Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 
4i 
The usual amount of local field-work has been accomplished by 
members of the scientific staff and several more extended expedi- 
tions have been successfully carried through. 
Mr. Samuel G. Gordon, in charge of the mineralogical collections, 
was given leave of absence from May 28 to November 15 for a trip 
to South America in the interests primarily of the William S. Vaux 
Collections, the remainder of the support being provided directly 
by Mr. Gordon, and from the disposal of duplicate specimens which 
he obtained. He traversed the Andes of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, 
and Chili, visiting many of the more important mines and securing 
a large amount of material, both minerals and rocks. 
Through the generosity of Mr. Morgan Hebard it was possible for 
Mr. Rehn to accompany him on a trip of six weeks through portions 
of Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado, on which a large 
collection of insects, mainly Orthoptera, was obtained. 
Dr. Pilsbry spent part of the summer in studying the molluscan 
fauna of Lake Champlain and the adjoining portions of the Adiron- 
dacks, and secured several thousand specimens. 
Mr. H. W. Fowler visited during the month of October the 
principal streams flowing from the southern Alleghanies, and secured 
some three thousand specimens of the freshwater fishes inhabiting 
the region; while Dr. Stone made a short trip into the mountains 
of eastern Kentucky obtaining a series of the early spring plants 
and a collection of the land mollusks, besides much information 
regarding the distribution of life in this little-known region. 
Mr. Clarence B. Moore continued during the winter his arche- 
ological exploration on the west coast of Florida and the Florida 
Keys. 
Improvements in the museum building during the year include 
the building of a rest room for women, completing the improvements 
to the heating plant, rewiring the electrical connections in the 
lecture hall and library, the installation of a moving picture 
machine and erection of a closed booth for all of the projecting 
apparatus. The last improvement materially increased the seating 
capacity of the lecture hall. 
A number of societies, mostly national in character, have held 
their annual meetings in the building during the year. These 
included the American Ornithologists’ Union, the American Society 
of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the American Association of 
