ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES 



FOR THE YEAR 1885. 



The Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History 

 present this their Seventeenth Annual Report to the Patrons, Fel- 

 lows and Members of the Museum. 



The Treasurer's account shows the receipts of the year to have 

 been $89,966.54. This includes the generous bequest of $50,000 

 made by the late Wm. H. Vanderbilt, and $3,586.80 contributed 

 by Miss Catharine L. Wolfe for the purchase of works on Conch- 

 ology to supplement her former gift to the Library. Also 

 $1,500 given by Mrs. Robert L. Stuart toward the purchase of 

 the " Bailey " Collection of Birds' Nests and Eggs, and $8,600 

 paid by the Trustees to make up the deficiency in maintaining 

 the Museum. 



The expenditures were $30,508.80 for maintenance, and 

 $6,054. 16 for improvements and additions to the collections, while 

 $50,937.50 was carried to the Endowment Fund. 



The purchases include the " Bailey " Collection of Birds' Nests 

 and Eggs; a group of ostriches, comprising male, female and young; 

 38 specimens of American birds; 41 specimens of American 

 mammals, and 12 specimens of monkeys, all filling conspicuous 

 deficiencies in these collections; also 56 geological specimens to 

 illustrate the series figured in Dana's Manual, and 65 volumes of 

 necessary books for the Library. 



The additions to the Museum by donation and exchange will 

 be found in detail in the list of accessions appended. They 

 show a gratifying increase in both the number and value of the 

 specimens. 



The work accomplished and in progress in the Museum during 

 the past year may be best summarized by extracts from the reports 

 of the different Curators, as follows: 



GEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. 



" PaljEOntological Collections. — During the past year 

 much time has been spent in labeling and arranging these collec- 



