rl90 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



in our collection, belonging to the De Rham and Corning collec- 

 tions, which had never been identified. The results of this trip 

 were most satisfactory, as he succeeded in establishing the 

 identity of all but one or two species. 



The preservative used on the alcoholic specimens of fish, 

 amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, etc. has all been filtered 

 through bone charcoal, which by absorbing the animal matter in 

 the solution restores the alcohol to its natural color. 



A large amount of repairing has been done on the collections, 

 making them as attractive as possible. 



Quite an extensive addition has been made to our collection of 

 plaster models of Xew York fish. These exhibit the natural 

 colors of the fish, and for museum purposes are more satisfactory 

 than alcoholic specimens, in which the bright tints are lost 

 almost at once. 



Owing to the fact that so many additions have been made to 

 the exhibits during the year, a great deal of time has been taken 

 up with the care, mounting, labeling and arrangement of these 

 specimens. 



All the collections of vertebrates have been rearranged, and 

 it is believed that the present arrangement is the best possible 

 with the space at our command. 



The specimens are all in excellent condition except the smaller 

 mammals, which, having been exposed to the light for years, are 

 very badly discolored, and should be replaced as opportunity 

 presents. 



Owing to the fact that no taxidermic work had been done at 

 the museum for a number of years, it was deemed advisable by 

 the director to have some work done in this line during the 

 spring of 19O0. Many of the more common birds in our collection,, 

 having been on exhibition for a number of years, have become 

 faded, and, while, since they belong to collections of historic 

 importance, it does not seem best to discard them, yet in view 

 of the fact that they do not exhibit the typical plumage of the 

 birds, it seemed best to secure a new collection of the more 

 common forms in the nuptial plumage. The rarer forms have 



