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NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



A bulletin entitled The Higher Crustacea of New York City was 

 issued during the early summer and met with a favorable reception. 



Curatorial work. In the exhibition rooms the large specimens 

 of stuffed fish and reptiles which have long occupied the tops of 

 the cases were removed as, owing to their exposed position, they 

 had become exceedingly dirty and on account of the oil on them 

 were impossible to clean. The old white printed labels on other 

 specimens of this class, which were difficult to read, have been 

 replaced with larger, yellow ones. 



The taxidermist has prepared and put on exhibition groups repre- 

 senting the nesting habits and surroundings of the redwing black- 

 bird, marsh wren, oven bird and yellow warbler, while a group of 

 catbirds was partially completed. A Virginia deer was also 

 mounted and placed on exhibition, and a group of red foxes, 

 mother and four young, has been practically completed. 



When spring collecting began, trips were made to Long Island, 

 Rouse Point, Hunter and in the vicinity of Albany, resulting 

 in material being collected for five other groups; 203 birds, of 

 which 43 were mounted and the rest made up into study skins. 



The collections of the birds and mammals are in the following 

 condition. Of the 660 birds on exhibition, 310 are rather poorly 

 stuffed in the old-fashioned way and the rest somewhat faded in 

 color with the exception of 141 which have been replaced by new 

 ones since about 1900, while 48 species known to have been taken 

 in the State are not represented even by characteristic specimens. 



Of the 56 rodents, many require remounting. There are 62 

 mounted specimens of mammals but many of the specimens, 

 though historically interesting, should be replaced by fresher 

 material. 



The fowl collection is in fairly good condition throughout, and 

 none of the zoologic collections were molested by moths, or 

 other vermin this year. 



It is very evident that the chief need of these collections of 

 stuffed skins is the gradual replacement of specimens mounted 

 years ago in the cruder methods of the time and long subject to 

 fading by exposure, by new material presented with a more natural 

 style of mounting. Next in importance is the completion of the 

 collections so that they shall present the fullest possible represen- 

 tation of the fauna of the State. 



The exhibition collections of the lower vertebrates and inverte- 

 brates have not been greatly added to but all have received careful 



