﻿tG 
  new 
  tokk 
  state 
  museum 
  

  

  and 
  counties 
  of 
  the 
  state 
  arranged 
  and 
  labeled 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  

   manner 
  as 
  to 
  form 
  a 
  standard 
  collection 
  of 
  the 
  rocks 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  

   which 
  should 
  be 
  intelligible 
  not 
  only 
  to 
  the 
  specialist, 
  but 
  to 
  the 
  

   school 
  teacher 
  and 
  the 
  beginner 
  in 
  geology. 
  There 
  being 
  nowhere 
  

   «lse 
  in 
  the 
  world 
  a 
  complete 
  collection 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  rocks, 
  and 
  

   New 
  York 
  being 
  the 
  mother 
  state 
  in 
  geologic 
  nomenclature, 
  it 
  

   seemed 
  that 
  nothing 
  more 
  important 
  could 
  be 
  done. 
  This 
  task 
  

   was 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  a 
  light 
  one. 
  It 
  involved 
  the 
  examination 
  of 
  all 
  

   specimens 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  gathered 
  since 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  

   natural 
  history 
  survey 
  in 
  1836 
  and 
  the 
  verification 
  of 
  the 
  records 
  

   on 
  several 
  thousand 
  old 
  labels 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  the 
  elimination 
  of 
  

   errors 
  which 
  were 
  often 
  found. 
  Frequently 
  an 
  imperfect 
  specimen 
  

   needed 
  to 
  be 
  replaced 
  by 
  better 
  material 
  and 
  to 
  do 
  this 
  with 
  

   economy, 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  slow 
  process, 
  as 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  necessary 
  to 
  await 
  

   the 
  leisure 
  of 
  teachers 
  of 
  geology 
  in 
  various 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  in 
  

   order 
  to 
  secure 
  particular 
  specimens. 
  No 
  one 
  who 
  has 
  not 
  con- 
  

   ducted 
  similar 
  work 
  can 
  appreciate 
  the 
  labor 
  and 
  pains 
  involved 
  

   in 
  this 
  undertaking. 
  The 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  result 
  will 
  be 
  understood 
  

   l^y 
  those 
  who 
  use 
  it. 
  

  

  Some 
  time 
  since, 
  the 
  chairman 
  of 
  the 
  museum 
  committee 
  

   requested 
  the 
  director 
  of 
  the 
  museum 
  to 
  prepare 
  a 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  

   road 
  materials 
  of 
  New 
  York. 
  It 
  seemed 
  desirable 
  to 
  combine 
  with 
  

   this 
  a 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  road 
  building 
  conditions 
  of 
  New 
  York, 
  and 
  in 
  

   gathering 
  material 
  for 
  this 
  purpose, 
  the 
  attempt 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  avoid 
  

   the 
  beaten 
  track 
  of 
  similar 
  publications 
  and 
  to 
  procure 
  new 
  facts 
  of 
  

   importance 
  rather 
  than 
  republish 
  things 
  already 
  well 
  known. 
  

   Through 
  the 
  director's 
  experience 
  as 
  an 
  over-seer 
  of 
  highways 
  in 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  districts 
  of 
  Albany 
  county, 
  it 
  became 
  possible 
  for 
  him 
  to 
  

   form 
  a 
  close 
  acquaintance 
  with 
  local 
  methods 
  of 
  road 
  building 
  and 
  

   an 
  accurate 
  estimate 
  of 
  their 
  value 
  ; 
  so 
  that 
  a 
  useful 
  comparison 
  

   could 
  be 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  conditions 
  existing 
  in 
  different 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  

   state. 
  An 
  arrangement 
  was 
  made 
  with 
  the 
  Massachusetts 
  highway 
  

   ■commission 
  by 
  which 
  representative 
  samples 
  of 
  materials 
  used 
  for 
  

   road 
  building 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  were 
  tested 
  in 
  the 
  laboratory 
  of 
  the 
  

   commission 
  at 
  Cambridge. 
  The 
  results 
  of 
  this 
  inquiry 
  are 
  com- 
  

   pleted 
  and 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  printer's 
  hands.^ 
  

  

  a 
  This 
  report 
  is 
  published 
  as 
  Bulletin 
  17 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  state 
  museum 
  and 
  is 
  bound 
  

   ^ith 
  the 
  50th 
  report. 
  

  

  