Our increase in membership has added to the roll of Patrons, 
Messrs. William Waldorf Astor, Henry Seligman, Richard T. 
Wilson, John E. Parsons, Francis O. Matthiessen, A. J. Forbes- 
Leith, George Bliss, and the Hon. M. C. D. Borden. Messrs. 
David Wolfe Bishop, Jr., and Cortlandt Field Bishop have become 
Fellows. The Museum has also gained nineteen Life Members, 
and one hundred and seventy-six Annual Members. Messrs. W. 
W. Cole and George H. Brown have been elected Honorary Life 
Members ; and Mrs. S. Lowell Elliot has been constituted an 
Honorary Patron by reason of valuable donations. 
The provision of the exhibition cases for the fitting up of the 
new building is a subject upon which has been bestowed the most 
careful consideration. The experience and advice of those 
familiar with the needs of a museum has been availed of, in 
order that no precaution might be omitted that would contribute 
to the best results. Group cases have caused an outlay of about 
$12,000, and will require an additional expenditure of $6600 for 
the current year to complete those now in progress. 
In this connection, we are indebted to the Hon. Whitelaw 
Reid, Minister of the United States to France, for his kindness 
in procuring for us a series of large photographs of the Exhibi- 
tion Halls of the Natural History Museum in Paris ; thanks are 
also due to Professor G. Brown Goode, of the National Museum 
of Washington, for full working drawings and plans of completed 
cases. 
A course of eight lectures was given last fall to members and 
their families by Professor A. S. Bickmore and Dr. Frederick 
Starr ; the former delivered a course of five lectures on Economic 
Botany and Economic Geology, and the latter gave three lectures 
on the History and Origin of Dress. The last lectures were 
illustrated largely from the material in the Ethnological Depart- 
ment. 
A free lecture to the public was delivered by Prof. Bickmore 
on each of the following days : Thanksgiving, Christmas and 
New Years. These lectures were attended by large audiences. 
The amount of the collateral inheritance tax levied upon the 
bequest of the late Wm. H. Vanderbilt to this Museum, was very 
generously refunded by Messrs. Cornelius and Wm. K. Vanderbilt; 
