244 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



partnient. In 1865 Col. Jewett resigned and was succeeded by 

 James Hall. 



The discovery of the mastodon skeleton at Cohoes, in the 

 summer of 1866, and its acquisition by the State Cabinet, attracted 

 much attention toward the institution. At the next legislature 

 successful application was made for $5,000 to purchase the Gould 

 collection of shells and this accession of 60,000 specimens repre- 

 senting 6,000 species was generally appreciated. 



The new capitol commissioners, wishing information as to the 

 sources of building material, engaged the curator of the State 

 Cabinet to make a reconnaissance which resulted in a report to 

 (he commissioners, and the acquisition to the State Cabinet, by 

 this and other means, of a large collection of marbles, limestones, 

 sandstones and granites which are now included in the collection 

 which occupies two sides of the entrance hall of the museum. 



At first the State Cabinet received no regular or fixed appro- 

 priation of money from the legislature, but in 1870 ia law was 

 passed organizing the same, under the designation of the State 

 Museum of Natural History, and appropriating $10,000 annually 

 to provide for the salaries of the director and three assistants, 

 together with the expenses of increase and preservation of the 

 collections. In addition to this, a sum was annually appropri- 

 ated for the salary of a botanist, and special appropriations have 

 been made from time to time. 



In 1881 a state entomologist was 1 appointed and in 1883 was 

 made a member of the museum staff. ! 



The present appropriation of $12,000 is quite inadequate to the 

 requirements of such a museum, but a visible and substantial 

 progress is made in each of the departments, as shown in the 

 increasing order and the additions to the collections, as recorded 

 in the annual museum reports. 



In 1889 the State Museum was made an integral part of 

 the University of the State of New York. In 1894 the present 

 director was appointed. Most of the museum remains on 

 the four floors of Geological hall on State street, at the 

 corner of Lodge. Here are the collections in mineralogy, geol- 

 ogy, palaeontology, zoology and ethnology and the offices of the 

 director and his assistants. The state geologist and palaeontolo- 



