REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR AND STATE GEOLOGIST 1901 rl03 



it will now be possible to observe accurately the future growth 

 of the collections from year to year. 



There have been a number of accessions to the museum dur- 

 ing the year, and many forms not hitherto in the collections have 

 been added. This is specially true of the invertebrates. A 

 portion of the invertebrate material collected during the summer 

 has not yet been identified or put on exhibition, but this will be 

 done during the winter. 



During September a number of land and fresh-water forms 

 were collected in the vicinity of Albany, and several vivariums 

 and aquariums containing snakes, batrachians, fishes and inver- 

 tebrates were arranged. These have been placed on exhibition, 

 and it is hoped to continue them on exhibition through the win- 

 ter. 



Since the publication of De Kay's Fauna of New York in 1842 

 no list of the reptiles and batrachians of the State has been pub- 

 lished. At my request, therefore, a catalogue of these forms 

 has been prepared; the assistant in zoology preparing the sec- 

 tions on the lizards, tortoises and batrachians, and Mr Eckel, 

 assistant in geology, preparing that on the serpents, a group 

 with which he is well acquainted. This will be issued as bulletin 

 no. 51. 



Dr Tarleton H. Bean, since his return from the Paris Exposi- 

 tion, has been actively engaged in completing his catalogue of 

 New York fishes, and a large part of the material is now in our 

 hands. 



Dr Marcus S. Farr, who resigned from the position as assist- 

 ant in zoology in the State Museum to accept an ap- 

 pointment in Princeton University, is still working on 

 the catalogue of New York birds, which will probably 

 be finished during the next year. He reports that, since 

 his transfer, he has been able to devote from one to three 

 hours daily to this work. During October and November 1900', 

 nearly all the time he was able to devote to his museum work 

 was spent in the revision of bulletin no. 33, Check List of New 

 York Birds, the demand for this paper having been so great as 



