1876.] 339 [Annual Report. 



upon the table. Dr. P. P. Carpenter has continued the 

 the work on the classification and labelling of the shells, and 

 has completed all the larger genera of marine shells and the 

 very difficult group of Melanians, and all the remaining fresh- 

 water genera, except the Pulmonates and the genera Cyclos- 

 toma and Helicina. 



All the Annelids have been reviewed, sorted, and the 

 Entozoa named by the Custodian, and the work will be con- 

 tinued until it is finished. 



The Insects have received considerable attention at the 

 hands of Mr. S. Henshaw, who reports through the Chairman 

 of the Committee, Mr. S. H. Scudder, that the entire col- 

 lection, including the general collection, the Harris, Dale 

 and Atkinson bequests, has been examined and is free from 

 Anthreni, only two living larvae having been found. The 

 North American specimens in the boxes covered with paper 

 have been arranged in 'glass-covered drawers, and the boxes 

 containing the foreign specimens re-covered and their con- 

 tents noted. The North American Coleoptera have been 

 arranged, by families, in glass-covered drawers. The New 

 England collection of Coleoptera has been arranged as far 

 as the Buprestidae, but only placed on exhibition as far as 

 the Trichopterygidas, according to Crotch's Check-List. This 

 includes six families, of which 457 sj)ecies are known to oc- 

 cur in New England, and of these 327 species are on exhibi- 

 tion, all — with a few exceptions — New England specimens. 



Mr. Van Vleck has been employed two days in each week 

 in the general work of the Museum, during the past winter. 

 He has also been occupied with the Fishes. All the generic 

 types have been picked out and these will form the basis of 

 our systematic collection, which it will probably not be very 

 difficult to fill out. The Epitome collection of fishes has also 

 been picked out by the same gentleman, and the duplicates 

 and reserve collections sorted. Mr. Garman, of the Museum 

 of Comparative Zoology, has been kind enough to look over 

 and name a portion of our reptiles, and it is hoped that he 



