tion shall be given, the sum of eighteen thousand dollars, to be paid by the 

 Treasurer on the warrant of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, counter- 

 signed by the Comptroller." 



In accordance therewith, and with the kind co-operation 

 of the Hon. Wm. B. Ruggles, State Superintendent of Pub- 

 lic Instruction, and the Board of Education of this city, a 

 new department has been created in the Museum called 

 "The Department of Public Instruction," and a course of 

 lectures to the teachers of the State and city schools is 

 now in progress and meeting with great success. 



They are given by Prof. Albert S. Bickmore, and are 

 illustrated by the collections of the Museum and by means 

 of the stereopticon. 



Specimens and apparatus to aid in the reproduction of 

 this instruction have been supplied to the New York city 

 schools and the normal schools of the State, with very 

 gratifying results. 



These lectures, the subjects of which are given in the ap- 

 pendix, have been planned for four years, twenty in each 

 year. Like those now in progress, all will be richly il- 

 lustrated with original views and drawings specially pre- 

 pared for the course. 



Although the lecture hall of the Museum was recently 

 enlarged to double its former capacity, the number of those 

 desiring to avail themselves of this instruction again ex- 

 ceeds the dimensions of the hall, and many who come can- 

 not gain admittance. 



To provide a suitable place for this educational training, 

 plans have been matured to enlarge the Museum by the 

 addition of the rotunda as planned in the original designs 

 for the entire building. 



This addition, it is estimated, would give room for a 

 lecture hall capable of seating twelve hundred persons, and 

 afford a part of the extra space now so urgently wanted for 

 new collections. 



The public demand for access to the lectures is becom- 

 ing so great that such a necessary measure for the public 

 good cannot be long delayed, and it is hoped the Legis- 



