10 [Agsembly 



In my preceding report, I have called your attention to the cata- 

 logues accompanying the thirty-fifth report on the State Museum, and 

 the desirableness of having some extra copies of these catalogues for 

 distribution to persons engaged in similar departments of science, 

 and for annotations by the Museum staff, and by employees or 

 friends of the Museum. The reports are, I believe, all stereotyped, 

 . and the expense of such copies would be very small. 



It has been my desire to have complete catalogues of the contents 

 of the Museum in its several departments ; but with our limited 

 staff, and absence of clerical assistance, it has not been possible to 

 accomplish the work farther than has been shown in the successive 

 reports. These catalogues of the thirty-fifth to thirty -eighth reports 

 will be extremely useful in the preparation of a final catalogue of the 

 Museum collections ; and I would recommend the pre])aration of 

 catalogues of the specimens in other departments of the Museum. 



Owing to the necessity of completing the volumes upon Paleon- 

 tology, the preparation of a bulletin on the fossil Lamellibranchiata, 

 which was proposed two years since, has been delayed. From the same 

 cause no farther progress has been made toward the publication of 

 the Dictyospongidiie, the illustrations of which were brought before 

 you last year. It is desirable that the lithographing of the illustra- 

 tions be proceeded with, since a considerable time will be required to 

 accomplish this part of the work ; and more especially, I would urge 

 this course since the descriptions of all the known species of the 

 family are already printed in the thirty-fifth report. 



I have appended to this report a statement of the space now occu- 

 pied, and an estimate of the space required, for the collections and 

 offices of the State Museum of Natural History, as the same existed 

 in 1883. This, although communicated for the use of the Trustees 

 at that time, has not been printed. I communicate the statement at 

 this time, since it may be useful to have the same in print, for fu- 

 ture reference and comparison. 



In the last annual report of the Director, reference was made to 

 the exhibit of the State of New York at the New Orleans Exposition. 

 The collection for this purpose, consisting of ores, minerals, building 

 stones, slates, and other natural products of the State, was made in 

 months of October and November, 1884, under the direction and 

 supervision of the Director of the Museum, and nearly all of the 

 material was obtained by Mr. Chas. E. Hall, who visited mines, 

 quarries and mineral localities for this purpose, making large collec- 

 tions himself, and receiving donations from many gentlemen inter- 

 ested. The whole was made without cost to the Museum, except- 

 < ing the time given to it by the Director. At the close of the 

 Exposition a large part of the whole collection was donated to 

 the Tulaue University in New Orleans, and also some portions to 

 the University of Louisiana. To the former, among other material, 

 was given the rock-column representmg the geological formations of 

 the State of New York. The remainder, consisting of the native woods 

 of the State, the building- stones, slates and other natural products, has 



