(2 4 2 ) 



eers of the Park Department engaged in construction work 

 on the grounds and buildings, previously accomodated in 

 one of the east basement rooms, have recently been given 

 temporary quarters by placing a movable partition in the 

 western end of this west basement hall. 



All the work of preparation, mounting and arranging 

 museum and herbarium specimens, other than fossil plants, 

 has now been brought into basement rooms at the east end of 

 the building; the stock of back numbers of publications, 

 now become quite bulky, but of great value for exchanges, 

 has been stacked and arranged in another of the east base- 

 ment rooms. 



No new construction work has been done in the museums 

 on either the first or second floor ; both floors urgently 

 require additional cases for the display of the constantly 

 increasing collections, and it is hoped that these may be 

 forthcoming during the year, through the additional appro- 

 priation for construction, asked by the Commissioner of Parks 

 from the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on Nov. 

 25, 1901. 



The silk shades placed in the upper parts of the windows 

 of the second floor under the original contract for the con- 

 struction of the building, have proven to be of poor material ; 

 they have faded and many of them have decayed. They 

 are now being replaced by stout cambric shades. 



Additional construction work on the third floor includes the 

 building of a wall-case for the valuable collection of old 

 microscopes presented by Mr. C. F. Cox, and of another for 

 the collection of photographic negatives; these were made 

 by our own carpenters, placed in the laboratories and their 

 contents arranged for ready reference. Twelve table-desks 

 for the laboratories built specially for the purpose, after a 

 design by Dr. MacDougal were added to the equipment in 

 May. The ordering of these was alluded to in my last an- 

 nual report, as well as of additional shelves for the book- 

 cases in the library stackroom, which were supplied in May. 

 The desirability of shelving the walls of the library reading 



