ri BLH ITIONS 131 



collections, the George N. Lawrence and Maximilian collections are of 

 Bpecial importance from the hundreds of type specimens which they 

 contain. 



Mineralogy. Most of the mineral specimens are on exhibition, hut 

 the overflow from the public cases forms a study Beries of no mean propor- 

 tion. 



Public Health. Living bacteria are maintained and distributed free 

 to recognized laboratories. 



Vertebrate Palaeontology. — The study collections comprise about 

 15,000 catalogued specimens of fossil mammals, 6,000 fossil reptiles and 

 amphibians and a few hundred fossil birds. Most of these are from the 

 western United States. The collections of fossil horses, Eocene mam- 

 mals and Cretaceous dinosaurs are unrivaled. The fossil rhinoceroses, 

 camels, oreodonts, carnivora, Fayum, Pampean and Patagonian mam- 

 mals, Jurassic dinosaurs, Permian reptiles, turtles, etc., are likewise 

 of the first rank. They include more than nine hundred type specimens 

 of fossil mammals and several hundred type specimens of fossil reptiles 

 and amphibians. 



The Museum Library, located on the fifth floor, contains about 70,000 

 volumes on various branches of natural history (save botany), anthro- 

 _.. pology and travel. It is particularly strong in vertebrate 



palaeontology and scientific periodicals. Like other 

 museum libraries, it is of necessity a reference library, but, except on 

 Sundays and holidays, may be freely used by the public during the hours 

 when the Museum is open. 



The Osborn Library, founded by President Osborn, is also on the 

 fifth floor and contains works on vertebrate palaeontology and related 

 subjects. 



The publications of the Museum, aside from the Annual Report, fall 

 naturally into two groups: scientific and popular. The former, compris- 

 p ... .. ing the Memoirs, Anthropological Papers and Bulletin, 



contain information gathered by the various expeditions, 

 or derived from the study of material collected; they are from the nature 

 of their subjects mainly of a technical character. The Memoirs consist 

 of the larger, more important papers, or those that call for unusually 

 large illustrations. These are issued from time to time as occasion may 

 demand. The Bulletin comprises the shorter papers, those that contain 

 information that it is desirable to issue promptly, and a volume of about 

 400 pages is issued annually. The scientific papers are distributed, 

 largely in exchange, to museums and libraries throughout the world. 



The popular publications include the Journal, Leaflets, Guides and 

 Handbooks, and are intended for the information of the general public. 



