xlviii Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



and my great pleasure to present to you, in the name of the 

 contributors to its cost, the bronze medal which has been 

 struck as a memorial of this semi-centennial celebration of the 

 founding of the Academy. 



acceptance of portraits and medal. 



President Alt : — 



Ladies and Gentlemen: — In behalf of the Academy, I 

 accept these gifts which friends of the Academy have been in 

 their liberality so kind as to donate to us, and I think I 

 can assure you that the members of the Academy will highly 

 prize and treasure them. 



address of dr. birge. 



The Toastmaster: — 



When I said that we ought not to specialize in such a way 

 as to cause us to lose our interest in other things, of course I 

 wished it to be distinctly understood that I have nothing 

 whatever to say against most intense specialization. The only 

 point I wished to make is this : that if one does feel called 

 upon to devote his life and to organize a Society or Club for 

 the study of the abdominal parasites of the white ant, he cer- 

 tainly ought still to remember that there are black ants. 



We have with us this evening a gentleman representing the 

 Natural History Survey of Wisconsin, who has kindly con- 

 sented to address us concerning advance in his science. Dean 

 E. A. Birge, of the University of Wisconsin. 



Dr. Birge: — 



Mr. President, Members and Guests of the St. Louis 

 Academy of Science : — I deem it a great honor as well as a 

 great pleasure to be present this evening and to take part in 

 the Jubilee Anniversary of the founding of this Academy. 

 I congratulate the Academy on the great service which it has 

 rendered to science throughout the fifty years whose close 

 we celebrate. During the early decades of its life it was 

 almost the only scientific body in the Mississippi valley. Its 



