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Museums and Herbarium 
The collections in the public museums have been increased 
in number by the addition of specimens not before represented, 
and increased in efficiency by the substitution of better speci- 
mens than those previously obtained, by rearrangements and 
by more complete labeling. The general plan of adding 
specimens to these collections only when provided with com- 
plete labels, which has been followed for some time, has 
brought them into a very perfect educational system. No 
new museum cases were added during the year, but some 
are now desirable, inasmuch as a considerable number of 
valuable specimens for which there is now no space in the 
museum cases, have accumulated in the storerooms. 
The west hall of the basement floor which has never been 
equipped with cases but has been used at intervals for horti- 
cultural exhibitions in codperation with the Horticultural 
Society of New York, should now be provided with both 
floor and wall cases, in order to make a more complete dis- 
play of the series of fossil plants, which has been considerably 
augmented by field work and by purchase and exchange. 
Large labels indicating the character of the several collec- 
tions have been placed in the museum halls. 
With the installation of the additional cases here indicated 
as desirable, the museum collections will become among the 
most complete and best labeled and displayed of any similar 
series in the world, but they can be much further developed. 
The collections of dried pressed specimens have increased 
so rapidly that the present equipment of cases needs to be 
considerably augmented. Twelve cases were constructed 
during the year and installed where most needed and the 
collections redistributed. 
As shown by the report of the Head Curator, hereto 
appended, the total increase of museum and herbarium 
specimens aggregated 81,776, obtained by gifts, purchases, 
exchanges, and exploration. Among noteworthy accessions 
are the great herbarium of mosses comprising at least 50,000 
specimens, accumulated by the late William Mitten, Esq., 
