HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM 
George H. 
Sherwood, 
Curator, 
1906-. 
the lectures given by Professor Bickmore at the Museum; $25,000 an- 
nually was appropriated for the next four years. The whole system 
of Visual Instruction was at this time placed under the supervision of 
Professor Bickmore, and a compensation of $1,000 a month granted 
for the expenses of inspection, supervision, shipment of material, etc.; 
$18,000 annually with $1,000 a month extra was appropriated for four 
years beginning with 1897, but this was increased to $20,000 annually 
in 1899; $12,666.66 was granted in 1900 for deficiencies occasioned 
by the transferring of the appropriation bill. 
The allowance of $1,000 extra a month was extended for four years 
Law of 1901. from January, 1901; $38,000 was appropriated for the year 1902, 
and the same for 1903. This was the last appropriation made by the 
State for the work. The Saturday morning lectures to teachers were 
discontinued the following year, and in 1905 Professor Bickmore was 
appointed Curator Emeritus, his ill-health necessitating a lightening 
of his duties. He was relieved of all active charge in 1906, and Mr. 
George H. Sherwood was appointed Curator. 
In the Department of Public Instruction is centered all those features 
of the Museum work which are instrumental in articulating the work 
of the Museum with the public at large and especially with the educa- 
tional system of the City. Under this heading are the nature study 
collections which are loaned to public schools, the lectures for school 
children, the free lectures on holidays, the lectures in conjunction with 
the Board of Education, and the opportunities afforded to educators for 
work at the Museum and Museum extension work with public libraries 
and similar institutions. 
With the placing of nature study as a part of the curriculum laid 
down by the Board of Education, numerous requests were made to 
the Museum by teachers for material to illustrate the course in Nature 
Study. To meet these demands the Museum prepared a number of 
cabinets of natural history specimens and instituted a system whereby 
these were loaned to the schools of the City. When this work was 
begun, only ten collections were available, but the demand for them 
has become so great that now the Museum has more than 400, and is 
[116] 
Circulating 
Collections, 
