10 



ANNUAL EEPORT OF THE 



He retained his activity to the last, and his death found him 

 occupied in writing papers on the origin and mode of occurrence 

 of iron and its ores, and in their classification. 



In connection with my work on the Florida coral reef, Mr. L. S. 

 Griswold made an exploration into the Everglades, in order to 

 determine if practicable how far inland the coral reef region ex- 

 tended. He penetrated inland a considerable distance, reaching 

 the edge of the Everglades at three points. His explorations 

 have added greatly to our geological and geographical knowledge of 

 the region. His report will be published as an Appendix to my 

 Notes on the Coral Reefs of Florida, now in the press. (Bull. Mus. 

 Comp. Zobl., Vol. XXVIII. No. 2.) 



While preparing this work an interesting report on the bor- 

 ings of the Key West Artesian well was sent in to me by Dr. 

 E. 0. Hovey. From the report of Dr. Hovey it is evident that 

 the Florida coral reef is, as I have always contended, of very 

 moderate thickness, well within the range of depth at which 

 corals can grow, and that it rests upon Pliocene deposits. (Bull. 

 Mus. Comp. ZooL, Vol. XXVIII. No. 3.) A further examina- 

 tion of the borings of the Key West Artesian well will be made 

 by Dr. W. H. Dall and Dr. Woodward, in connection with ma- 

 terial collected by the U. S. Geological Survey at other deep wells 

 extending into the Tertiary strata of Florida and of Texas. 



In pursuance of a plan to investigate the coral reefs of the 

 Pacific, I spent some weeks on the Great Barrier Reef of Aus- 

 tralia. Dr. W. McM. Woodworth and Dr. A. G. Mayer of the 

 Museum accompanied me as assistants. A complete outfit for 

 sounding and for collecting pelagic animals was shipped to Sydney 

 and placed on board the steamship " Croydon," which had been 

 chartered for the expedition. A complete photographic outfit, as 

 well as the equipment necessary for taking care of the collections, 

 was also sent out. Unfortunately the explorations we made were 

 restricted by the boisterous weather we encountered along the 

 coast of Australia. I succeeded, however, in examining the reef 

 sufficiently in detail to satisfy myself that subsidence had played 

 a very insignificant role in the formation of that great reef. A 

 preliminary account of the expedition has been published in the 

 September number of the American Journal of Science. It was a 

 great disappointment to me to be unable to carry out either my 

 plans for sounding off the sea face of the barrier reef, or for 



