10 



power, their educational force, and the scope they afford the 

 higher faculties of man to apprehend the wonderful phenomena 

 of nature, and to master and utilize her great forces. 



To the multitude shut up in stone walls, to whom are afforded 

 an acquaintance with the beauty of natural objects, or to study 

 them in their usual aspects and conditions, the advantage of your 

 Museum is, that it affords opportunity ; and out of a great number 

 who look only vaguely and experience only the healthful excite- 

 ment of a natural curiosity, one here and there may be found 

 endowed with special aptitudes and tastes. Perhaps some child of 

 genius, whose susceptibilities and faculties, once aroused and 

 quickened, will repay in the field of discovery and science, through 

 the force of some new law in its manifold applications or relations, 

 all your expenditure a hundred fold. 



Commercial values and purely scientific values meet often on 

 common ground ; but their essential life belongs to opposite 

 poles. To some it appears necessary to vindicate the employ- 

 ment of large amounts of public money in such an institution as 

 that which you control, from the charge of extravagance ; their 

 ideas of value appear to be limited to that which is exchange- 

 able in the current coin of the market ; but the highest results of 

 character and life offer something which cannot be weighed in the 

 balances of the merchant, be he ever so wise in his generation. 



The work accomplished and the general improvements in the 

 collections may be seen by the following extracts from the 

 reports of the Curators : 



DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION AND 

 ETHNOLOGY. 



[Under the charge of Prof. A. S Bickmoke.] 



In order to render to this department a properly stable char- 

 acter, so that carefully considered plans could be made in 

 advance for the more economic and effective preparation of the 

 photographic illustrations, which are necessary in this new mode 

 of visual instruction, the last Legislature passed a bill providing 

 for the maintenance of the lectures to teachers in the Museum, 

 and for continuing aid to the Normal Schools of the State for a 

 period of two years, commencing October i, 1886. In accord- 

 ance with the provisions of this law, the Museum entered into a 

 contract with Hon. A. S. Draper, the State Superintendent of 



