352 PROCEEDINGS : BOSTON SOCIETY NATURAL HISTORY. 
donated by Miss Isabel L. Johnson and another from Mr. A. W. 
Grabau have been properly labeled. The European collection of 
fossils has been all looked over and specimens dusted. A number 
of fine corals have been purchased from G. Iv. Greene, and these 
have been labeled and catalogued ; also a few Solenhofen fossils 
received from Mr. J. L. Gardner. The New England fossil collec¬ 
tion made by Mr. Grabau has been labeled. 
Mollusca. 
M iss Martin did some work, before leave of absence was granted 
her, upon the collections of duplicate shells in giving generic names 
to the various lots. Mr. Sornborger completed this work by picking 
out and packing ten sets. These were generically identified and 
consisted of from 26 to 93 genera. 
Miss Bryant has arranged systematically and labeled the New 
England collection of Mollusca. The same assistant has completed 
the cataloguing of the Cyrenidae, the most valuable part of the Roper 
collection. This has finished the cataloguing of this large collection, 
received in 1899, except the Unionidae. When these are completed 
a final report will be made. 
The Curator has been prevented partly by other duties, and partly 
by the growth of the work itself, from completing the manuscript of 
the ground shells of Achatinellidae, but the work has been going on 
steadily and the detailed descriptions of species have been in large 
part completed. The greatest difficulty has been removed by a 
pecuniary grant from the Bache Fund, under the charge of the 
National Academy of Science. This has enabled the Curator to 
employ an assistant to do the work of measuring the shells. The 
points aimed at are as follows : to determine the relations of the 
average size of species to their positions or grades in their natural 
genetic series, their relations to the area of the islands upon which 
they live, whether there is a normal size or range of dimensions in 
each species, and so on. 
Insecta and Arachnida. 
Mr. Samuel Henshaw reports that he has revised the series of 
New England insects thrpughout seven families of Orthoptera, one 
