8 



Our increase in membership has added to the roll of Patrons, 

 Messrs. William Waldorf Astor, Henry Seligman, Richard T. 

 Wilson, John E. Parsons, Francis O. Matthiessen, A. J. Forbes- 

 Leith, George Bliss, and the Hon. M. C. D. Borden. Messrs. 

 David Wolfe Bishop, Jr., and Cortlandt Field Bishop have become 

 Fellows. The Museum has also gained nineteen Life Members, 

 and one hundred and seventy-six Annual Members. Messrs. W. 

 W. Cole and George H. Brown have been elected Honorary Life 

 Members ; and Mrs. S. Lowell Elliot has been constituted an 

 Honorary Patron by reason of valuable donations. 



The provision of the exhibition cases for the fitting up of the 

 new building is a subject upon which has been bestowed the most 

 careful consideration. The experience and advice of those 

 familiar with the needs of a museum has been availed of, in 

 order that no precaution might be omitted that would contribute 

 to the best results. Group cases have caused an outlay of about 

 $r 2,000, and will require an additional expenditure of $6600 for 

 the current year to complete those now in progress. 



In this connection, we are indebted to the Hon. Whitelaw 

 Reid, Minister of the United States to France, for his kindness 

 in procuring for us a series of large photographs of the Exhibi- 

 tion Halls of the Natural History Museum in Paris ; thanks are 

 also due to Professor G. Brown Goode, of the National Museum 

 of Washington, for full working drawings and plans of completed 

 cases. 



A course of eight lectures was given last fall to members and 

 their families by Professor A. S. Bickmore and Ur. Frederick 

 Starr ; the former delivered a course of five lectures on Economic 

 Botany and Economic Geology, and the latter gave three lectures 

 on the History and Origin of Dress. The last lectures were 

 illustrated largely from the material in the Ethnological Depart- 

 ment. 



A free lecture to the public was delivered by Prof. Bickmore 

 on each of the following days : Thanksgiving, Christmas and 

 New Years. These lectures were attended by large audiences. 



The amount of the collateral inheritance tax levied upon the 

 bequest of the late Wm. H. Vanderbilt to this Museum, was very 

 generously refunded by Messrs. Cornelius and Wm. K. Vanderbilt; 



