further extension. Under this grant, Professor Bickmore pre- 

 pared a comprehensive series of lectures to be given to the 

 teachers of the City and State. Twenty lectures were scheduled 

 for each year. The main purpose of these lectures by Professor 

 Bickmore was to give the teachers exact information and to ac- 

 quaint them with the riches of the Museum in order that their 

 teaching might be more effective. 



At this time, the Museum also prepared a teaching collec- 

 tion of rocks of Manhattan Island, dried plants and many 

 specimens of corals, shells, crustaceans and insects. This ma- 



terial was installed in a suitable cabinet and de- 

 . posited in each of the 160 public schools, so that 



the teachers would have on hand material to illus- 

 trate for their pupils the facts that they had learned at Professor 

 Bickmore's lectures. From this beginning, there developed the 

 system of Visual Instruction so closely identified with Professor 

 Bickmore's name. The work received the support of the State 

 from 1884 to 1903, except for a period of three months in 

 1890. During this period of twenty years the work was un- 

 der the immediate direction of Professor Bickmore and in the 

 carrying out of these educational plans he brought together that 

 unique series of stereopticon slides which he recently presented 

 to the Museum and which forms the nucleus of the Museum's 

 now extensive series. In 1904 continued ill health compelled 

 Professor Bickmore to retire from active service. 



