15 



CUSTODIAN'S REPORT. 



Mr. President, Directors and Members of 



the Society: 



Another year has passed, and the work 

 of the Worcester i-satural History So- 

 ciety is still broadening. There has been ev- 

 idence of this throughout the year, but 

 more especially in the springtime. Teach- 

 ers seem to be awakening to the fact that 

 for the children to see what they study 

 about in natural histoiy, is a great help. 

 During the past year several teachers have 

 brought classes of children to the Muse- 

 um. Pupils from the kindergarten, prim- 

 ary, intermediate, grammar, and even 

 those from the High Schools have benefited 

 much from the collection of this society. 

 Teachers and pupils and ot^er students 

 have been helped in special lines of study 

 and investigation, and in many cases 

 shells, minerals, flowers, birds' nests and 

 insects have been identified. 



In the spring of 1899 the classes were 

 continued through June, Mr. Parker's bird 

 class meeting on Mondays; Miss Trum- 

 bull's botany class on Fridays; the chil- 

 dren's bird class with Mrs. Freeman once 

 a week; and the children's botany class, 

 with Miss Dewhurst, Wednesdays and 

 Saturdays. May 2d and 9th Miss Sarah 

 Avcrill gave two very interesting and in- 

 structive lectures on "Cross Fertilization." 

 May 25th Prof. Joseph Perry delivered a 

 second lecture on the "Geology of Worces- 

 ter." This completed the course of eight 

 lectures given by four English High 

 School teachers, the others being spoken 

 of in detail in the last report. 



August 19th the Museum was closed for 

 two weeks. The wild flowers exhibited 

 up to that time showed a total record of 

 336. September 5th the Museum was 

 opened with an exhibition of fall flowers 

 and fruits, numbering 75 varieties. This 

 was continued until the middle of Octo- 

 ber, when a fine collection of pressed spec- 

 imens of Worcester County trees and 

 shrubs was displayed. 



The fall classes began November 16th, 

 when Dr. John M. Bemis met those inter- 



ested in forming a class in Elementary 

 Biology. November 20th Mr. Braman's 

 class in Mineralogy held its first meeting. 

 Both of these classes continued to meet 

 once a week through the winter. They 

 were well attended by interested students, 

 who expressed their appreciation of the 

 work done and regretted when the last 

 meetings were held. Miss Edith Barnes 

 of NorLhboro was given the use of the lec- 

 ture-room for a private class in Mosses. 

 The first meeting was Feb. 21st, and the 

 class continued once a week for ten 

 weeks. 



During the month of January there 

 was a display of the common minerals and 

 rocks of the world. These were to illus- 

 trate Crosby's work. In February the 

 fossils belonging to the carboniferous pe- 

 riod were shown. In connection with 

 these, Prof. Perry's recently-found speci- 

 men of Lepidodendron acuminatum oc- 

 cupied a conspicuous place, also photo- 

 graphs of that found by him sixteen years 

 ago. In March the corals made a beau- 

 tiful exhibition. These special displays 

 attracted the attention and consideration 

 of a good number. 



The spring classes of 1900 began 

 Monday, March 26th, when the adult bird 

 class held its first meeting with Mr. Wen- 

 dell P. Parker. The attendance of this 

 class has shown that the interest in bird 

 study is steadily increasing. There were 

 ten lecture meetings and a few field out- 

 ings. At the indoor meetings each week, 

 new bird arrivals were reported, also nests 

 and eggs. Mr. Parker's lectures were 

 planned accordingly, the diff'ereut bird 

 families being fully discussed as soon as 

 they were well represented by migi*ants 

 and summer residents. Friday, March 

 30th, the adult botany class held its first 

 meeting with Miss Arabella H. Tucker. 

 The course of ten lectures given by Miss 

 Tucker was thoroughly appreciated. They 

 were entertaining and interesting, popular, 

 yet very instructive. Bits of literature 

 were woven in now and then. After each 



