New York State Museum. 71 



mens I find that they are becoming injured from exposure and 

 slight decomposition upon some of the surfaces while the Canada 

 balsam by which they are cemented to the glass has in some 

 Instances given way. These specimens are very valuable and 

 could not be replaced except b}^ the expenditure of many hundreds 

 of dollars. If they are to be preserved for future use it has 

 l3ecome necessary that they should be protected by thin glass 

 plates, which shall cover either the fossil portion or entire sur- 

 face. To accomplish this will require the services of a person 

 with some knowledge of the subjects which he is handling, and 

 accustomed to delicate manipulation. It is my duty to submit 

 this matter for your consideration and direction. 



There are also over 500 sections of the shell of Brachiopoda of 

 which a list is given in the 1 0th Keport of the State G-eologist, 

 page 23, and included in the 44th Museum Report. 



Some lime about the year 1884 or 1885 a considerable number 

 of these sections on glass were arranged for exhibition in the 

 Museum, some of them arranged in frames containing several 

 specimens, for the convenience of handling in examination. A 

 ^considerable number of the finer and larger specimens, fifty or 

 more, were mounted on blocks and placed in the window recesses 

 in order to show their structure by transmitted light. 



This enormous collection of fossils occupying 3,210 drawers, 

 contains at least one quarter of a million of specimens, and the 

 600 boxes contains at least 50,000 more specimens. The col- 

 lection was originally commenced in 1S56 to furnish material for 

 the preparation of the volumes upon the Palaeontology of New 

 York. The amount of material accumulated was much greater 

 than could have been anticipated at the outset, and furnished 

 specimens for study from which the value of the published works 

 was greatly enhanced, and not only this, but the greatly increased 

 amount of material over what had been anticipated, rendered 

 it necessary to increase the number of volumes of that work 

 in order to give a proper illustration of the fossil fauna of the 

 State. At the present time the publication of all the work of this 

 nature contemplated has been provided for, except the two 

 classes of Spongidae and the Corals. Manuscript for the last 

 volume on the Brachiopoda has been placed in the hands of the 

 printer. During the past years selections of specimens have been 



