, Wis. ; Illinois Wesley an University, Blooming- 

 ton, 111. ; Facultad de Medecina de Lima, Peru ; the Greek Government ; 

 the Lowell School, Boston, Mass.; Olivet College, Olivet, Mich. ; Haver- 

 ford College, Pennsylvania ; Trinity College, Toronto, Canada; Kansas 

 State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kans. ; Denison University, 

 Granville, Ohio; Indiana Institute for educating the deaf and dumb, 

 Indianapolis, Ind.; North Division High School, Chicago, 111.; McDonogh 

 School, Baltimore County, Maryland ; Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; 

 State Normal School, Saint Cloud, Minn. ; Wallingford Natural History 

 Society, Wallingford, Pa. ; Michigan State Normal School, Ypsilanti, 

 Mich. 



In addition to the above, a few small special lots of duplicates, con- 

 sisting of but a few species and specimens each, have been furnished to 

 investigators and teachers. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



The curator deeply regrets that he has been unable to make greater 

 progress toward the permanent opening up of the exhibition hall of this 

 department to the general public, but a combination of circumstances 

 has interfered with the proposed arrangements in that direction up to 

 the present time. The want of proper storage and work-rooms to ac- 

 commodate the immense stock of specimens with which this depart- 

 ment is now entrusted, and which is being constantly added to, has 

 necessitated the use of the exhibition hall for such purposes, and the 

 care and preservation of the general collections require so much at- 

 tention that it has been impossible to devote any time to the display 

 series, which is still in the same condition as when my last report was 

 submitted. Admission to the hall is not refused, however, to any one 

 specially interested in examining the specimens, and during the sum- 

 mer months it will be temporarily opened to the public. The addi- 

 tional space afforded by the north west gallery in the bird hall gives 

 much relief, and, if proper cases are constructed, there will be no diffi- 

 culty in making a suitable arrangement of the dried specimens, but the 

 alcoholic materials are greatly in excess of the storage room allotted to 

 them, and it is this portion of the collection that is increasing most 

 rapidly. 



Except for the fact of this constant increase, the bulk of the collec- 

 tions could be speedily and greatly decreased by the elimination of du- 



