16 



COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



[Jan. 



By purchase have been added a skeleton of Delphinus delphis, 

 a small collection of rare nests and eggs of Rocky Mountain 

 birds, and a series of casts of the interior of crania of some 

 forty species of mammals, prepared at the Museum of the 

 Royal College of Surgeons of England. 



Early in .the year, some twenty or more skins of South 

 American mammals, including the llama, guanaco, vicuna 

 and alpaca, as well as several species of monkeys, sloths, 

 rodents and carnivores, were sent to Prof. Ward to be 

 mounted, and have already been returned satisfactorily pre- 

 pared. At the same time were sent him for preparation 

 about one hundred and sixty osteological pieces, a large pro- 

 portion of them skeletons, which still remain in his hands. 



During the year, considerable advance has been made in 

 the critical determination of the exotic birds, particularly the 

 South American, and much revisionary work has been done 

 upon the mammals. The collections, including both the skins 

 and the alcoholic materials, remain, as heretofore, in safe con- 

 dition. 



