1870.] 



SENATE— No. 170. 



29 



struction. Among those who have attended this teaching were 

 teachers from five different collegiate institutions. 



In order to render the instruction as eflfective as possible, 

 there should be separated from the collections of the Museum a 

 lot of specimens for the especial use of students. Owing to the 

 care which has generally been taken to secure large amounts of 

 materials in making collections for the Museum, it will be pos- 

 sible to make a good students' collection without encroaching 

 upon that part of our stores which must be reserved for scien- 

 tific purposes. 



In addition to the instruction given in the Museum, an oppor- 

 tunity has been given to the students of the University who were 

 attending the lectures of the Curator of the Museum on geol- 

 ogy, as well as the special students of the course of instruction 

 before described, to learn something of practical field geology. 

 On the Saturdays in October and November excursions were 

 made to a number of points of interest in the vicinity of Boston. 

 Coming just after the Saturday lecture on geology, these excur- 

 sions have been numerously attended and have served to sup- 

 plement the geological instruction. 



The teaching power of the Museum, as well as all its other 

 functions, is now hampered by want of room. The hall, origi- 

 nally designed for a lecture-room alone, has necessarily been 

 made to serve as a store-room and work-room, and has besides 

 to afford quarters to the special students. This has made it 

 impossible at times to afford a chance to work to those who 

 sought instruction. It will be possible when the contem- 

 plated addition to the Museum is effected to have a set of 

 work-rooms fitted up at a small expense, which will give 

 accommodations for one hundred students engaged in labora- 

 tory work. It seems likely that under the new system of elect- 

 ive studies in the College we shall soon have at least that 

 number seeking instruction in the Museum in the several de- 

 partments of Natural History. At present, we have not space 

 in which to accommodate a single additional student. 



The most pressing need in this department is larger supplies 

 of American fossils. One thousand dollars a year would enable 

 us to keep one collector constantly in the field, and the dupli- 

 cates obtained from him would enable us to exchange for Euro- 

 pean fossils worth far more than all his collections cost. 



