250 SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT 



Our regular Friday evening lectures which began October 

 25, 1907 and ended May 8, 1908 have been exceptionally inter- 

 esting and instructive. There have been twenty three of these 

 in addition to the five evening lectures by Dr. Cummings 

 already mentioned. As will be seen by the list which follows 

 many distinguished lecturers have favored us and have drawn 

 large and appreciative audiences. 



The Superintendent has made an earnest effort during the 

 year to interest the High Schools and Union Schools of Erie 

 County outside of Buffalo in our free educational work and 

 letters have been sent to all the principals, to the Presidents of 

 the local School Boards and to all of the Supervisors from the 

 County towns, inviting the pupils to our school lectures. The 

 slight expense of the journey however seems thus far to have 

 deterred them from coming. 



During the year a number of changes and betterments have 

 been made in our rooms. The walls and ceilings in the base- 

 ment and in the third story lecture room have been cleaned and 

 kalsomined making them much lighter and more cheerful. The 

 plumbing for toilet and dark room water storage supply in the 

 third story has been remodelled to good effect; the basement 

 rooms have been wired for electric lighting as have also the 

 office and library. 



In March, 1908, we were notified by the Department of 

 Public Works that our lecture room in the third story must not 

 be used for public assemblies unless a fire escape was provided. 

 Thereupon we so changed about the cases of mineralogical and 

 geological specimens in the rear basement room as to give us a 

 very good seating capacity and have used that for our lectures 

 very satisfactorily since that time. 



The Director of the Museum has nearly finished the tedious 

 work of arranging and cataloguing our valuable Conchological 

 collections. We have purchased an additional cabinet case with 

 storage trays for use in that connection; have had two upright 

 cases repaired and refitted and by arranging them to that end 

 have thus partitioned off a convenient, well lighted room at the 

 western end for Dr. Letson's use and have thrown open the now 

 attractive shell room to visitors and students. We have trans- 

 ferred some of our archaeological exhibits to the former lecture 

 room and have found a place in one of the bird cases for the 



