12 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



remains of the Iroquois culture. It is increasingly difficult to obtain 

 true ethnological material of early Indian days, the simple furnishings 

 of the everyday domestic life of the Iroquois. Little now of the kind 

 is left among the older families, much has fallen into decay and the 

 rest pretty largely gathered up. A small collection of such ethno- 

 logical material has, however, been obtained from Mrs Laura Doctor 

 of the Tonawanda reservation, for which the Museum is again 

 indebted to the interest of Mrs Thompson. 



During most of the year Mr Bishop and Mr Paladin of the zoology 

 division were absent, the former on navy service, the latter in the 

 army. In consequence little progress could be made in increasing 

 or improving these collections. A very effective installation has 

 been made of a group of eight timber-wolves in early winter surround- 

 ings, and also of nesting and fledgling flickers in a tree section ten 

 feet high. Plans have been drawn for a case of American beaver 

 which will give a fair and full exposition of the activities of a beaver 

 family, not only in dam-building but in house construction. These 

 plans call for a large group requiring much detail in its preparation. 



The exhibited part of the Arnold bird-egg collection has been 

 increased by the extension of the wall cases in the rotunda corridors 

 so that they have now reached the possible limit, and as now displayed 

 present an impressive appearance. A very large number of dupli- 

 cates remain in storage. The surroundings of the cases have been 

 improved by the installation of seventy original india ink paintings 

 by Ernest Seton Thompson, forming seven panels. 



Restoration of the Sterlingbush calcite grotto. In the year 1906 

 the members of the geological staff engaged in field work in northern 

 New York discovered a cave in the limestones near Sterlingbush, 

 Lewis county, which was unique and beautiful. Observing a small 

 opening on the face of the quarry and some 20 feet above the quarry 

 floor, examination by ladders and staging revealed a crystal-lined 

 cavern opening out to a few feet in width, running about 40 feet 

 inward and then pinching out. The crystals lined the cavern 

 completely, attached at the sides but on the bottom lying free, and 

 their size was most impressive. Some were immense, probably 

 among the largest ever found, while the greater part of the exposed 

 surface of the cave bore superb crystals, deeply colored of an 

 amethystine violet, and the interstices were filled with clusters of 

 smaller but perfect crystallizations. 



It was a great pity that this brilliant grotto preserving crystals 

 in such extraordinary aggregation could not have been preserved 



