Page Twenty-three 



Mr. Hccrs has clesignod a new caso, of which an ('xaini)h', coiitainiiifi; 

 hooks, can now be seen in tho Forestry Halh It is an all-steel conihina- 

 tion storage and exhibiti ncase, fire resist inland ''dustite," with "slide- 

 tite" doors, and is a free standing unit that can be extended indefinitely 

 by adding units on either end. Each unit has four rows of 

 steel shelves on each side or front, that can be adjusted on 1" centers, 

 either on the flat or inclined. The construction permits the insertion of 

 vehisote panels, as desired, forming a diaphragm or background. The 

 lower portion of the space under the bottom exhibition shelf forms a 

 ^ torage space 14" high and of the depth of the case. This is covered by 

 the steel panel of the doors. 



I 



The first consignment from the Whitney South Seas Expedition, 

 which was shipped from Tahiti in February last and w^as lost in transit, 

 arrived at the Museum during August in excellent condition. The ship- 

 ment comprised upwards of 300 specimens of birds, including .several 

 species not previously received from Mr. Beck. Another box received 

 from ]\Ir. Beck contained collections from the Austral Islands — the 

 southernmost group in Central Polynesia, — representing the spoils from 

 such islands as Rapa and Rurutu, which have perhaps never before been 

 visited by naturalists. 



Birds, reptiles and plants are included in Mr. Beck's collections, all 

 of which have proved of the greatest interest. Among the birds are a 

 large .series of very beautiful fruit pigeons of four species, the one from 

 Rapa Island, known to science as Ptelopus huttoni, being previously 

 represented in the museums of the w^orld by only the single type .skin. 

 Among other important accessions are a series of Polynesian black rails 

 which are very little known because of the difficulty of securing them; 

 a series of reef herons and one of a widely distributed Pi lynesian 

 duck related to the American black duck ; lories or parakeets of extremely 

 bizarre coloration, swifts of the genus CoUocalia, the manufacturers of 

 the famous Chinese soup nests, and many .species of Old World warblers 

 which are of particular value to science because they are in some cases 

 the only land birds inhabiting their respective islands, and they there- 

 fore show^ unusual facts of individual variation such as evolutionists 

 generally expect only among domesticated animals. An interesting dis- 

 covery brought forth by the study of the collections is the fact that some 

 species, such as the Au.stralian and African weaver birds and Asiatic 



