yo Boston Society of Natural History 



the Library, which now includes sets of the publications of the 

 world's learned societies extending back over many years. The 

 second chief source of books in the Library has been through the 

 generous gift of members and friends who have from time to time 

 made valuable donations or have bequeathed their private libraries. 

 There are many such, as in 1845, a gift of fifty volumes from Dr. 

 Francis Boott of London; the bequest, in 1855, of the library of 

 James Brown, who, long a generous benefactor, left to the Society 

 his splendid collection of expensive works on birds ; the fine library 

 of Amos Binney, a former president of the Society, was donated by 

 his widow; and in 1803 came similarly the large botanical library 

 of Benjamin D. Greene, comprising over fifteen hundred volumes. 

 In its earlier years, too, came the help received from an organization 

 known as" A Republican Institution," which, inl849, not only gave 

 the Society the use of income from one-half of its fund of $2,500 

 for buying books, but later deposited in the Society's Library its 

 other books on travel and Natural History. When in 18G4-, Samuel 

 H. Scudder became Librarian, he devoted great energy to increas- 

 ing the number of exchanges, and during a visit to Europe did much 

 to perfect the series of publications thus received. At his death he left 

 his wonderful private library of entomological works to the Society. 

 More than any one else he was the means of putting the Library in 

 the high place it now holds. His work has been continued by his suc- 

 cessors, and his generous example has been followed, so that al- 

 though the amount of money annually spent for books has been 

 very small, the exchanges and bequests received have sufficed to 

 keep our standard high. Yet more and more, with the annual in- 

 crease of literature and the growing demands for binding, it be- 

 comes difficult to keep pace with bare necessities. 



The Library is devoted to Natural History in its wider sense and 



