BUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 171 



NEW BRUNSWICK: 



RUTGERS COLLEGE. Museums. 



STAFF. Curators, J. A. Volney Lewis (geology), J. C. Van Dyke 

 (art) ; Assistant Curator, W. S. Valiant (geology). 



ANTHROPOLOGY. The Frazee collection of about 1500 paleolithic 

 and neolithic implements and ornaments. 



ART AND BOTANY. No information received. 



GEOLOGY. Minerals, on exhibition, 14,000, in storage, 4000; 

 Rocks, 2500. This department includes the Lewis C. Beck collec- 

 tion of 3000 minerals, which has remained intact from the period of 

 its collection, 1820-1847, and the Albert H. Chester collection of 5000 

 minerals. New Jersey material forms a large part of these collections. 



PALEONTOLOGY. Invertebrates, 575o; Vertebrates, 250; Plants, 

 250. There are in storage, iooo invertebrate and vertebrate fos- 

 sils, and 150 type and figured specimens. Exhibits of special interest 

 include the Mannington mastodon, said to be the largest specimen 

 known; and a slab of triassic sandstone, 8x 18 feet, from Morris 

 County, New Jersey, showing the footprints of 15 species of din- 

 osaurs. 



ZOOLOGY. Shells, i7,ooo. There are also a Japanese spider 

 crab, Marocheirus camperi, said to be the largest known; a mounted 

 skeleton of a right whale; and a general teaching collection. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. The nucleus of the museum is the collec- 

 tion of the students' natural history society of Rutgers College, 

 founded in 1857 by the late Dr. George H. Cooke. The museum 

 was the headquarters of the state geological survey from 1864 to 

 1889, while Dr. Cooke was state geologist, and thus acquired full 

 collections of the rocks, minerals, and fossils of the state. 



FINANCIAL SUPPORT. From the general funds of the college. 



BUILDING. The geological museum occupies a building erected by 

 the college in 1871 at a cost of $63,000, and providing 4704 square feet 

 of floor space for exhibition, and 768 for offices, etc. The art and 

 botanical collections, and the zoological teaching collections are 

 housed in the rooms devoted to those departments. 



SCOPE. College teaching, exploration, research, maintenance of 

 local collections, and instruction of the general public. 



LIBRARY. The geological museum has a reference collection of 

 about 1000 volumes intended for the use of the staff and students. 



ATTENDANCE. Open free to the public daily except Sundays. 

 The attendance is estimated at 2000 a year exclusive of students. 



