DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 83 



THE DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL 



SCIENCES. 



. By FREDERICK STARR. 



THE scientific work of our Government bureaus and of the 

 great universities of our country is of supreme importance 

 and justly arouses the pride of every American. It is not likely to 

 be overlooked. The work of local societies is less imposing, but 

 is of the highest importance and calls for more than a passing 

 word. In many American cities there are organizations of per- 

 sons who are intelligently interested in science. These hold regu- 

 lar meetings for discussion, publish papers as new contributions 

 to science, and gather museum collections which serve as object 

 lessons to the public. Few persons realize how much such local 

 organizations, supported by private means and personal enthusi- 

 asm, are doing for the cause of science. To make known the 

 story of some of these academies of science and to sketch their 

 work is the purpose of the series of articles of which this is the 

 first. To present their achievements and their claims to respect 

 and assistance is a task which the author gladly undertakes, 

 being one of the many students who have been helped and en- 

 couraged by them. 



The choice of the Davenport Academy of Science as the sub- 

 ject of this first article is simply from convenience. In some 

 respects the story of its origin and development is typical, in 

 others unusual. There is rather more of personality in it than in 

 most, for the Davenport Academy has had a peculiar environ- 

 ment. When it was organized the city of Davenport was in the 

 " far West " ; opportunities for literary and scientific work were 

 meager ; the town itself was small, commercial, unsympathetic. 

 That any organization of its kind so far from other centers 

 should exist and thrive was astonishing. 



In 1867, on December 14th, four gentlemen Messrs. L. T. Eads, 

 A. U. Barler, A. S. Tiffany, and W. H. Pratt met in a business 

 office to organize a natural history society. No one of the four 

 was a professional scientist ; all were busy men ; none of them was 

 really wealthy. They added names enough to their own to sup- 

 ply officers and a board of trustees, drew up a constitution and 

 by-laws, and then and there became an actual society. Thereafter 

 regular meetings were held and topics of more or less scientific 

 importance were discussed. Before a year had passed the mem- 

 bership had grown to more than fifty, and the attendance at the 

 meetings indicated continued interest. A cabinet of natural his- 

 tory was begun and a place for its display was secured in the 

 rooms of the Davenport Library Association. The first sign. 



