﻿16 
  TWENTY-NINTH 
  REPOBT 
  ON 
  THE 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM. 
  

  

  Professor 
  Albert 
  H. 
  Chester 
  of 
  Hamilton 
  College. 
  The 
  labels 
  of 
  

   Prof. 
  Chester 
  have 
  been 
  copied 
  upon 
  cards. 
  The 
  original 
  labels, 
  

   which 
  had 
  become 
  discolored 
  by 
  long 
  exposure, 
  have 
  been 
  laid 
  aside, 
  

   to 
  serve 
  for 
  future 
  reference 
  should 
  it 
  become 
  necessary; 
  their 
  number 
  

   recorded 
  on 
  the 
  new 
  card 
  label, 
  and 
  also 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  specimen, 
  

   and 
  the 
  collection 
  replaced 
  and 
  rearranged 
  upon 
  the 
  shelves 
  by 
  Mr. 
  

   Charles 
  Sheldon, 
  a 
  volunteer 
  assistant 
  in 
  the 
  Museum. 
  

  

  About 
  two' 
  years 
  ago, 
  a 
  commencement 
  was 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  arrange- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  a 
  general 
  collection 
  of 
  Minerals 
  — 
  partly 
  by 
  selecting 
  from 
  

   the 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  collection 
  such 
  extra-limital 
  species 
  as 
  had 
  become 
  

   incorporated 
  with 
  it, 
  and 
  partly 
  by 
  adding 
  New 
  York 
  specimens 
  

   proper, 
  which 
  had 
  accumulated 
  in 
  the 
  Museum. 
  By 
  this 
  course 
  we 
  

   were 
  able 
  to 
  conform 
  the 
  collection 
  to 
  the 
  original 
  plan 
  of 
  Dr. 
  Lewis 
  C. 
  

   Beck, 
  the 
  mineralogist 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  Geological 
  Survey, 
  and 
  to 
  

   present 
  in 
  a 
  classified 
  series 
  the 
  minerals 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  New 
  York. 
  

   This 
  work 
  was 
  begun 
  and 
  carried 
  out 
  under 
  my 
  direction, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  our 
  

   material 
  then 
  permitted, 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Calloway 
  while 
  acting 
  as 
  special 
  

   assistant. 
  It 
  was 
  then 
  suspended 
  until 
  we 
  had 
  an 
  opportunity 
  of 
  

   selecting 
  from 
  the 
  Simms 
  and 
  the 
  Gebhard 
  collections, 
  purchased 
  by 
  

   the 
  State, 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  Yan 
  Rensselaer 
  collection, 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  

   presented 
  to 
  the 
  Museum. 
  The 
  mvieralogical 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  three 
  

   collections 
  above 
  named, 
  viz., 
  the 
  Simms 
  collection, 
  purchased 
  in 
  

   1870; 
  the 
  Gebhard 
  collection, 
  purchased 
  in 
  1871, 
  and 
  the 
  Van 
  Rens- 
  

   selaer 
  collection, 
  donated 
  in 
  1872 
  ; 
  have 
  occupied 
  us 
  for 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  

   months. 
  The 
  labeling 
  will 
  soon 
  be 
  completed. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  Simms' 
  minerals 
  (about 
  500 
  specimens 
  altogether) 
  

   are 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  calcites, 
  and 
  gold, 
  silver 
  and 
  other 
  ores 
  from 
  

   the 
  western 
  Territories, 
  which 
  are 
  of 
  value 
  for 
  the 
  general 
  col- 
  

   lection. 
  The 
  Gebhard 
  minerals 
  (nearly 
  1,800 
  specimens) 
  include 
  

   many 
  valuable 
  foreign 
  examples, 
  the 
  larger 
  number 
  of 
  which 
  

   have 
  been 
  selected 
  for 
  the 
  general 
  Museum 
  collection, 
  or 
  reserved 
  

   for 
  exchanges. 
  The 
  Yan 
  Rensselaer 
  collection, 
  including 
  a 
  num- 
  

   ber 
  of 
  fossils 
  mostly 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  modern 
  geological 
  formations, 
  

   consists 
  of 
  nearly 
  5,000 
  specimens. 
  The 
  value 
  of 
  this 
  contribution 
  

   is 
  seriously 
  impaired 
  by 
  the 
  entire 
  absence 
  of 
  indication 
  of 
  localities. 
  

   It 
  affords, 
  nevertheless, 
  many 
  fine 
  examples 
  of 
  minerals 
  for 
  our 
  

   General 
  collection, 
  and 
  will 
  furnish 
  numerous 
  duplicates 
  for 
  distribu- 
  

   tion 
  to 
  the 
  colleges 
  and 
  normal 
  schools 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  

  

  All 
  the 
  above 
  minerals 
  have 
  been 
  ticketed 
  with 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  their 
  

   collector 
  as 
  a 
  record 
  of 
  their 
  source. 
  Upon 
  the 
  completion 
  of 
  their 
  

  

  