on the State Cabinet of Natural History. 5 



few species are represented, there are among them some fine speci- 

 mens, and the whole together offer at least a representation of this 

 class of organisms of which the museum had been entirely destitute 

 heretofore. 



For the species of corals obtained from the Essex Institute, a satis- 

 factory return has been made in a collection of New York fossils, 

 numbering one hundred species, of which a record has been pre- 

 served. 



The Echinoderms of the Pickett collection have been arranged and 

 labeled, and offer a tolerable representation of this class of organ- 

 isms, but a more extended collection is greatly to be desired. 



The collection of Birds' Eggs has been arranged and classified, 

 and now presents a very satisfactory appearance. It is very desira- 

 ble to extend this collection, so as to include all our more common 

 species. 



The Alcoholic Collection, including Fishes and Reptiles, with 

 some Crustacea and Mollusca, has been for a long time in a very 

 unsatisfactory condition. In the larger proportion, and, so far as I 

 know, the entire collection had remained in the same alcohol in 

 which it was at first placed, and, in consequence, the fluid had' 

 become turbid and highly charged with oily matter, so that the speci- 

 mens were obscured. Fresh alcohol had been added during suc- 

 cessive years, and the evaporation of the spirit, leaving the watery 

 portions, had reduced it in some cases to a strength of thirty-five 

 degrees, rendering it unfit for the preservation of the objects con- 

 tained in the jars. 



The alcohol of the entire collection has been redistilled, and after 

 being reduced to the proper strength, the specimens have been 

 replaced, and now present a very satisfactory appearance, as well as 

 being safe from decay consequent on the deterioration of the fluid. 

 By redistilling this alcohol, instead of purchasing fresh spirit, we 

 have saved an expense of some three hundred and fifty dollars to 

 the museum. 



Mr. Lintner, who has lately come into the museum as an assistant, 

 has taken charge of this collection, and has classified the whole, and. 

 commenced the labeling in such a manner as to be instructive to 

 those who wish to study it. I have added to this collection a consid- 

 erable number of species, as will be seen by the appended list ; some 

 of these species belong 'to the New York fauna, and were not before 

 represented in the museum. 



