38 



Forty-second Annual Report on the 



mines in them. Notes for a preliminary report thereon have 

 been made and valuable statistics gathered. A collection of 

 nearly 500 specimens of ores and associated rocks has been 

 received through the assistance of mine-owners, managers and 

 superintendents. 



Mr. Chas. E. Beecher, Assistant Palaeontologist, has given some 

 time each month to the Museum, and rendered most efficient aid 

 in timely suggestions and advice in questions relating to the selec- 

 tion of material to be purchased, modes of arrangement, and the 

 general management of the Museum. Through his efforts valuable 

 exchanges have been effected with the Yale College Museum, and 

 choice and much-needed collections of fossils purchased in 

 Europe. 



Mr. William B. Marshall, Assistant in Zoology, has had the 

 special care of the collections in that department. The mammals 

 have been rearranged by him in the newly-fitted cases ; the birds 

 have been reidentified, following Ridgway's 'system of nomencla- 

 ture ; the Beecher collection of Unios has been mounted, and 

 nearly all of the specimens in the Zoological department have had 

 newly- written labels put on them. In the Mineralogical depart- 

 ment he has written new labels throughout. He has kept the 

 record of accessions to the Museum, and attended to the exchanges 

 of the library, and a card catalogue of the latter has been made. 

 The general clerical work of the Museum has been done by him, 

 including part of the ordinary correspondence. In the work of 

 preparing this report he has rendered much assistance. 



Martin Sheehy has been employed in making transparent sec- 

 tions for the exhibition of the structure of crystalline rocks, 

 building stones and fossil Brachiopoda for microscopic study. 

 Because of the many necessary calls upon him to assist in 

 packing and unpacking collections, and in the general work of 

 caring for the collections in Geological Hall, he has not been able 

 to give all of his time to rock-cutting. The equipment of the 

 laboratory has been improved by the purchase of diamond saws, 

 which have greatly increased the efficiency of the machinery in 

 use. A further improvement in the construction of the lathe is 

 desired in order to do the work of cutting more quickly and accu- 

 rately and to thus avoid the loss of time now consumed in 

 grinding down the sections by hand to the requisite thinness. 

 The work of the year has been to prepare 125 microscopical sec- 



