Report of the State Geologist, 187 



the gradually accumulating collections of specimens for the 

 Palaeontology of the State could be stored or arranged, and 

 where working rooms could have been had for the accommoda- 

 tion of the State Geologist, his draughtsman and assistant. 



These conditions, which were not brought about by any action 

 of the State authorities, compelled the State Geologist to erect 

 buildings on his own grounds at his own personal expense, and to 

 arrange in those buildings the material collected for use in the 

 preparation of the work. From the commencement of the work 

 in 1843 to 1856 all the collections of fossils were made at the 

 personal expense of the State Geologist. From and after 1856 

 provision was made by the Legislature for the collection of 

 specimens in the field, and from this source an enormous amount 

 of material was obtained — material which has greatly expanded 

 the work, and added largely to its value as a contribution to 

 geological science. All the collections thus acquired remained 

 arranged in drawers or otherwise from the commencement of 

 their accumulation till 1886. As the work progressed the types 

 and typical specimens coming from. these collections were sepa- 

 rated from the mass and kept by themselves, thus remaining in 

 my possession and under my control for thirty years. In 1886 

 these specimens were removed by order of the Chancellor of the 

 Board of Kegents to the State Hall and placed in drawers in a 

 separate room, to which I had no access for two years, and to the 

 drawers containing the specimens I have never had access up to 

 the time of the present writing. 



It is a great satisfaction to me that Mr. Clarke has undertaken 

 the task of cataloguing these specimens, with citations of place of 

 publication, locality of the specimens, name of collector and date 

 of collection, which will make the work a valuable book of 

 reference for students in the science. The completion of this 

 work may serve in some measure to set at rest the question as to 

 what has become of the types and typical specimens belonging to 

 the State. 



JAMES HALL, 



State Geologist. 



