"^5ovember!'^92o: }      Muljofd  Biological  Explovation.  817 
causes  of  fatalities,  and  officers  of  the  Federal  Insecticide  and  Fungi- 
cide Board  prepared  a  comprehensive  series  of  formulae  of  substances 
that  might  prove  useful  in  this  direction.  Supplies  of  these  mixtures 
will  be  taken  and  systematically  tested.  At  the  same  time,  every 
opportunity  will  be  improved  for  recording  the  pollination  of  flowers 
by  particular  insects  and  those  destructive  to  timber  and  other 
vegetation  will  be  studied  It  is  hoped  that  the  Bureau  of  Ento- 
mology may  detail  one  of  its  representatives  to  accompany  the 
party. 
Dr.  Rusby  had  been  greatly  interested,  on  previous  expeditions, 
in  the  immense  variety  of  fishes  in  the  Amazon  basin,  and  in  the 
peculiar  characters  and  habits  of  many  of  them,  and  determined 
to  carry  materials  for  extensive  collections  of  this  fauna.  On  sub- 
mitting this  idea  to  Drs.  David  Starr  Jordan,  and  C.  H.  Eigenmann, 
among  the  leading  authorities  on  the  subject,  they  at  once  expressed 
their  readiness  to  assist  in  the  investigation  of  the  fishes  collected. 
It  is  also  probable  that  they  will  be  represented  upon  the  Explora- 
tion by  one  of  the  ichthyologists  from  the  University  of  Indiana. 
Among  other  subjects  of  interest,  is  that  of  oil-seeds,  of  which 
there  is  a  vast  variety  in  the  forests  of  tropical  America.  From 
fifty  to  a  hundred  pounds  or  more  of  each  of  these  will  be  collected 
as  encountered,  and  these  will  be  shipped  home  for  expression  and 
the  study  of  their  oils.  Professor  Augustus  A.  Gill,  of  the  Boston 
Institute  of  Technology  has  undertaken  to  pursue  these  researches. 
Similarly  there  are  very  many  plants  containing  essential  oils  that 
are  likely  to  prove  of  value,  and  Dr.  Edward  Kremers,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin  will  interest  himself  in  the  study  of  these. 
The  region  to  be  traversed  abounds  in  serpents  and  other  reptiles, 
both  poisonous  and  innocent.  These  will  be  preserved  like  the 
fishes.  The  batrachians  will  be  sent  to  Professor  Ruthven,  of  the 
University  of  Michigan,  and  the  others  to  the  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History  in  New  York  City. 
While  all  these  subjects  are  of  great  interest,  the  special  work 
of  Dr.  Rusby  and  his  party  will  be  in  connection  with  medicinal 
plants  and  drugs,  for  the  study  of  which  elaborate  provisions  have 
been  made.  Dr.  Rusby  hopes  to  shed  fresh  light  on  the  manu- 
facture of  blow  gun  and  other  arrow  poisons,  of  which  several  vari- 
eties appear  to  be  in  use  in  the  region  to  be  visited.  Some  of  the 
more  important  commercial  drugs  will  be  traced  to  their  origin, 
and  absolutely  authentic  material  will  be  secured  for  study.    A  very 
