REPORT. 



To the Honorable, the Legislature of the State of New York : 



The Regents of the University, as trustees of the State Museum of 

 Natural History, respectfully submit their thirty-fifth annual report. 



Owing to the want of room for the display of additional specimens, 

 the efforts of the scientific staff have been given chiefly to the prepara- 

 tion and classification of the specimens already in the Museum, and 

 less than usual to the collection of new specimens. Reference is here 

 made to the report of the Director for detailed information as to the 

 current work of the Museum. 



The attention of the Legislature is again called to the pressing 

 necessity for better and more commodious quarters for this great State 

 collection. The present building has become entirely inadequate for 

 the proper protection and display of the collections. Not an additional 

 foot of space can be gained for the arrangement of new matter, and large 

 accumulations of valuable material are stored in buildings at a dis- 

 tance from the principal office of the Museum. Moreover, the present 

 building is not fire-proof, and the fruit of forty years of labor, and of 

 much expenditure by the State, is liable to' be swept away by fire. It 

 was hoped that temporary space might have been obtained in some of 

 the rooms vacated in the State Hall for some of the more valuable 

 parts of the collections, and for such parts of the current work of the 

 Museum as are now carried on at great disadvantage in buildings in- 

 conveniently located. A resolution for this purpose was passed by 

 your honorable bodies at the last session ; but it has not been possible 

 as yet for the trustees to avail themselves of the relief which this would 

 have afforded. 



By a resolution of the Legislature the trustees of the Museum were 

 authorized to distribute to institutions under the care of the Regents 

 who should apply for them, sets of duplicate specimens, properly ar- 

 ranged and labeled. This work has been carried on during the year 

 to as great an extent as the force of the Museum would permit. The 

 design has been to furnish to each a collection of about one hundred 

 typical specimens, representing the most important species. It has 

 also seemed desirable to furnish these collections only to such institu- 

 tions as give promise of making a profitable use of them. It has been 

 usual therefore to require of the recipients that a return of local 

 specimens collected by themselves be made to the Museum. The fol- 

 lowing institutions have been supplied with collections of the kind 

 indicated, and five additional sets have been prepared for distribution: 



Warsaw Union School, Warsaw, Wyoming county. 



Schoharie Academy, Schoharie, Schoharie county. 



