1885.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 417 



whose services I have been again enabled to avail mvself of during 

 the summer months. The entries have been made on cards of 

 the best quality manufactured for the purpose by the American 

 Library Bureau. They are perforated near the middle of the 

 lower, margin and will be held in their places in drawers or trays 

 by rods, thus avoiding the possibility of accidental disarrange- 

 ment. The chance of such an accident has made it inadvisable 

 to open for general use the present catalogue, which is complete 

 to date, as the cards are arranged in drawers without guards, and 

 any confusion of the alphabetical arrangement would make it 

 worse than useless. 



A shelf catalogue has also been commenced. This consists of 

 the briefest author and title entries of the books as the}* are at 

 present numbered and placed in the cases. This will be a neces- 

 sity- of library administration when the card catalogue is alone in 

 use for reference, as without it a great expenditure of time would 

 be necessary to determine what books may be lost or misplaced. 



I regret to say that for the same reason as that noted last 

 year — lack of means — no books have been bound since my last 

 report. The necessity for binding some of our accumulations 

 has, however, become so great that during the coming year a 

 portion of the income of the I. V. Williamson Fund will lie ap- 

 propriated for the binding of books credited to said fund. 



A detailed list of accessions is herewith submitted. 



Edw. J. Nolan, 



Librarian. 



REPORT OF THE CURATORS. 



The Curators present the following statement from the 

 Curator-in-charge, Prof. Angelo Heilprin, as their report for the 

 year ending November 30 : 



During the past ) r ear, as in preceding }-ears, much of the work 

 accomplished' in the Museum has been voluntary — this more 

 especially in the departments of Conchology and Botan}', to the 

 special conservators of which the Academy feels itself under 

 lasting obligation. A similar obligation attaches to the labors 

 of the conservator of the Mineralogical department covered by 

 the Win. S. Vaux trust, a special report pertaining to which has 



28 



