New York State Education Department 



New York State Museum 



The New York State Museum as at present organized is the out- 

 growth of the Natural History Survey of the State commenced in 

 1836. This was established at the expressed wish of the people to 

 have some definite and positive knowledge of the mineral resources 

 and of the vegetable and animal forms of the State. This wish 

 was stated in memorials presented to the Legislature in 1834 by 

 the Albany Institute and in 1835 by the American Institute of 

 New York cfty and as. a result of these and other influences the 

 Legislature of 1835 passed a resolution requesting ' the Secretary 

 of State to report to that body a plan for " a complete geological 

 survey of the State, which shall furnish a scientific and perfect 

 account of its rocks, soils and materials and of their localities ; a 

 list of its mineralogical, botanical and zoological productions and 

 provide for procuring and preserving specimens of the same ; etc." 



Pursuant to this request, Hon. John A. Dix, then Secretary of 

 State, presented to the Legislature of 1836 a report proposing a 

 plan for a complete geologic, botanical and zoological survey of the 

 State. This report was adopted by the Legislature then in session 

 and the Governor was authorized to employ competent persons 

 to carry out the plan which was at once put into effect. 



The scientific staff of the Natural History Survey of 1836 con- 

 sisted of John Torrey, Botanist ; James E. DeKay, Zoologist ; Lewis 

 C. Beck, Mineralogist ; W. W. Mather, Ebenezer Emmons, Lardner 

 Vanuxem and Timothy A. Conrad, Geologists. In 1837 Professor 

 Conrad was made Paleontologist and James Hall, who had been 

 an assistant to Professor Emmons, was appointed Geologist to 

 succeed Professor Vanuxem, who took Professor Conrad's place. 



The heads of the several departments reported annually to the 

 Governor the results of their investigations, and these constituted 

 the annual octavo reports which were published from 1837^0 1841. 

 The final reports were published in quarto form, beginning at the 

 close of the field work in 1841, and 3000 sets have been distributed, 

 comprising four volumes of geology, one of mineralogy, two of 

 botany, five of zoology, five of agriculture, and eight of paleontology. 



