BUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 95 



for its maintenance for two years. It has developed rapidly and has 

 now outgrown its present quarters. The city council has recently 

 given the museum two historic buildings for its future home. 



Financial Support. By optional appropriation of the state 

 legislature, at present amounting to $5000 annually. 



Building. The museum at present occupies a rented building 

 affording about 13,000 square feet of floor space for exhibition. Two 

 buildings have been set apart for the museum by the state and to 

 these the collections will soon be transferred. 



Administration. By a curator, responsible to the president and 

 executive committee of a board of curators (trustees). 



Scope. The museum is the designated repository of all historic 

 and scientific material belonging to the state. Its primary purposes 

 are instruction of the general public and maintenance of local col- 

 lections. 



Library. 1000 volumes and 3000 pamphlets relating to history 

 and science and intended for the use of both staff and public. The 

 library includes many historical maps, charts, etc., and a complete 

 set of the elephant folio edition of Audubon's Birds. 



Publications, (i) Biennial Reports. (2) Guides to places of 

 historic interest in New Orleans. 



Attendance. Open free to the public on week-days from 9 to 

 5. The number of visitors in 1908 was 105,000. 



TULANE UNIVERSITY. Museum. 



The collections possessed by the university, now occupying the 

 entire third floor of Gibson Hall, had their origin in the cabinet of 

 minerals and rocks of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences, and the 

 purchase in 1884 of a part of the Ward Natural Science exhibit at the 

 exposition of that year. The museum contains the following col- 

 lections: Anthropology, 500 specimens, chiefly relics of the Indians 

 and the mound builders. Botany, a herbarium of 30,000 specimens, 

 including the famous Hale collections. Mineralogy, 8000 specimens. 

 Paleontology, 6ooo± specimens. Invertebrate zoology, 300 sponges, 

 200 corals, 3000 shells, 300 Blaschka glass models of coelenterates, 

 holothurians, vermes, etc., 200 crustaceans. Vertebrate zoology, a 

 nearly complete representation of Louisiana fresh and salt-water 

 fishes, in all about 800 specimens; 1100 batrachians, including the 

 Kohn collection of over 200 mounted turtles of North America; 5000 

 birds, comprising a complete representation of Louisiana and North 

 American species, and a number of groups; 300 mammals; 200 skel- 

 etons. 



