BUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 249 



lections may be mentioned those of Buchley, LeConte, Nuttall, Read, 

 Shortt, and others; a large herbarium of old world plants; the Ellis 

 and Everhart collection of fungi; and the George A. Rex collection of 

 Myxomycetes. 



Geology. Minerals and rocks, 29,000, including the William S. 

 Vaux collection, maintained and enlarged from a special endowment 

 fund. In historical geology an extensive collection is available for 

 study but is not arranged for exhibition. 



Paleontology. 46,000 specimens, including many types and 

 figured specimens. Among special collections are the Lea collection 

 of eocene fossils, the Joseph Wilcox collection of pliocene fossils, the 

 Conrad and Gabb collections, and many vertebrate types of Cope and 

 Leidy. 



Zoology. 1,500,000 specimens: Shells, 200,000 trays, said to be 

 the largest collection in America, and including many type specimens 

 described by Tryon, Lea, Say, Pilsbry, and others; Insects, on exhibi- 

 tion, 2000, in storage, 370,000, types and figured specimens, 59oo±, 

 including the Martindale collection of lepidoptera and the George 

 H. Horn collection of coleoptera; Other invertebrates, on exhibition, 

 500, in storage, 11,000, types and figured specimens, ioo±; Fishes, 

 40,000, including the Bonaparte collection and many types and figured 

 specimens; Batrachians and reptiles, 18,000, including many types 

 and figured specimens described by Cope; Birds, on exhibition, 9000, 

 in storage, 50,500, types, 6oo±, including many of Cassin, Gould, and 

 Townsend, and forming one of the best collections in America; Mam- 

 mals, on exhibition, 500, in storage, 12,000, types and figured speci- 

 mens, 5o±; Local collections, a special exhibition room is devoted to 

 the natural history of eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey and con- 

 tains the collection of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. 



Historical Sketch. The academy was founded in 181 2 and has 

 had several locations, the present site being occupied in 1876. The 

 building was remodeled and enlarged in 1894 and 1908. It now con- 

 tains 100,000 square feet of floor space for exhibition, and 50,000 for 

 offices, workrooms, etc., besides the library. 



Scope. Special emphasis is placed upon exploration and research 

 by the staff, and upon publication. Instruction of the general public 

 is carried on by the maintenance of a free museum and by courses of 

 free lectures. 



Library. The library is the most extensive natural history li- 

 brary in America, and is noted for its complete files of early foreign 

 scientific journals, and its remarkably fine series of systematic works in 



