﻿Reports of Curators and the Custodian. 



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societies have been added to the exchange list, sets of proceedings of old 

 societies have been completed, and there is now an excellent foundation for 

 a valuable scientific library. It has been partially catalogued, and the 

 books are thus made more readily accessible, especially the bound volumes 

 of pamphlets. 



The Museum has been visited during the year by over 2,200 persons. 

 A small number, perhaps, but an increase over last year, and an indication 

 of the growing importance of the Society. The schools have used the 

 Museum largely, and have thus derived much benefit. 



On the 23d of May last, the 1 76th anniversary of the birth of Linnaeus, 

 a reception was given by the Society to invited guests. About one hundred 

 persons were present Papers were read upon the life and upon the botan- 

 ical and the zoological labors of the great naturalist, and at the conclusion 

 of the exercises an informal exhibition of microscopic objects was given. 



The feature of the year just past has been the institution of courses of 

 free lectures. During the summer a series of ten lectures on Botany was 

 delivered. These were given on Saturday mornings from June to August, 

 and, notwithstanding- they came in the middle of summer, when many who 

 would have attended were away from the city, the course was quite success- 

 ful. This induced the Executive Board to arrange for others, and during 

 the fall and winter, from October to March, fourteen lectures on various 

 branches of science were delivered to appreciative audiences. All these 

 were free, and excited a considerable degree of attention among persons in- 

 terested in scientific pursuits. There were treated subjects connected with 

 zoology, botany, geology and archaeology, and while they were well attend- 

 ed, it would appear that the range of subjects was too wide to have justice 

 done to any one of them. In arranging for such lectures again it would be 

 well to devote the six or eight to one branch of science, say to geology, or 

 palaeontology, or conchology, or entomology, and in this way to cover the 

 ground in a more systematic and thorough manner. Through the medium 

 of courses such as these, properly conducted, the society could be made one 

 of the leading educational institutions of the city. The matter has been 

 brought more forcibly to my mind since reading a notice of the address of 

 Prof. Bickmore, of the American Museum of Natural History of New 

 York City, before the Department of Superintendence of the National Edu- 

 cational Association at Washington last year. In his opening remarks 

 Prof. Bickmore said : 



'•About two years and a half ago the authorities of the museum with 

 which I am associated addressed a letter to the Board of Education of our 

 city, suggesting that they select a limited number of their teachers to come 



