Annual Reports 35 



The records of attendance, both at the Museum and also in connection 

 with the children's lectures, continue to show a gratifying increase over that 

 of previous years. The number of visitors to the Museum this year was 

 12,830. Last year it was 10,448. The school lecture attendance this year 

 was 1,529. Last year it was 1,030. 



The accessions to the museum collections and library were fewer this 

 year than last, so far as the number of specimens is concerned, although 

 the number of contributors was about the same. This year the number 

 of contributors was 72 and the specimens accessioned 2,798. Last year 

 the contributors numbered 82 and the specimens accessioned 6,786. De- 

 tailed statistics in regard to attendance and accessions are fully set forth 

 in the appended report of the curator-in-chief. 



On the request of several members the Board authorized the formation 

 of a Section of Engineering, which was organized on April 14, 1914, and 

 brought twelve new members into the Association. 



The use of the assembly room and the Board room, when these were not 

 required for Association purposes, was freely granted to other organiza- 

 tions, such as the Boy Scouts, the executive board of the Consumer's 

 League, the legislative committee of the Civic League, the New York City 

 visiting committee, Richmond Branch of the State Charities Aid Associa- 

 tion, the Teacher's Pension Publicity Bureau, etc. Ten different organi- 

 zations availed themselves of this privilege on forty-seven separate occa- 

 sions, thus demonstrating the value of the museum building as a center 

 for general civic activities. 



Early in the summer of 1913 application was made to the Board of Esti- 

 mate and Apportionment for an' appropriation of $9,777-50 ($7,300.00 for 

 salaries and $2,477.50 for the general maintenance of the museum) for 

 the year 1914. The appropriation granted, as itemized, was : 



Salaries $6,840.00 



Supplies 280.00 



Purchase of equipment 165.00 



Contract or open order service 188.00 



Contingencies 65.00 



Rent , 1,500.00 



$9,038.00 



Application previously made for an issue of corporate stock to the 

 amount of $2,000.00, to defray the cost of preparation of plans for a new 

 museum building, has not yet been acted upon. 



Mr. Charles L. Pollard, our curator and subsequently curator-in-chief 

 since June 1907, resigned at the end of the year 1913 in order to devote 

 his entire time to the Boy Scout movement, in connection with which he 

 is now Executive Deputy Scout Commissioner, with headquarters at No. 

 SO Madison Avenue, New York. Arthur HoUick, Ph.D., was appointed 



