232 Field Museum of Natural History — Reports, Vol. III. 



gemmatum; large single cups of Cystiphyllum in vagina turn; two 

 large groups of Diphyphyllum and Haimeophyllum, the latter 20 

 inches in diameter; perfect cups of Heliophyllum convergens, superior 

 specimens of Thecia ramosa ; and representatives of thirteen species 

 of Zaphrentis unusually well preserved. By collection were obtained 

 twenty-five specimens of the diamond-bearing peridotite of Arkansas; 

 six specimens of gypsum and asphalt from Arkansas; about five 

 thousand specimens of Cretaceous and Tertiary invertebrate fossils 

 from Mississippi; one hundred and seventy-five specimens Devonian 

 fossils and concretions from Michigan; and thirty specimens of ver- 

 tebrate fossils from Wyoming. 



In the Department of Zoology two hundred and twenty-six 

 specimens of mammals have been added to the collection during the 

 last year. Nearly all of these were secured by members of the staff 

 while in the field. One hundred and nineteen were taken in Ven- 

 ezuela and adjacent islands and were either new or imperfectly 

 represented in the collections. Valuable additions have been made 

 in the Department of Ornithology, 3,643 skins and 2,717 eggs having 

 been accessioned. Undoubtedly the most important acquisition to 

 the Department of Zoology was the purchase of the butterfly and 

 moth collection of the late Dr. Herman Strecker of Reading, Penn- 

 sylvania. The collection is probably unequalled in America and 

 unsurpassed in importance by almost any other collection in any 

 part of the world. It is contained in over eight hundred glass-topped 

 drawers, which in turn are arranged in twelve large cabinets. Over 

 fifty thousand specimens are represented, among them being three 

 or four hundred types, co-types, etc. Besides the species described 

 as new by Dr. Strecker himself, there are also all of Rearkirt's types, 

 likewise types and co-types of species described by Grote, Behr, 

 Staudinger, Skinner, Chapman, and Mengel. In addition to the 

 above priceless specimens, there are many rarities found in but few 

 collections, and in no other are there so many aberrations or mon- 

 strosities as well as remarkable examples of dimorphism, phrases 

 of insect development in which Dr. Strecker was deeply interested. 

 The purchase included the arranged collection, all of the duplicates, 

 the entire entomological library, and all correspondence relating 

 thereto. The material was prepared for shipment under Assistant 

 Curator Gerhard's directions and transported without loss or mishap 

 to the Museum, where it has been arranged in the same order as it 

 was at the time of Dr. Strecker's death seven years ago. 



