Annusl Meeting.] 
428 
[May 4( 
expenditure of a considerable sum of money. The completion 
of these books being, therefore, a matter of time and money, it 
became evident that something should be done to make the Mu- 
seum useful to visitors while they were preparing. Through 
the generosity of a Boston lady this difficulty has been tempo- 
rarily met by maintaining an educated ^roung man as guide in the 
Museum on public days. He delivers several peripatetic lectures 
on each public day during the summer and on favorable days in 
winter, taking parties through the Museum free of charge and at 
stated hours. A movement is now being started to obtain means 
for putting the necessary heating apparatus into the Museum free 
of expense to the Society, so that the work of the guide may not 
suffer interruption during the coldest part of the year. 
The duties of the guide have assumed greater importance 
with each succeeding year in spite of the drawbacks arising 
from the frequent changes that have been made. There have 
been four different occupants of the office since it was originated 
in the year 1888 , and each one of these men had to be drilled 
and taught before he could act as guide. The appointment of 
any one as guide to the Museum seemed to be a signal for the 
advent of more tempting offers of employment from other 
quarters. In order to carry out the design fully it is obvious that 
we shall have to make this position desirable and permanent by 
means of a sufficient salary. The obstacles in our way at present 
are simply of a pecuniary nature and will doubtless be overcome 
by persistent effort. 
The importance and novelty of this mode of making the col- 
lections useful have been explained in former annual reports and it 
is believed that this is the only existing public museum in which 
an educated man is systematically working in this way. The 
growing importance of the department demands recognition, and 
the report made by Mr. Grabau has been introduced into this 
annual report under the title of ‘■‘Teaching in the Museum.” Provi- 
sions for such lectures were made in the final paragraph of the 
original plan of organization, and it may therefore be said that 
the last step proposed in that plan has been successfully begun, 
and thus all of its propositions have been proved to be practi- 
cable. 
The Museum is not a large one but its present excellence has 
been affected with all the drawbacks attending a small income, at 
