Education, should have in this city a grand collection of specimens, free 
to the inspection of its own citizens as a source of public amusement, and 
open to the use of the teachers and scholars of its public and private 
schools as a means of general instruction. 
“Tt was for these purposes that the Legislature of the State of New 
York, by an Act passed on the 6th of April, 1869, created the Trustees 
and their successors a body corporate by the name of “The American 
Museum of Natural History,’ to be located in the City of New York, 
for the purpose of establishing and maintaining in said city a Museum 
and Library of Natural History; of encouraging and developing the 
study of Natural Science; of advancing the general knowledge of 
kindred subjects, and to that end of furnishing popular instruction and 
recreation. Under this Charter the Trustees immediately organized, 
and have, during the five years which have since elapsed, devoted no 
inconsiderable amount of time and thought, as well as of money, to car- 
rying into practical operation its useful provisions. Having by their 
own contributions, and those of many public-spirited citizens who 
evinced a substantial interest in the project, obtained the necessary 
means, they purchased the extensive collection of Mammals, Birds, 
Fishes, etc., belonging to the late Prince Maximilian of Neuwied, the 
Elliot collection of Birds, besides a large part of the celebrated Ver- 
reaux and other collections of specimens of Natural History, and thus 
found themselves in possession of a suitable nucleus for a complete col- 
lection, but without any proper building or place of deposit, where the 
specimens might be at the same time safely preserved and made avail- 
able for the popular use and enjoyment. At this stage in their enter- 
prise, the Trustees . . . turned in their hour of need to the Commis- 
sioners of the Central Park, and proposed to deposit their collections, 
Lar] 
