REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT IN CHARGE. 



James Hall, LL. D., Director of the Neiv York State Museum of Natural 

 History, Albany, N. Y: 

 Sir. — I transmit herewith my report as Assistant-in-charge of the 

 New York State Museum of Natural History, for the year ending 

 December 1, 1888. 



Kespectfully, 



JOHN C. SMOCK. 



Albany, N. Y., December 1, 1888. 



Current Work. 



My time has been given to the general care of the collections, 

 the ordinary office work, with its correspondence and answers to 

 inquiries relative to the State and its natural products ; to the 

 selection and purchase of collections for the increase of the 

 Museum, to the examination and disposition of donations, to the 

 preparation of mineral collections for distribution to schools in 

 the State, to the field work in the line of economic geology, and 

 to the general direction and supervision of the work of the 

 assistants. 



The increasing number of calls and requests by letter for 

 information upon the localities and extent of natural products of 

 economical importance occurring within the limits of the State, 

 demands more time and personal attention each succeeding year. 

 Inquiries about all of our mineral staples come to the office. So 

 far as possible, full and definite answers are given to all such 

 requests. The dissemination of information of this kind is regarded 

 as one of the most important parts of the office work, and is a 

 practical return of the Museum to the people of the State. The 

 exhibition of specimens of our natural products in well classified 

 and arranged collections, illustrating their variety and occurrence, 

 would assist greatly in this work of giving information upon these 

 mineral staples. 



My field work, this year, has been in the iron-ore districts of 

 the State. All of them have been visited, and nearly allj of the 



