SYNOPSIS OF PROCEEDINGS. 265 



of our members will cooperate with the Finance Committee to this 

 end, sufficient funds could be raised to place the Academy on a sound 

 financial basis and secure for it its just position as one of the important 

 educational factors in the State. 



The community at large does not realize the educational value of 

 this organization. The late Prof. G. Brown Goode of Washington, 

 in his annual report for 1895 o" museums, .says: " The degree of civ- 

 ilization to which any nation, city or province has attained is best 

 shown by the character of its public museums and the liberality with 

 which they are maintained." Permit me for a moment to remind you 

 and the public in general that we are an organization not for self- 

 aggrandizement or glorification, but exist, in the words of our consti- 

 tution, for the purpose of " the increase and diffusion of knowledge of 

 the natural sciences by the establishment of a museum, the reading and 

 publication of original papers, and other suitable means." In the 

 twenty-nine years of our life as an Academy much has been done to 

 make good our claim to a more generous consideration by the public. 

 We have an enviable reputation among scientists and scientific institu- 

 tions of Europe, Australia, and America. In furtherance of the objects 

 of our organization a course of training should be arranged to coop- 

 erate with that of the public schools. A rearrangement of case speci- 

 mens should be made so as to provide for two classes of users, the 

 public and students in science, the specimens for study to be removed 

 under proper surveillance, while specimens for public view should not 

 be handled. We have a standing committee for each of the various 

 departments of science represented. Our By-Laws provide that they 

 shall assist the Curator in arranging donations and deposits in the 

 several departments. It should be made obligatory on those being 

 honored by such appointments to give a small working interest to the 

 museum needs and to make written reports on the condition of their 

 departments. If this small amount of necessary time cannot be given 

 to this work, would it not be better to abandon the museum committee? 



We have been greatly favored the past year by two very interesting 

 and important donations to our museum. The statement was made a 

 year ago that one of its great needs was a mummy. One of our 

 Vice-Presidents, Mr. C. Ficke, when about to start on his Eastern 

 trip, intimated that this want might be filled. He was, therefore, 

 promptly provided with the necessary credentials to the famous Boulaak 

 Museum at Cairo, Egypt, through which he secured the fine specimen 

 of mummy and case, from the 20th dynasty, which he generously pre- 

 sented as a gift to the Academy. This young woman of royal blood, 

 who has been carefully deposited in a glass case modeled after those 

 in the Field Columbian Museum, adds much to the interest of visitors. 



With the Peary expedition to Greenland, the past year, was a life- 

 member of the Academy, Mr. George R. Putnam of the U. S. Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey. He was granted leave of absence to accom- 

 pany the expedition in the interest of science for the Massachusetts 



