a giuih hi + th, sig He / fist uy lev bata! st bilgi wit EPP faitgay 6 i i cel se if ib Wbtintachibes J r Apel) ne a 4 onde J Ue ved! dsnnardah ad Ader odes uy | ra vied ai bby iy arene ee “ ot ney raw 4) 4 af scatelantitad Hiab saine Hevaitel, notes epntems ah yirfrawa as atae Neh eae Hien #25; ety Hah. Akagi std ihe tia! er i i Mi Me ith Are i eat ee ath t i inh ee ate ly tten sed aa thee ¥} i a ae Pa ony ste Alea) prinye all ; ut ‘ Pett is tagath $ 2 ia [ae ist, j ical t Lhatala ta it ik aed ath atte sh by me ite vie u hee bia Boa ora tte a 43 aa! fh ie ads “A Nes staan at i At if ' 1a} aay Lita Weta iti allo ahh sd ah bate itty 1 ay H sahara he tl nyt a Hes oath Aine ‘ald Hy i at Msiadnt Iya * ita wie neater isd onl sees wath io Aver Piste MEE Me ae pried tit ot 4 ¢ aco fi aiathigash a eben aaa ti ae na ea ea ihe i it, vay i i re mai eat vial ' t il ' vie a nh ht ri sai one a ee - heh a saa sit at ' at ise ih ie sae o0 Vs W A, eel ihe { rts ain mf pea wt il ial dna he ft a atten is et te ia n Wt aha ‘4m Path ee beaters a =e bb err a Gna tint ate ht ie st a bi ie heii ra rah role ’ Aigeiy i tab snr Kh Te ogeets ife a shia ctiad ee ayeen, itahe a 4 4Mbdy ia bt Tayds tt nN oN svat a res Sez == vist es <9 : cesar ss7= tid ae beta = “= De iat Hh Sint = a > Se oe SF ae Swit ee eee ee Sees Sas, ays @ hd = 3s Core ce : — SSS Poy a J eS s=e TASS use ges — , = Tee he a See eee 4 EH Soke a, = = Se eee Sot ee ee ee yes i fe ant a Hy ieee t r i ah he i " lranan es iP rh > at 4 js " Siaau ied is, Hi Ht He eee ab, © tg oo +t, Upsiei ae ah Cys esse <5 rts wt sit | oi, (#3 4 bangs id ‘ He i Mt ‘ie its, nea fee sere et > 4 4 FA SS oe cp abe peey eet eee ee eee ee Biggest ee ist iigsss cisseres tess ! ry 4 ye ! ” ER te Soh ¢ Sali selec ANd aiet faye “ cf vase Ba by As yay bisieys +14 be retary peditan a i ‘iat eit? yeh , i * = eS eeu Bere os eee = eos: pe oe er = me 2 : SS i igh Hy aaeay i k ede 5 . oi : eatath ip ia suff ht t ‘a ‘ ale ite at tbad | da Mf met sttte ned ’ hagetat erie bak cite at i Ni eat ii Ia it i oh i i es ee Atte ii lilt at S)Uhi abe 3 . ah ‘ tat a8 oF aH eis ty tt Siac haat ase Sipe Ages di cute = ‘ ae ; ; a Hid dy see J geil sat ty crs satrap ort SS "With the Compliments of - ALEXANDER AGASSIZ. ANNUAL REPORT OF a THE CURATOR OF THE — MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY AT HARVARD COLLEGE, TO THE PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, FOR 1885-84. — CAMBRIDGE: UNIVERSITY PRESS: JOHN WILSON AND SON. : 1884. | ANNUAL REPORT THE CURATOR OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY AT HARVARD COLLEGE, aD THE PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, FOR 1885-84. CAMBRIDGE: UNIVERSITY PRESS: JOHN WILSON AND SON. 1884. 3 FACULTY OF THE MUSEUM. CHARLES W. ELIOT, President. ALEXANDER AGASSIZ, Curator. THEODORE LYMAN. JOSIAH D. WHITNEY, Secretary. GEORGE L. GOODALE. OFFICERS. ALEXANDER AGASSIZ ..... . Curator. JOSIAH D. WHITNEY. .. . . . Sturgis-Hooper Professor of Geology. HERMANN A. HAGEN. .. .. . . Professor of Entomology. NATHANIEL S. SHALER.. . . Professor of Paleontology. WILLIAM JAMES. ..... . . Assist. Prof. of Physiol. and Comp. Anat. WALTER FAXON. ... . . = . Assist, Prof. of Zodlogy. , BK. L. MARK . ops. so ew 2 a Perey. ef zaplagi: THEODORE LYMAN. .... . . Assistant in Zodlogy. CHARLES E. HAMLIN. .. . . . Assistant in Conchology and Paleontology. D. D. SLADE 2. ow is a. 2 ey Assistant ain Osicaiogy. — JOEL ASAPH ALLEN... . . . Assistant in Ornithology. W. M. DAVIS . 2 8 * 2s. + s) Assistant in (reolopical Patorator). SAMUEL GARMAN... .. . . . Assistant in Herpetology and Ichthyology. M. E. WADSWORTH ... .. . . Assistant in Lithology. | J. W. BREW RES oe cele aii ee nto tl Ie Op Panniers C. O. WHITMAN 2.00.5. 8,0 o>. Assistanh in Zoology: PAULUS ROETTER :.). > Sandee we races MISS F. M.: SLACK) f= .oGagi oe. Sidrarian: REPORT. To THE PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS oF HARVARD COLLEGE: — DuRING the past year we have had the advantage of occupy- ing our new quarters, and it is with no little satisfaction that I am able to report the complete success of the new organization. Our present facilities for the instruction of undergraduates, of advanced students, and of specialists, enable us to accomplish all that we expected. The additional room now at our command for our Library has greatly facilitated its care and final arrange- ment; the reading room is far in advance of our wants. ‘The Museum is now so fully equipped that its business of caring for the collections and giving instruction in Natural History can be carried on to great advantage. With ordinary foresight, we shall never hereafter fall back into the confusion which was almost a necessary preliminary to the present order. The orderly condition of the different departments now depends entirely upon the heads of the various branches and upon the instructors. The old roof has been changed to bday to that of the later additions, and the rooms thus obtained will be used for the storage of the Vertebrate Fossils, the dry- Mollusca, and the Crustacea. This arrangement will give excellent working- rooms for these three departments, and bring the collection of Vertebrate Fossils into close connection with that of Vertebrate Skeletons, which is stored in the adjoining rooms. The following annual courses of instruction have been given at the Museum : A course in Bibles by Biter Farlow and Faxon. A course in Cryptogamic Botany, by Professor Farlow. An advanced course in Zoology, by Professor Faxon. General Lectures were given by Dr. Mark, who also took charge of the new Embryological Laboratory, while Professor 4 Faxon took charge of the general Biological Laboratory, assisted by Mr. J. H. Perkins. Professor Shaler and Mr. Davis gave the usual courses in Geology, Paleontology, and Physical Geography. Prof. J. D. Whitney gave, as heretofore, a course in Economic Geology, Mr. Wadsworth assisting in a part of the course. The publications embodying original work carried on in the different departments, or based upon Museum materials, will be found enumerated in the special Reports. During the past summer the following persons pursued their studies at my Newport Laboratory : — Mr. Fewkes, one of the Museum Assistants, devoted his time principally to the Embryology of Siphonophores. Mrs. Whitman made good progress with her studies of the early stages of the Crab. Professor C. O. Whitman assisted me in the continuation of my investigation upon the early stages of Fishes, commenced the previous year. A preliminary notice of this work has been published, ‘* On the Development of some Pelagic Fish Eggs, by Alexander Agassiz and C. O. Whitman.” (Proc. Am. Acad., XX., pp. 52, 1 pl., August, 1884.) A special list of the Museum publications during the last Academic year is given in Appendix A of this Report. They consist of seven numbers of the Bulletin, and two numbers and two volumes of the Memoirs; the two complete volumes, on the Water Birds of North America, are in continuation of the publications of the California Geological Survey, in connection with Prof. J. D. Whitney. About six hundred volumes have been added to the Library of the Museum during the past year. Small collections of Vertebrate Fossils have been received from Wyoming and Kansas, but they have not yet been ex- amined carefully enough to enable me to report upon their value. A collection of alcoholic Invertebrates, destined for the At- lantic Exhibition Rooms, has been purchased from the Naples Zoological Station. It is in a remarkably perfect state of preservation. We have also received from Professor Lesquereux the Sollad: tion of fossil plants collected by Professor Lakes, principally 1 in Colorado, which had been sent to him for study. 3) Among other noteworthy acquisitions, I may mention a fine Pterodactyle from Solenhofen. The collection of North American Coleoptera bequeathed to the Museum by the late Dr. John L. Le Conte, has been sent to us by Mrs. Le Conte. Dr. George H. Horn, the life-long friend of Dr. Le Conte, was kind enough to superintend the packing and forwarding of this invaluable addition to our Entomo- logical Department. He himself accompanied the collection to Cambridge, and we owe to his interest the excellent condition in which it has reached us. The Europeo-Siberian Room is nearly ready for exhibition, and during the coming year the greater part of the faunal collec- tions of the African Room will probably be sent to the Museum by Prof. H. A. Ward. The exhibition cases of the Atlantic Room have made good progress during the past year. It will be impossible to do anything towards the arrangement of the Paleontological Exhibition Rooms until the whole of our Paleontological collections have been unpacked and passed through a preliminary examination. 2 The Museum collections have, during the past year, supplied materials to several specialists. A large part of the Blake col- lections are still in the hands of the naturalists, who have kindly undertaken the preparation of the Zodlogical Reports. As fast as the collections are returned, they have been distributed to those museums in this country and in Europe which give spe- cial attention to the study of Marine Faune. The Echini and Ophiurans, and a part of the Crustacea, have been thus dis- tributed. In the light of past experience, I look with no small concern to the future growth of the Museum. As collections accumz- late, additional room will be required for their storage, and new assistants for their care. The resources of the institution will surely soon be entirely inadequate for the maintenance of the Museum on the scale of its present growth, if the policy thus far pursued is continued. The future welfare of the establishment is secured by its permanent connection with the University. But its funds naturally share the cautious management of the College, and the present Director has seen the income of the Museum gradually diminish from $35,000 a year to about $25,000. Meanwhile the salaries of the assistants and other 6 employees have, with the greatest difficulty, been kept at about the same total as when our income was nearly one third larger. It is not to be expected that the public will take more than a very limited interest in the Museum, espe- cially as in this vicinity there are no less than three Natural History establishments, all having very similar aims. With the present tendency to specialization, it seems impracticable to carry on an immense Natural History collection without a staff of specialists far greater in number than any institution not backed by: government or by an immense endowment can ever hope to support. The present organization of the Museum is based upon the assumption that its resources will keep pace with the increased specialization of its different branches, and the attempt has been made to combine the work of assist- ants and that of original investigation. That officers’ positions cannot be maintained except in connection with the perma- nently endowed Professorships of the University, is becoming self-evident. No University, even if it be a great centre for Natural History, can maintain more than a limited number of endowed chairs; and if the professorial duties of their in- cumbents be not too arduous, a good amount of original work may be expected of them. Still, with the present tendericy of science, original work cannot be based mainly upon the collec- tions of a great museum. ‘The geologist and the zodlogist must both supplement their work in the field. With the requirements of to-day, collections can only supply materials for investi- gations of limited scope; and while undoubtedly many most interesting problems require large collections for their solution, the more important biological problems of the day require materials prepared for special purposes in the laboratories of the Universities. It is there that the influence of the teachers will be felt in the direction given to the work of their more ad- vanced students, and it should be the province of a University to foster this work by granting special facilities for it, as well as for the publication of these investigations. This the Museum is now prepared to do. | Laboratories for Biology and Geology — in their most ex- tended sense — have been erected for the University. They have now been occupied for a year, and their capacity for work depends entirely upon the means for their equipment placed meter 5 at the disposal of the various Professors connected with the Natural History departments, and upon the time they may have — left from their professorial duties for original research. ‘There is no department of the University which depends so little for its success upon the resources of the College, as the Natural History Department connected with the Museum. Beyond the salaries of the Professors and Instructors, there is practically nothing which is not provided for by the Museum in the way of work-rooms and laboratories. Their care, their heating, and the supply of the materials for the students, do not fall upon the University ; by far the greater part of the current publications in Natural History have for some time past been purchased by the Museum, and the publications issued under the auspices of the Museum provide the means for making known any investi- gation carried on in its laboratories. The museum assistant in charge of a special department must naturally, if the purpose for which large collections are brought together is carried out, spend the greater part of his time in preparing them for the specialist who is at some future time to avail himself of the treasures brought together for his benefit. There is, therefore, the same danger that an eminent specialist, after his appointment to the curatorship of a depart- ment of a great museum, will find his museum duties so arduous as to prevent him, as his colleague in the professorial chair has been prevented, by official work, from doing any original work. The main point for us and other directors of museums con- nected with educational institutions is to settle upon a policy which will in the end best promote the growth of a school of Natural History, while fostering original research in the occu- pants of the professorial chairs and in the assistants of the various departments. Since the foundation of this Museum the conditions for scien- tific research in this country have greatly changed. The general government has now undertaken, in connection with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, with the Geological Survey, with the National Museum, and with the United States Fish Commission, an amount of scientific investigation in various directions which makes it a mere waste of time for those not officially connected with these government establishments to undertake certain lines of work. Recognizing this, it becomes 8 at once apparent that it is a mere waste of time and money for us to continue accumulations of collections which will most certainly be duplicated at Washington or New York; and that, beyond a very limited appeal to the public in the collections placed on exhibition, we should expend our resources only in the direction of fostering such original work as may most effi- ciently be conducted by the Professors holding endowed chairs in our University. This can be best accomplished by a com- paratively small museum staff, provided the assistants necessary for laboratory instruction are supplied to the teachers, and they find time from their teaching to use the materials of this insti- tution as far as it is available. The function of a museum is without doubt to use its resources in the purchase and care of special collections, made by their owners at the cost of a great expenditure of time and money. Some of these collections, illustrating the past history of a district, frequently represent the work of a whole lifetime devoted by some specialist to a limited field, in which his collections have been brought to a ereat state of perfection; and in such collections the Museum is very rich in certain directions. I would name only the Dyer, Taylor, Gebhard, Day, and Walcott collections, among the American; and the Bronn, Shary, Konick, and Schultz, for the other side. The owners of such collections are anxious that all their work should not be scattered to the winds, and that the materials they have brought together should be kept as historical documents. iz In the care of geological and paleontological collections the difficulties of preserving them are inconsiderable, the cost is not excessive, and there are not many troublesome questions likely to arise beyond that of space. When, however, we come to zodlogical materials, the difficulties are great. As far as the collections placed on exhibition are concerned, their deteriora- tion is a mere question of time. The director of any museum must constantly replace his Birds and Mammals, renew the alcohol of his Fishes, Reptiles, and alcoholic Invertebrates, and renew all his Insects after a while. If the number of rooms devoted to the public is not too large, the expense seems warranted, if we are to judge of the interest taken as shown by the constantly increasing number of visitors on week-days as well as Sundays. It is when we come to the collections of a g perishable nature stored in the work-rooms devoted to special investigations that the cost of maintaining them may stagger the most enthusiastic collector. Do the results justify such large expenditures? While we recognize the importance of keeping intact the historical col- lections, and take it for granted that this function is totally distinct from that other function, which museums are supposed to perform, of supplying special investigators materials for their study, it seems to me, nowadays, unreasonable to expect this of any museum. No naturalist who wishes to study fishes, except as regards their synonymy, will expect to find in any establish- ment, no matter what its resources may be, the necessary mate- rials. He will be compelled to travel, to collect in the various fish-markets of the world, and to study his material on the spot. With the present facilities and the cost of travel, it would be far cheaper for an institution to supply the specialist with the neces- sary funds for such an investigation, if it be one of value and interest, than to go on for years spending in salaries of assist- ants, care of collections, interest on the cost of buildings, and so forth, sums of money which, if distributed to their ultimate object, would astonish the least prudent manager. Such accu- mulations of historical material are far too costly. The same sums spent.in a different direction, in promoting original inves- tigations in the field or in the laboratory, and in providing means for the publication of such original research, would do far more towards the promotion of natural history than our past methods of expending our resources. There are stored in the cellars of the Museum immense col- lections of Fishes and Reptiles which have never been of use to any one except the assistants in charge of them. A very large part of this material, collected and maintained at great expense, ceases after a time to be of value for scientific purposes, and every year we are obliged to throw away as absolutely worthless a large number of specimens which cannot even be used up as students’ material. One of the rooms in the cellar is filled with alcoholic Birds and Mammals, and with Vertebrate embryos, ma- terial which has become in a great degree useless for the purpose for which it was collected. The same may be said of the large alcoholic collections of Mollusks and of Crustacea. The latter, however, while perhaps not available for study, can hardly be 2 10 _ kept in a condition fit for examination in any other way. A large part of the collection of Radiates is likewise useless for any nice systematic work. The expense and care required for the maintenance of a large collection of Insects is well known; the incessant care of Dr. Hagen and his Assistant has alone kept ours from going to ruin, as so many other entomological collections have done, from their mere size. But its increase involves now an expenditure the Museum can ill afford. Of course, with ample funds and a large number of aids, there is no limit to the growth of an entomological department. Our ornithological collection and that of mammal skins can be kept within a reasonable expenditure from the method of storage adopted. The osteological collection, also, when once properly prepared, need not be a constant source of expense. The cost of maintaining such a collection as is now stored in the Museum has been for the past eight years at the rate of $24,000 a year, of which nearly $18,000 is for salaries. This is merely for the care and maintenance of the collection, and does not include the cost of placing any part of it on exhibition, or the cost of keeping those rooms open to the public. For these reasons I have gone somewhat into detail to point out what seems to me to be the true policy of the institution for the future, —to reduce its expenditures and staff to the strict minimum compatible with the care of collections, and to expend its resources in supplying the material, books, and speci- mens needed for original investigation by the Professors and students of Natural History in the University, to whom the Museum should furnish in addition, in part or in whole, the means of publication in its Bulletins and Memoirs. While we have no cause to regret the publications which have been issued in connection with the Museum, yet they do not represent suffi- ciently the original work done by the teaching staff of the University and their students. In addition, it should grant other specialists, properly qualified, all the facilities they may desire for the study of the Museum collections, consistent with — their safety. That this prospective analysis is not out of place will appear from the fact that, whenever the original plan of the Museum building is carried out, it does not provide for more room than is likely to be needed by the various laboratories of the special 11 departments of Natural History established hereafter, together with such collections as, even with the most rigorous sifting, each will accumulate. ‘The natural growth of comparative anatomy, ethnology, and archeology, and of the geological, geographical, and other biological departments, which will naturally centre in the Natural History square of the Univer- sity, will tax its capacity to the utmost, if they have in the future a growth at all commensurate with that of these depart- ments up to the present time. ALEXANDER AGASSIZ. CAMBRIDGE, October 1, 1884. REPORT ON THE GEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. By Jostau JD). Watney, Sturgis-Hooper Professor of Geology. Durine the year 1883-84 instruction was given by the Sturgis-Hooper Professor in Economical Geology, there being two lectures a week throughout the College year. The por- tion of the course relating to building-stones was given by Dr. Wadsworth. No instruction was given in lithology. Some field-work was done by the Professor and his Assistant in various parts of New England and New York, in continuation of preparations making for future publications. The collections in lithology have not, however, been materially enlarged during the year. A large portion of the time of the Sturgis-Hooper Professor has, during the year, been occupied with preparing for publica- tion, putting in type, and issuing an extensive illustrated work in Ornithology, “‘ The Water Birds of North America,” of which the text was prepared by Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, as a continuation of work begun by the Geological Survey of California, and continued in ** The Land Birds of North America,” by the same authors. The illustrations of the Water Birds, having been left unfinished at the time of the stoppage of the California Survey (1874), were completed at the expense of the present writer, and after considerable delay the manuscript was also made ready by the authors. This manuscript having been examined by Mr. J. A. Allen, at the request of the Cura- tor of the Museum, was strongly recommended by him for pub- lication in the Memoirs of this institution. This arrangement was agreed to by the Curator, under the expectation that a considerable part of the expense thus incurred would be reim- bursed to the Museum from the sale of copies to naturalists and sportsmen. ‘The first volume has been on sale for some time, 13 and the second and final one will be offered to the public, with both colored and uncolored figures, within a week. The work entitled “ The Azoic System and its Proposed Sub- divisions,” noticed in the last Report of the Sturgis-Hooper Professor as being put in type, has now been completed and issued. It closes the first volume of the geological series of the Bulletin. This work has occupied a large amount of the time of the joint authors during the past three or four years. This was natural and necessary, since the task undertaken demanded the careful examination of all that had been published in this country and in Canada in regard to the older crystalline rocks of North America. A considerable amount of field-work also had to be done, with reference to certain important questions raised in connection with the undertaking. Although the record, as displayed in this volume, is not very flattering to American geologists, it is thought that the work was a necessary one, and that its value will be more and more appreciated as the discussion of the subjects here brought forward is carried on. Another work of importance, begun by Dr. Wadsworth sev- eral years ago, has been so far carried towards completion that the first part, comprising about 250 pages, with eight chromo- lithographic plates, is now in type, and will be ready for dis- tribution within a week or two. This work, which is entitled ‘“‘ Lithological Studies, a Description and Classification of the Rocks of the Cordilleras,”’ forms the first part of Volume XI. of the Memoirs of the Museum. A few words,may here be introduced in reference to the scope of the volume which has been so long in preparation. The close of the California Survey left among the subjects demanding attention the classification and description of the collection of rocks which had been got together from every part of the Cordilleran region, including Mexico and Central America. To these collections were afterwards added others from various portions of the country, the whole making up a mass of material of very considerable extent and value. The task of describing this material was intrusted to Dr. Wadsworth, who had already begun those investigations upon the rocks of Eastern Massachusetts which have been of so much importance in throwing light upon the geology of that obscure and difficult region, | 14 At the time the work on the Cordilleran collections began, ‘The Natural System of Volcanic Rocks” of Richthofen, and | “ The Microscopical Petrography ” of the Fortieth Parallel Sur- vey, were generally accepted as guides to the lithology of more recent voleanic rocks occurring in this country, as well as the older eruptive ones. But as Dr. Wadsworth’s investigations progressed, it became evident that Richthofen’s system was defective in its basis, as well as too limited in its scope to be a satisfactory guide in arranging the Cordilleran rocks. More- over, it appeared, on carefully examining the collections of the Fortieth Parallel Survey and Professor Zirkel’s work thereon, that this work was replete with errors of detail of the gravest character; while its leading ideas, although in large part iden- tical with those of Richthofen, were at the same time decid- edly less philosophical in character. These facts required an abandonment of the Fortieth Parallel results; although such material furnished by that survey as was of value could be freely used in endeavoring to arrive at a more satisfactory classification. The results obtained by Dr. Wadsworth, so far as reached at that time were published by him in 1879, in the Bulletin of the Museum, under the title of * A Classification of Rocks.” . This paper led to much caustic public and private criticism, as well as efforts to interfere with the further prosecution of the inves- tigations. These criticisms, and the answers thereto, will be found in various papers published in the Proceedings of the Boston Natural History Society, from 1881 on. | The work of the geologists and lithologists of the United States Geological Survey, quite recently published, however, sustains in a remarkable manner the conclusions formulated in Dr. Wadsworth’s ‘ Classification of Rocks ”’; although — owing to the bitterness engendered at the time of the first publication of that paper, when it was almost universally believed to be false in its conclusions, as it was most decidedly in conflict with the results obtained by two learned and able German professors — the later investigators in this field have not acknowledged the priority of Dr. Wadsworth’s work, or given due credit to the Museum for the important results attained under its auspices. While, in carrying on the task thus undertaken, the same general direction of thought has been followed of which the 15 ‘¢ Classification of Rocks” is the exponent, Dr. Wadsworth has found it necessary to enter upon the discussion of other more general problems, so intimately connected with the subject in hand that they could not well be left unexamined. Among these problems were, Ist, the nature and origin of the older erystalline rocks ; 2d, the structure and condition of the earth’s interior ; 3d, the nature and origin of meteorites; and 4th, the nature and composition of the rocks more basic than the basalts. The investigation of the first mentioned of these topics led to the publication of * Notes on the Iron and Copper Districts of Lake Superior,” as well as of numerous smaller papers, and finally to a work of larger scope — already mentioned — the joint production of the Sturgis-Hooper Professor and his As- sistant, and entitled, “* The Azoic System, and its Proposed Subdivisions.” The results of the examination of the second subject mentioned above were published in a communication which appeared in the American Naturalist; while the ques- tions coming under the head of the third and fourth topics enumerated above were discussed in papers already noticed in previous Reports, and in others indicated in the list here appended. ; Dr. Wadsworth’s work on the Cordilleran collections began with the basaltic, andesitic, trachytic, and rhyolitic rocks; but it has seemed best to refrain from publishing these results until the more basic forms could be studied. Owing to the limited amount of material of the last-mentioned kind in the Museum collections, it became necessary to study the work of others, and unite the results thus obtained with those reached by the aid of our own collections, and the result is, that in systematically arranging the whole mass of material for publication, it has been found best to divide the proposed volume into three portions, as follows : — 1st. A general discussion of the principles of the work, and a study of the groups more basic than the basalts. 2d. The basalts and andesites. 3d. The trachytes, rhyolites, and jaspilites. The chief portion of the second division of the work has been lying in manuscript since 1879, and the first part is, as already mentioned, nearly ready for delivery. 16 List oF PAPERS PUBLISHED BY Dr. WADSWORTH DURING THE YEAR. 1. The Fortieth Parallel Rocks. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat., 1883, XXII. 412-432. 2. On the Evidence that the Earth’s Interior is Solid. American Naturalist, 1884, XVIII. 587-594, 678-686, 767-773. 8. Lithology of some Cordilleran Volcanoes. Ibid., pp. 526-528. 4, Methods of Instruction in Mineralogy. Pop. Sci. Monthly, 1884, XXIV. 754-759. 5. Descriptive Catalogue of One Hundred Thin Sections of Ameri- can and Foreign Rocks, for the Use of Students of Microscopical Lithology. 20 pp. 6. Notes on the Rocks and Ore Deposits in the Vicinity of Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland. Am. Jour. Sci., 1884, (3), XXVIII. 94-104. 7. A Microscopic Study of some South Wales Rocks. Trans. Am. Inst. Mining Engineers, 1883, XI. 499-501. 8. The Theories of Ore Deposits. The Nation, Feb. 7, 1884. 9. The Lateral Secretion Theory of Ore Deposits. Eng. and Mining Journal, 1884, XX XVII. 364, 365. 10. Résumé of the “Mineral Resources of the United States.” Science, 1883, II. 418, 414. 11. The Maine Building Stones. Ibid., pp. 771, 772. 12. The Olivine Rocks of North Carolina. Ibid., III. 486, 487. 13. The Relation of the “Keweenawan Series” to the “ Eastern Sandstone.” Ibid., p. 553. 14. Parallel Dey elopment of Personal Names and of Natural His- tory Nomenclature. Ibid., IV. 109, 110. 15. Some United States Geologists and the ihe aa Question. Ibid. ps Ts 17 REPORT ON THE INSTRUCTION IN BIOLOGY. By Proressors W. G. Farrow, WattTerR Faxon, anp E. L. Marx. THE course in the elements of Biology (N. H. 5), given by Professors Farlow and Faxon, was attended by thirty-two stu- dents, —ten members of the Senior College Class, fifteen Ju- niors, one Sophomore, four students of the Lawrence Scientific School, and two special students. The instruction was given by lectures and laboratory work, six hours a week being devoted by each student to the laboratory. For the first half-year, the botanical part of the course was given by Professor Farlow. During the second half-year, the principles of zodlogy were taught by means of dissection of forms of animals typical of the chief groups, and by lectures on their anatomy and development. Mr. G. W. Perkins assisted in the direction of the laboratory work of this course. The larger space and increased facilities for work afforded by the new laboratory relieved the instructors from the necessity of dividing the class into sections for work- ing at different hours, as was necessary in the old laboratory. The ample provision for heating the laboratory made it possible to continue the microscopical work through the whole winter without interruption. This has not been the case in previous years, when, during severe weather, it was necessary to abandon work with the microscope, and dissections, and to substitute lectures in their place. The certainty that the laboratory will hereafter always be comfortably warmed will enable the in- structors to arrange their lectures and corresponding laboratory work more methodically than heretofore. The course in Advanced Zodlogy was pursued by fifteen students, —ten Seniors, four Juniors, and one member of the Scientific School. The early part of the year was spent on the Mollusca; but the greater part of the time was devoted to the comparative anatomy of the Vertebrata. 3 18 During the second term instruction was given to Natural History 7 in Professor Farlow’s own working-room at the Museum. ‘This was necessary in consequence of lack of facili- ties for illustrating the study of cryptogams at the Botanic Garden. Hereafter, however, this class will be furnished with a room in Harvard Hall, thus leaving Professor Farlow’s room free for the arrangement of collections, and such work as may be done by persons doing special work in cryptogamic botany. During the academic year 1883-84 the general lectures in Zoology by Dr. Mark were given for the first time in the new lecture-room at the Museum, which affords ample accommoda- tion for even larger classes than those of the past few years. The course was attended by one hundred and eleven students, of whom one hundred ‘and four were in attendance during the whole year, and seven for somewhat more than half the year. Of those who completed the course twenty-three were Seniors, thirty-four Juniors, thirty-eight Sophomores, one Freshman, four special students, and four Scientific School students. Professor Mark has given assistance during the year to two students engaged in special zoological investigations. The work of one of them, an undergraduate, is not yet completed. The other person, to whom the privileges of the Museum. were extended by the Curator, has produced a paper which is now in press, and will soon appear in the Proceedings of the American Academy: “On the Anatomy and Histology of ries vagus. By J. E. Reighard.” The new Foulacical Laboratory affords excellent facilities for the prosecution of the more delicate histological and embryologi- cal studies, and has been found by a year’s trial to meet every essential requirement of such a work-room. | The paper previously reported as prepared last year, by William Patten, has recently been published with some addi- tions, in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, Lon- don, Vol. XXIV., 1884. v) CA wh . .= 1 REPORT ON GEOLOGY AND PALAONTOLOGY. By Pror. N. §..SHALER. Dourine the academic year 1883-84 the following courses of instruction was given in the Geological and Paleontological Laboratory by N. 8. Shaler and William’M. Davis: — 1. (N. H. 1.) A course in Physical Geology and Meteorology, by W. M. Davis, three hours a week. Attended by forty-one students. 2. (N. H. 4.) A course in Elementary Geology, by N. S. Shaler, two lectures a week, and one day of field excursion during the time when field-work was possible. Attended by one hundred and five students. 3. (N. H. 8.) A course in Advanced Geology, by N. S. Shaler and W. M. Davis, two lectures each week, together with assigned field- work, which was conducted by Mr. Davis. In the winter season this field-work was replaced by the study of models and geological reports in the laboratory. This course was attended by forty-five students, who had previously passed a satisfactory examination in elementary geology. 4. (N. H. 14.) A course in Paleontology, by N.S. Shaler, two lectures each week, with laboratory work, principally in the Synoptic Room of the Museum, and also with assigned theses. Attended by fifteen students. 5. (N. H. 16.) 4 fe th Hae mii eaeahan Piel star ta et a Sex oe