28 Report of the President. 



with coupons for making applications for the reservation of 

 seats, were sent to all the public schools of Greater New 

 York. At first it was thought that one of the small assembly 

 rooms in the Museum would accommodate all that would 

 attend, but as soon as the announcements had been generally 

 distributed, this hall proved to be entirely inadequate, and the 

 lectures were adjourned to the large auditorium, which seats 

 1428. Again and again every seat in this hall has been taken, 

 and occasionally a special lecture had to be given in the small 

 assembly room for those who could not gain admission to the 

 regular lecture. Frequently several hundred applications 

 were received after all the seats in the hall had been reserved, 

 and the better to meet the demands of these pupils certain of 

 the lectures were repeated Tuesdays and Thursdays. From 

 twenty to thirty schools were represented at each lecture by 

 classes of from ten to two hundred pupils each. There can 

 be no doubt of the popularity of these lectures, as the attend- 

 ance from October 3 to December 23 was 25,000. 



The Department of Invertebrate Zoology has received 

 from the Department of Preparation and Installation, during 

 the years 1903 and 1904, the following models of marine 

 animals for exhibition in the Synoptic Hall of the Museum: 



29 models of Protozoa (Lobosa, Foraminifera, Radiolaria 

 and Infusoria); 13 Hydroids; 1 Actinarian ; 19 Planarians; 

 11 Nemerteans; 8 Polyzoans; 2 Holothurians ; 10 Mollusks. 

 The Department of Preparation and Installation has also 

 mounted several crustaceans, sponges and insects for the 

 synoptic collection. 



Department of Physiology. — The equipment of a small 

 laboratory was begun in July. Much time has been spent in 

 studying methods by which the soft structures of animals 

 could be satisfactorily prepared for Museum demonstration. 

 The older methods of preservation in various fluids have long 

 been unsatisfactory, yet it has been impossible to make credit- 

 able preparations in a dry form. To this end a mode of arti- 

 ficial petrification has been used, which thus far has given good 

 results. It is excellently shown in a preparation of the 



