STUDIES ON MUSEUMS AND KINDRED INSTITUTIONS. 395 



York was establish<»d. This s^urvey at that time embraced entomology 

 and botany within its scope. In 1857, jointly with the New York 

 State Agricultural Society, a buildinj^ was erected for the grow- 

 ing collections and called the Geological and Agricultural Hall. In 

 1870 it received the name State Museum of Natural History. It is 

 now called the New York State Museum. In the course of years the 

 space became inadccjuate, so that a portion of the great paleontological 

 collection had to be placed in the old State House, the entomological, 

 botanical, and ethnological collection in the capitol; but a great new 

 building is planned for the State librar}^, which will also accommodate 

 the museum collections until a special building shall become necessary 

 for them also. There is a prospect that the plan will soon be carried 

 out, since present conditions are untenable. 



The annual l)udget amounts to $40,000. The director is State geol- 

 ogist. There is also a State paleontologist, a State entomologist, and 

 a State botanist. Each of these has one assistant, and there are also 

 six other employees. In summer, however, a large number of per- 

 sons, mostl}^ young scientists, are appointed in the geological surve3^ 

 The collections are open dail}' except Sunday from 9 a. ra. to 5 p. m. 



The State museum and the geological and natural history survey 

 have published since 1842: Natural Histor}' of New York, 30 quarto 

 volumes on zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology, agriculture, pale- 

 ontology (mainly), with man}" plates and maps; annual museum reports 

 since 1889; geologist's annual reports since 1881; botanist's anunal 

 reports since 1869; entomologist's annual reports since 1882; seven 

 volumes of museum bulletins, in 34 numbers, since 1887; three vol- 

 umes of museum memoirs since 1889; an economical and geological 

 map of the State in two editions, and some handbooks, such as: 5, New 

 York State Museum (28 pages); 13, Paleontology (8 pages); 15, Guide 

 to Excursions (120 pages); IB, Entomology (12 pages); 17, Geology. 

 All these valuable publications relate onl^' to things found in the State 

 of New York, and are to-day even more zealously continued. Since 

 1836 more than $1,500,000 has been expended on the geological survey. 



The nuiseum is a provincial museum in the best sense of the word, 

 which in its way reminds one of the Stuttgart Provincial Museum. 

 Its most renowned constituent part is the great geological and paleon- 

 tological collection of James Hall, for many years State geologist, who 

 had already in the eighties sold a portion of his private possessions, 

 the collection of type specimens, to the American Museum of Natural 

 History in New York for the sum of $68,725, and whose property left 

 at his death, especially rich in fossil invertebrates, will perhaps be 

 purchased for the State museum for $60,000. Since the exhibition 

 will not be maintained nnich longer in the overcrowded main museum 

 and in the other buildings mentioned, I call particular attention only 

 to the excellent order prevailing throughout, and mention as especially 

 belonging to the j)i-()vin('i:\l collection the great transparent grindings 



