in Ranger Brook Canyon and to conduct a reconnaissance of the pre-Devonian formations to the Northwest as far as the headwaters of the North Fork of the Saskatchewan River, Alberta.

The field season was an unusually unfavorable one for geological work. During the three months in the field 35 days were stormy, 28 cloudy and cold, and snow fell on 20 days in August and September. As a result, not more than one-third of the work planned was accomplished before the party was driven back to the railroad by heavy snows.

On our way north we crossed over Pipestone Pass and down the Siffleur River. Clearwater River heads in glacial gravels on the east side of the Siffleur about 2 miles north of Pipestone Pass. Twenty-five miles farther to the northwest at the point where the south branch (Mistaya Creek), the middle branch (Howse River), and the north branch unite to form the Saskatchewan River there are some beautiful and instructive views of the surrounding mountains. The Mount Forbes massif on the left is a superb mountain mass and in the distant center is Division Mountain at the head of Glacier Lake Canyon which we visited in 1919, on the right Survey Peak and beyond two unnamed points. The Glacier Lake section of the pre-Devonian and Upper Cambrian formations was studied on the northern slopes of the Mount Forbes massif.

Twelve miles northeast of Mount Forbes the cliffs of Mount Murchison rise high above the dark forested slopes and present a view of the Devonian and pre-Devonian formations that is unequaled in all this region of peaks, cliffs, and broad canyon valleys. Opposite Mount Murchison on the north side of the Saskatchewan, Mount Wilson presents another section of the pre-Devonian formations, the upper end of which is a massive white quartzite formed of the sands of the beaches over which the Devonian Sea deposited a thick layer of calcareous sediments abounding in the remains of corals and various invertebrates of the time. On the west, Mount Wilson rises directly above the North Fork of the Saskatchewan, which here flows through a narrow picturesque inner canyon.

PALEONTOLOGICAL FIELD WORK IN THE UNITED STATES.

Dr. R. S. Bassler, curator of the division of paleontology in the National Museum, was occupied during the field season in collecting geologic material and in mapping and studying the economic resources of the Franklin quadrangle in Williamson County, Tenn., in cooperation with the Geological Survey of that State. This region is of considerable economic interest on account of the phosphate and oil shale possibilities. The numerous outcrops of Ordovician and later Paleozoic formations contain a great number of fossils,

and Doctor Bassler was able to make a considerable collection of these needed for the Museum study series. He also secured several large exhibition specimens illustrating various geological phenomena, among these being a large mass of limestone composed entirely of the dismembered calices and columns of a large species of erinoid or sea lily in which the individual fragments are perfectly preserved and admirably illustrate the formation of a limestone through the accumulation of this type of animal remains.

An interesting stratigraphic observation was made on the efficacy of the coral reefs of the Ordovician in rock formation. A massive limestone bed about 15 feet thick, representing a middle Ordovician formation, here contains but a single coral reef, but within 10 miles the number of intercalated coral reefs has so increased that the formation attains a thickness of over 250 feet.

In April Mr. C. W. Gilmore, associate curator of vertebrate paleontology, was authorized to undertake a trip into New Mexico "for the purpose of making collections of geological material for the National Museum and determining the advisability of preserving certain lands in northern New Mexico for national monumental purposes." Mr. Gilmore was obliged to report that—

Since the many square miles of "bad lands" surrounding the reserved area are equally fossiliferous and in places present much more favorable territory for the recovery of fossil remains than any observed within the boundaries of the monument, and also since the greater part of these surrounding areas lie within Pueblo grants, over which Federal control has been relinquished, there would be no advantage in retaining governmental control of so small a part of the area as is represented in the proposed monument.

Mr. Gilmore did, however, find a contiguous fossiliferous area in the Santa Clara Pueblo grant and secured for the Museum a wellpreserved skull and other bones of a small rhinoceros, and, in an adjoining Pojoaque Pueblo area, remains of an extinct camel. The most promising area for collecting would appear to lie within land grants over which the Government has at present no control.

In January, this same year, Mr. J. W. Gidley, assistant curator of this division, was authorized, in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey, to conduct field explorations in the San Pedro and Sulphur Springs Valleys of southern Arizona, and on the completion of this work to visit the La Brea asphalt deposits of southern California, and from there go to Agate, in Nebraska, for the purpose of securing other exhibition material. The work in Arizona was eminently successful, Mr. Gidley shipping some 24 boxes having an aggregate weight of 5,000 pounds. The bulk of this collection he reports, represents "a practically new Pliocene fauna containing about 60 vertebrate species, most of which are mammalian."

BOTANICAL EXPEDITION TO THE ORIENT.

As noted in last year's report, Dr. A. S. Hitchcock, custodian of the section of grasses of the National Museum, visited the Orient under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture for the purpose of collecting and studying grasses, especially the bamboos. As the specimens collected come to the National Museum, it will not be out of place to here mention briefly Doctor Hitchcock's work. The trip occupied about eight months, ending in December, 1921, and the regions visited included the Philippines, Japan, China, and IndoChina.

Japan is not very favorable for the collecting of grasses, as it is mostly a forested region and there is comparatively little open country. The bamboos were of interest, as there are many species. In the Lake Hakone region the hills were covered for miles with a single species of bamboo (Arundinaria chino), 4 to 8 feet high, often to the exclusion of everything else.

China, on the other hand, was very rich in grasses. One of the surprises of the trip was to find so much open grass land in a country that is said to be very thickly populated. The cities of China are very much crowded and the valley lands are intensively cultivated, but the hills are unoccupied and almost unused. This is in striking contrast to our own western regions where, except in national forests and other protected areas, the grass lands are extensively grazed. The basic reason for this condition in China appears to be the risk from bandits. The valley lands can be protected but the hills are open to the attack of robbers.

The expendition was very successful, and a large and valuable collection of grasses was brought back. The technical results of the work will be published later by the Department of Agriculture or the National Herbarium of the National Museum.

AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITION.

Through the generosity of Dr. W. L. Abbott, Mr. Charles M. Hoy continued his work of collecting for the Museum specimens of the very interesting fauna of Australia. The work was terminated during the winter and Mr. Hoy returned to the United States in May, 1922. The results of this expedition are of especial value for two reasons: First, the Australian fauna has heretofore been but scantily represented in the Museum, and, second, the remarkable fauna of that continent is rapidly being exterminated through various causes. The specimens received during the year bring the total up to 1,179 mammals, including series of skeletal and embryological material; 928 birds, with 41 additional examples in alcohol; and smaller collections of reptiles, amphibians, insects, marine specimens, etc.

For assistance and courtesies extended to Mr. Hoy while in Australia the Smithsonian Institution wishes to make grateful acknowledgment to the authorities of the Australian Museum, Sydney; the Queensland Museum, Brisbane; the South Australian Museum, Adelaide; the West Australian Museum and Art Gallery, Perth; and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart; also and particularly to Dr. Charles Hedley and Dr. Charles Anderson, of Sydney; Harry Burrell, Esq., of Kensington, New South Wales; and Capt. S. W. White of Fulham, South Australia.

BIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

Dr. W. L. Abbott, whose generosity in years past has enabled the Institution to take advantage of many opportunities in biological and other explorations, himself visited during the year the Dominican Republic, working in both the Samana Peninsula and the region lying between Sanchez (at the head of Samana Bay) and Puerto Plata, on the north coast. Having visited this region before, he was able to select new and interesting localities for collecting.

Doctor Abbott's work included botanical, zoological, and ethnological collecting, and the specimens sent in to the National Museum will go far toward completing the various series representing this region. Some 4,000 plants were collected, of which about 20 per cent were ferns. The ethnological material, including aboriginal Indian pottery and idols, is of great interest and has been described and figured in the annual pamphlet on the explorations and field work of the Institution.

ENTOMOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO ALASKA.

Dr. J. M. Aldrich, associate curator of insects in the National Museum, spent several weeks during the field season collecting insects in Alaska. The Government railroad from the southern coast to Fairbanks, now nearing completion, offered an opportunity for travel not heretofore existing, and it was felt that it was important to know more about the insect fauna of this great region in view of the fact that the population will undoubtedly increase with the completion of the railroad. Regarding his work, Doctor Aldrich says:

The expedition resulted in the accession of about 10,000 specimens of Alaska insects, nearly all from the interior region. As far as they have been studied up to the present time they indicate three somewhat distinct faunal regions in the territory covered.

First, the maritime fauna consisting of the insects living upon the seashore and depending upon the ocean for necessary conditions of existence. Insects of this group extend down the coast, in many cases as far as the

State of Washington and some even so far as San Francisco, while it is presumed that they would also be found more or less in the Asiatic side of Bering Sea.

The second element is that of the humid mountain region along the coast; a considerable part of this fauna extends to Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and in less degree to other mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The relation of this element to the Asiatic fauna is very little known.

The third element of the Alaska fauna, as far as observed, is that of the dry interior and especially of the Yukon Valley, which has many elements in common with northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, Ontario, the Adirondack Mountains of New York, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Many of the insects of this group also occur in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and no doubt further exploration will show that they occur in other mountains of the western United States. Those which represent a more northern range also reappear in Labrador collections and presumably extend across North America, although we have no collections from intermediate points. This element contains many species known from Finland and the Scandinavian Peninsula in Europe, presumably extending in their distribution across Russia and Siberia.

In most orders of insects Alaska has a comparatively large fauna. There are very numerous species of the two-winged flies, or Diptera; and from Doctor Aldrich's long experience with this group he naturally paid special attention to collecting in this order.

Bumblebees and wasps are conspicuous insects everywhere on flowers; and in the absence of darkness bumblebees were observed to work as late as 10:30 at night in Fairbanks. Grasshoppers were strikingly scarce, only two species being found and in all but half a dozen specimens. Mosquitoes in the interior are exceedingly abundant, as is well known. Especial attention was given to them in collecting, and two species previously undescribed were among the material brought back. It appears, however, that the most troublesome species are the same ones which occur in somewhat less numbers in the Pacific Northwest in occasional favorable localities. Horseflies are very numerous in the region at Fairbanks, where they are commonly called mooseflies, since the moose is more common than the horse.

The exploration of Alaska, especially the interior, from an entomological point of view, is important in itself and also forms a link in the study of a much broader problem-that of the entire Holarctic fauna which extends almost continuously around the globe in the vicinity of the Arctic Circle. It is a matter of great scientific interest to determine how much of this northern fauna is the same in the New World as in the Old, and also to determine how much of the fauna farther south, as, for instance, in the United States, has been derived from this northern region. It is hoped that opportunity will arise to carry this exploration much farther, not only in Alaska, where as yet only a beginning has been made, but also in other northern regions, as, for instance, Labrador, Greenland, and Siberia.

THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN TROPICAL AMERICA.

The recently organized Institute for Research in Tropical America, of which the Smithsonian Institution is a member, is hoping to establish a research station in Panama. Such a station when properly equipped will serve as a center for the prosecution of research upon problems in tropical biology and agriculture, and as a center from which biological explorations can be made.