﻿t8 
  new 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  This 
  brief 
  statement 
  of 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  museum 
  and 
  its 
  work, 
  

   ■shows 
  a 
  status 
  far 
  more 
  prosperous 
  than 
  was 
  anticipated 
  by 
  the 
  

   director 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  obliged 
  to 
  meet 
  the 
  difficult 
  financial 
  

   situation. 
  

  

  Owing 
  to 
  the 
  great 
  variety 
  and 
  amount 
  of 
  work 
  necessary 
  to 
  

   keep 
  the 
  various 
  collections 
  in 
  presentable 
  appearance 
  and 
  to 
  im- 
  

   prov^e 
  them, 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time, 
  by 
  additions 
  and 
  rearrangements, 
  

   and 
  to 
  the 
  frequent 
  interruptions 
  of 
  routine 
  work, 
  the 
  assistant 
  

   curator 
  has 
  been 
  obliged 
  to 
  divide 
  his 
  attention 
  among 
  various 
  sub- 
  

   jects 
  as 
  circumstances 
  required, 
  rather 
  than 
  devote 
  himself 
  to 
  any 
  

   one 
  line 
  of 
  work 
  until 
  its 
  completion. 
  

  

  The 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  has 
  been 
  occupied 
  in 
  develop- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  introductory 
  geological 
  collection, 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  state 
  

   synoptical 
  geological 
  collection, 
  in 
  preparing 
  a 
  list 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  

   prominent 
  natural 
  history 
  museums 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  

   Canada, 
  with 
  a 
  brief 
  outline 
  of 
  their 
  respective 
  collections 
  ; 
  and 
  in 
  

   the 
  identification 
  of 
  specimens 
  (chiefly 
  minerals) 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  

   museum 
  for 
  determination. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  autumn 
  several 
  weeks 
  were 
  occupied 
  in 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  

   identifying 
  and 
  labeling 
  a 
  large 
  collection 
  of 
  mineralogical 
  and 
  

   paleontological 
  specimens 
  that 
  had 
  been 
  donated 
  to 
  the 
  Cobleskill 
  

   high 
  school 
  on 
  condition 
  that 
  the 
  specimens 
  be 
  properly 
  identified 
  

   and 
  exhibited 
  by 
  the 
  school. 
  The 
  collection 
  was 
  in 
  very 
  bad 
  con- 
  

   dition 
  on 
  its 
  arrival 
  at 
  the 
  museum, 
  and 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  time 
  to 
  the 
  

   museum 
  was 
  so 
  great 
  that 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  advisable 
  to 
  accept 
  

   ■another 
  such 
  task. 
  

  

  A 
  catalogue 
  has 
  been 
  prepared 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  ethnological 
  and 
  histori- 
  

   'Cal 
  specimens 
  in 
  the 
  museum, 
  including 
  the 
  stored 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  

   exhibited 
  material. 
  All 
  catalogues 
  of 
  the 
  exhibited 
  collections 
  and 
  

   •of 
  the 
  still 
  greater 
  amount 
  of 
  stored 
  material, 
  have 
  been 
  systemati- 
  

   cally 
  arranged 
  and 
  a 
  list 
  of 
  them 
  prepared. 
  

  

  The 
  collection 
  of 
  echinoderms 
  has 
  been 
  rearranged 
  and 
  

   -relabeled. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  year 
  many 
  valuable 
  additions 
  to 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  

   minerals 
  have 
  been 
  made. 
  A 
  detailed 
  list 
  of 
  these 
  accessions 
  will 
  

   be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  appendix 
  to 
  this 
  report. 
  

  

  The 
  cases 
  are 
  now 
  so 
  overcrowded 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  arrange 
  

   Ahe 
  specimens 
  so 
  that 
  all 
  the 
  labels 
  can 
  be 
  read, 
  and 
  frequently 
  a 
  

  

  