18 TWENTY-SEVENTH REPORT ON THE STATE MUSEUM. 



not amateurs, but connoisseurs, who hold the position and 

 claim the rank of Naturalists. 



To provide against a continuance of this evil is a subject 

 commending itself to the consideration of the Regents. 



Distribution of Duplicate Specimens. 



This work, which was begun some years since with the im- 

 perfect material we then possessed, has been continued during 

 the past year. The Gebhard collection of fossils, except those 

 of the Coralline Limestone, has been unpacked, the specimens 

 cleaned, ticketed and recorded. Of these, the Lower Helder- 

 berg and Oriskany specimens which were required for the 

 Museum, have been placed in drawers, the remainder labeled 

 with generic and specific names, and distributed among twenty 

 duplicate collections. Of course, many of the species were 

 only in sufficient number to fill from five to ten collections ; 

 while the more common and abundant forms extend through- 

 out all of them. The number of species thus distributed is 

 95, represented (in the several collections) by 4,673 indi- 

 viduals. 



The specimens of the Upper Helderberg and Hamilton 

 Groups of the Gebhard collection, and of others previously 

 belonging to the Museum, have been ticketed, with locality- 

 number, and recorded. A considerable part of these have 

 had labels of generic and specific names attached, and are 

 ready for the duplicate collections. 



The number of species from these Groups now ready for 

 distribution, exclusive of the Lamellibranchiata, which are 

 not yet ready, is about one hundred ; which will be repre- 

 sented by at least 2,000 specimens. 



In preparing for the distribution of the duplicate fossils of 

 the Hamilton and Chemung Groups, twenty-five boxes of 

 specimens, collected at different times, both for the Palaeon- 

 tology and for the Museum, after examination and selection 

 of the specimens for illustration and description, have been 

 sent from the working rooms at my residence, to the Museum, 

 and their contents are now nearly ready for the collections. 



The following transcription of the labels on these boxes is 

 given below, as a record of the progress of the work, and of 

 the disposition of material heretofore collected : 



