SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT, 



The past year has been rendered one of the most 

 eventful in the history of the Museum, by the laying 

 of the corner stone of the new fire-proof building 

 provided for our Collections by the liberality of the 

 People of this City. It has also been a most prosper- 

 ous year, from the fact that the Institution has been 

 placed on a more permanent basis by the increase of 

 Annual Members, paying ten dollars yearly. Thus 

 the current expenses of the Museum will be defrayed, 

 and subscriptions of $100 and upwards be reserved 

 for increasing and improving its Collections. The 

 responses to invitations for such membership have 

 been most gratifying, and the list of members, which 

 is appended to this Report, has been increased during 

 the past eleven months from 350 on the first day of 

 January to 1100, and promises soon to be sufficiently 

 large to enable the Museum to secure the additional 

 aid of gentlemen of high scientific attainments, who 

 are much needed to classify properly the many speci- 

 mens it is constantly receiving, as well as to render 

 it an efficient institution, not only for popularizing 

 the study of Natural History, but for promoting orig- 

 inal scientific research. 



The maintenance of the Museum in this manner 

 has not only increased its number of active support- 

 ers, but has opened the way for large gifts of new 

 and interesting collections. The largest of these do- 



