Annual Report.] 4 [May 5, 



and study of the Marine Fauna of New England. Mr. Rath- 

 bun assiduously attended to the general dredging and shore 

 collecting, accurately labelling every specimen. The valu- 

 able additions thus made to our New England collection have 

 been since revised and placed in the most complete order. 



The New England collection of shells has also been re- 

 mounted and greatly enlarged by the same assistant, who 

 has accompanied this work with complete lists, which will 

 enable him to perfect this department as fast as opportunities 

 for collections will permit. Unfortunately, there are at 

 present no cases in which these beautifully mounted speci- 

 mens can be exhibited. 



The collection of New England Sponges, to which the 

 Custodian paid special attention, has been much enlarged, 

 and colored figures were made of every species, which will 

 be used in the illustration of the collection. 



A small donation from our former Vice President, Mr. R. C. 

 Greenleaf, enabled us to begin a very important and long con- 

 templated improvement in the illustration of our collection by 

 means of anatomical models. Drawings were made of several 

 of the living animal forms of the Mollusca by Mr. Rathbun, 

 which have since been used in the manufacture of models. 

 Several of these, showing the animal as it actually appears 

 when living, have . been completed. When this series is 

 finished there will be another begun, representing the in- 

 ternal parts as they appear when the shell is removed. 

 The experiment has shown the practicability of rendering our 

 collections useful as a means of conveying accurate knowl- 

 edge to general students, teachers, and the public. These 

 models also will be appreciated by no one more highly than 

 by the strictly professional naturalist, who must be a special- 

 ist of exceptional ability if he cannot gather new information 

 from collections illustrated in this comprehensive way. It 

 must be remembered, however, that the accurate study of all 

 the species of a group unavoidably precedes the selection of 

 the types and the moulding of the models.. Miss Pratt's be- 



