New York State Museum. 19 



The need of more space for the exhibition of material belong- 

 ing to the Zoological Department becomes more imperative every 

 month. The floor allotted to Zoology is full — crowded. The 

 arrival of a new addition of any considerable size causes a waste 

 of time and energy in the shifting which is necessary to make 

 room for its accommodation. An attempt to exhibit all the 

 species of any one group of animals usually results in the retire- 

 ment of other species or groups equally important. How urgent 

 is the need of more space may be understood from the fact that 

 it would be practically impossible to find space enough to exhibit 

 one more specimen as large as a horse. 



Equally vexatious are the insufficient facilities for storage of 

 specimens, alcohol, glass-ware, trays, labels, instruments, shelving 

 and many other things which are indispensible in an institution 

 of this kind. The need of more space and greater convenience 

 is pressing in the matter of work rooms and offices also. The 

 curator of the Zoological collection has an office six feet by ten 

 feet on the first floor of Geological Hall in a corner of the 

 mineral room. In order to consult the Zoological collection it is 

 necessary to ascend three and one-half flights of stairs. This 

 takes time which should be more profitably utilized, and results 

 in separating the curator from books whicn should be close at 

 hand but which are necessarily kept in the office on the first floor. 

 Kespectfully submitted, 



¥M. B. MAKSHALL, 



Assistaiit Zoologist. 

 Albany, X. Y., September 30, 1891. 



