632 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Lands fossils had been given to the academy by Mr. Chouteau. 

 About the middle of 1857 the academy bought the one fourth which 

 belonged to Mr. Vaughan. While all these things indicated that 

 the academy was particularly favored in its early years, it would be 

 a great mistake to think that it found only easy sailing. "While 

 its ideas were broad and its membership active, while its papers were 

 of scientific value and its proceedings were eagerly sought in ex- 

 change, the financial problem was serious. Thus Prout says, in 

 1862: "Surrounded by difficulties and embarrassments, without 

 means and without patronage, we have struggled on and struggled 

 successfully. We had hoped that, ere the present moment, some 

 friend or friends of science with enlarged and liberal ideas would 

 have extended to us a helping hand, and placed us in a condition to 

 give the world a more ample exhibition of the fruits of our labors. 

 But for the generous liberality of one of our members we should 

 not now have a place to hold our meetings or to garner up the 

 treasures which have been so liberally contributed to our museum; 

 and, again, those objects lose part of their interest for the want of ap- 

 propriate casing in which they could be scientifically arranged and 

 classified." In fact, the mere publishing of the Transactions was a 

 heavy burden; the fees were not adequate to the task, and private 

 gifts were solicited to continue the work. It was war time, and St. 

 Louis particularly felt the disastrous effect of the strife. Men were 

 too busy with political affairs, too anxious regardingwhat a day might 

 bring forth, to contribute much for the encouragement of science. 

 Even these circumstances, however, had some conpensations. An 

 institution of learning — McDowell College — was changed into a war 

 prison, Gratiot Street Prison. The military authorities transferred 

 its collections to the academy, and we find the following resolutions 

 in the minutes : " Resolved, that the thanks of the academy are due 

 to Major-General Curtis, as also the members of the Western Sani- 

 tary Commission, for interest taken by them in the preservation of 

 what remained of the McDowell Museum of Natural History when 

 it fell under their control; and that Captain Curry, of the Tenth 

 Missouri Cavalry, and the men under his command are entitled to 

 our special acknowledgment for the zeal and fidelity with which the 

 order of General Curtis for the removal of the collection to the 

 halls of the academy was executed by them." 



The first recognition of the academy, so far as we know, was by 

 the Academy of Science of Philadelphia, which early — presumably 

 before any publications had been made by the new organization — 

 donated its Transactions and the second set of its journal. In 1866, 

 when the St. Louis Academy had passed its first decade, we find her 

 playing a similar magnanimous part to other institutions. At that 



