84 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



reported that his department was better circumstanced than the others so far as the collec- 

 tion belonging to the Society was concerned, inasmuch as by the removal of that belong- 

 ing to the State, ample space was now afforded for the reception of specimens and their 



display. 



The Conchological department had received between four hundred and five hundred 

 specimens, many of them species new to the collection, the donors being the Smithsonian 

 Institution, Mr. E. R. Mayo, Dr. A. A. Gould and Mr. H. Davis. 



The Mineralogical department had received but few donations, but two of these were 

 quite valuable, one being a large mass of amethystine quartz from Salto, Uruguay, the 

 other a large geode of the same from Uruguay, both the gift of R. B. Forbes, Esq. 



The Curator of Comparative Anatomy reported that by the precautionary measures 

 adopted, the collection had been kept in good order, and that donations of considerable 

 value had been received, principally from Dr. Henry Bryant and Mr. Du Chaillu. 



The Treasurer's report was exhilarating. He congratulated the Society upon a state of 

 financial prosperity unprecedented in its history. It had received during the year the leg- 

 acy of the late Jonathan Phillips of $10,000, a donation of an estate from Dr. Wm. J. 

 Walker valued at $30,000 and the grant of land from the State for the erection of 

 a new structure. 



The Librarian reported the number of volumes now in the Library as exceeding 5000. 



At the election of officers the only change made was in substituting Dr. Francis H. Brown 

 Curator of Herpetology for Dr. Samuel A. Green, who had tendered his resignation. 



A special meeting of the Society was called in July to consider upon accepting the offer 

 of $28,000 which has been made on the part of the city for the building of the Society in 

 Mason street. It was voted to accept that price, and a committee consisting of Professor 

 Rogers and Mr. Bouve was appointed to complete the sale. This was subsequently done 

 and the Society received the amount mentioned. 



In August Mr. Amos Binney resigned the position of Treasurer of the Society through 

 a letter to the President, in order that he might accept a commission in the military ser- 

 vice of the United States. Mr. Thomas T. Bouve was unanimously elected Treasurer in 

 his place. 



After the sale of the building in Mason Street had been consummated, it was determined 

 on the part of the Society to temporarily occupy the Bulfinch estate for the storage of its 

 collection and for meetings, until a new museum should be erected for its use. Accord- 

 ingly the house was prepared for the reception of the collection and for the accommoda- 

 tion of the meetings, the parlors on the lower story being fitted up for the latter purpose, 

 and occupied_at the same time as a library. All this being accomplished, the Society in 

 August left the home it had occupied for thirteen years, and where its growth had been 

 such as to render more extensive apartments necessary for its expanding wants. 



Not without kindly thoughts of many pleasing and instructive hours passed in the cosy 

 meeting room of the Society, was the old building left for new quarters. Hera, with the 

 library arranged in the cases around and a large table serviceable for multifarious purposes, 

 might have been seen almost every afternoon several of the Curators at work upon speci- 

 mens or investigating their character ; here too, for several of the later years might have 



