8 



apparatus. The Curator is in receipt of letters asking how 

 the slides, apparatus and text of the lectures delivered by him to 

 the teachers of the public schools can be secured for use in other 

 cities. The owners of large manufacturing establishments have 

 also expressed the desire to have this means of entertaining and 

 instructing their employees. The Museum collections are a valua- 

 ble adjunct of the lectures delivered to the teachers, and are 

 frequently made use of for reference after the lecture. 



The popularity of the lectures given by Columbia University in 

 cooperation with the Museum is demonstrated by the increased 

 attendance. These courses were delivered on Saturday evenings, 

 and consisted of sixteen lectures, which attracted audiences 

 aggregating 8500 persons. These lectures were more or less 

 scientific in character, and the fact of such large attendance 

 plainly shows the trend of popular interest in this direction. 



Three lectures were also presented under the auspices of the 

 Linnsean Society. 



The lectures given under the direction of the Board of Educa- 

 tion of the city have achieved great success, if measured by 

 attendance. Dr. Henry M. Leipziger, Ph.D., Superintendent of 

 Lectures, states that 18,200 persons attended the twenty lectures. 

 Tuesday night of each week was assigned for this series, and their 

 popularity is attested by the fact that on each evening hundreds 

 of persons were unable to gain admission. 



While this series covered a large range of subjects, many of 

 the lectures pertained to natural history. I regard this connec- 

 tion with the Board of Education as of great importance in 

 advancing the cause of popular education, and in extending the 

 usefulness of the Museum to the public. It is- only a few years 

 since the lectures at the Museum were limited to those given to 

 the teachers of the public schools by Professor Bickmore ; within 

 recent years the system of lectures has been extended in coopera- 

 tion with the other institutions, as noted in this report, until it forms 

 an important and attractive feature of the work of the Museum. 



The use of the lecture hall was also given to the Board of 

 Managers of the New York Botanical Garden on two occasions. 



On April 14th the New York Microscopical Society was 

 granted the use of one of the halls for their Seventeenth Annual 



