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REPORT ON REPTILES, BATRACHIANS, SELACHIANS, 

 AND FISHES. 



By Samuel Garman. 



A GENERAL revision of these collections was commenced about 

 eight months ago. Up to date only about one fifth of the material 

 has been overhauled. This portion has received fresh alcohol, 

 tin numbers, and new labels. A considerable number of speci- 

 mens have been mounted on tablets or otherwise prepared for the 

 exhibition rooms. Various changes for the better have been 

 made in the previous exhibit. 



The greater portion of the accessions in these departments are 

 such as were desiderata. In most cases they have been choice 

 specimens. With the stoppage of indiscriminate and miscella- 

 neous collecting on the part of our correspondents there has 

 been a decrease in bulk of receipts, and in the labor and expense 

 required in their care, accompanied by a great increase in impor- 

 tance and value. What are asked for are such as supply deficien- 

 cies, replace inferior specimens, or are desirable as exchanges. 

 The answers to such requests contain little that is undesirable or 

 useless. 



For donations we are indebted to Dr. C. C. Abbott, Professor 

 Alexander Agassiz, J. H. Blake, Esq., Captain Edwin Cole, 

 H. Garman, John F. Hooper, C. R. Hooper, R. M. Kemp, W. F. 

 Littlefield, Colonel Theodore Lyman, Reuben Smith, and Mrs. 

 C. N. Willard. The specimens sent by Professor Agassiz, Mr. 

 Blake, Captain Cole, and Mrs. Willard were especially important 

 on account of young stages of fishes somewhat rare. Dr. Abbott's 

 contribution furnished specimens of a rare turtle, and Russell 

 Hooper's a tolerably complete representation of New England 

 reptiles and batrachians. 



By exchange we have a series of the fishes of Illinois from the 

 Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, a continuation of the 

 North American series from the Smithsonian, a collection made at 



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