﻿24 
  FORTY-SKVEJSTH 
  REPORT 
  ON 
  THE 
  

  

  placed 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  Museum, 
  and 
  the 
  task 
  

   of 
  preparing 
  this 
  exhibit 
  was 
  assigned 
  to 
  the 
  Assistant 
  Director. 
  

   It 
  was 
  his 
  plan, 
  in 
  preparing 
  this 
  exhibit, 
  to 
  attain 
  three 
  objects 
  : 
  

  

  1. 
  To 
  make 
  as 
  exhaustive 
  a 
  display 
  as 
  possible 
  of 
  the 
  natural 
  

   resources 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  for 
  economic 
  purposes. 
  

  

  2. 
  To 
  show 
  the 
  collections 
  derived 
  by 
  loan 
  from 
  the 
  State 
  

   Museum, 
  and 
  those 
  secured 
  directly 
  by 
  purchase 
  for 
  the 
  World's 
  

   Fair 
  Exhibit, 
  in 
  the 
  methods 
  of 
  grouping 
  and 
  arrangement 
  used 
  

   by 
  the 
  best 
  equipped 
  museums 
  of 
  this 
  country 
  or 
  Europe, 
  and 
  in 
  

   the 
  most 
  suitable 
  exhibition 
  cases. 
  

  

  3. 
  To 
  arrange 
  the 
  groups 
  with 
  reference 
  to 
  their 
  logical 
  

   sequence, 
  preparing 
  in 
  this 
  connection 
  a 
  report 
  of 
  educational 
  

   and 
  economic 
  value. 
  It 
  is 
  desired, 
  in 
  short, 
  to 
  show 
  the 
  

   public 
  a 
  museum 
  modeled 
  after 
  the 
  best 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  and 
  

   Europe, 
  in 
  which, 
  by 
  the 
  limitation 
  of 
  the 
  case, 
  the 
  specimens 
  

   were 
  all 
  derived 
  from 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  — 
  to 
  show 
  the 
  economic 
  

   resources 
  of 
  New 
  York, 
  and 
  to 
  instruct 
  objectively 
  all 
  who 
  

   visited 
  the 
  exhibition. 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  State 
  Museum 
  comprises 
  six 
  departments, 
  Palaeontology, 
  

   Economic 
  Geology 
  and 
  Mineralogy, 
  Botany, 
  Zoology 
  and 
  Ento- 
  

   mology, 
  the 
  exhibit 
  of 
  the 
  Museum 
  would 
  naturally 
  have 
  been 
  

   made 
  on 
  these 
  lines, 
  and 
  was 
  so 
  carried 
  out 
  wherever 
  it 
  was 
  

   possible. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  minds 
  of 
  scientists 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  

   and 
  in 
  Europe 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  Museum 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  has 
  

   for 
  many 
  years 
  been 
  closely 
  associated 
  with 
  that 
  of 
  Dr. 
  James 
  

   Hall, 
  the 
  State 
  Palaeontologist. 
  The 
  volumes 
  on 
  Palaeontology 
  

   prepared 
  under 
  Dr. 
  Hall's 
  direction 
  which 
  were 
  exhibited, 
  are 
  in 
  

   themselves 
  a 
  library 
  of 
  the 
  subject, 
  and 
  the 
  great 
  number 
  of 
  

   valuable 
  plates 
  therein 
  form 
  a 
  comprehensive 
  exhibit 
  of 
  the 
  

   palaeontological 
  specimens 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  Museum. 
  

  

  In 
  addition 
  was 
  exhibited 
  the 
  Cohoes 
  Mastodon, 
  a 
  unique 
  and 
  

   almost 
  perfect 
  specimen. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  time 
  that 
  the 
  work 
  was 
  placed 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  the 
  Assistant 
  

   Director 
  of 
  the 
  Museum, 
  the 
  State 
  Botanist 
  had 
  already 
  begun 
  

   his 
  work. 
  In 
  the 
  judgment 
  of 
  Prof. 
  Peck, 
  it 
  was 
  desirable 
  to 
  

   make 
  a 
  selection 
  of 
  some 
  one 
  group 
  and 
  an 
  exhaustive 
  presenta- 
  

   tion 
  thereof. 
  He 
  selected 
  the 
  Fungi, 
  upon 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  for 
  a 
  

   long 
  time 
  been 
  working, 
  and 
  in 
  relation 
  to 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  made 
  

  

  