STATE HORTICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 153 



Although paying but little attention to the study of entomol- 

 ogy, he made a small collection of insects while living in England. 

 He published a large volume on university reforms, one entitled 

 '' Walsh's Comedies of Aristophanes," besides contributing regularly 

 to the English periodicals and newspapers. Mr. Walsh was married 

 in 1836. Two years later he came to this country, where his wife 

 had relatives residing near Rock Island. Parchasing a farm in 

 Henry county, near Cambridge, he determined to retire, in part, 

 from the world, and lead the life of a philosopher. Here he lived 

 for thirteen years, performing his share of all the duties of the farm. 

 In 1846 the "white grubs," "wire worms" and "cutworms" at- 

 tracted his attention from their ravages, and he at once began to 

 search for a remedy. It was here that he made his first entomolog- 

 ical observations in America, which were followed by such brilliant 

 results in after years. In 1851 he removed to Rock Island, 111., and 

 engaged in the lumber business, in which he continued for seven 

 years, at the same time taking a lively interest in political matters. 

 In 185S he was elected alderman on the Republican ticket, and, af- 

 ter exposing various frauds, he resigned the office, about the same 

 time retiring from business with a competency. 



Mr. Walsh now began to devote himself entirely to his favorite 

 science, and, strange though it may appear, his active labors extended 

 over scarcely a dozen years. The first published account of Mr. 

 Walsh as an entomologist is in the report of a lecture which he de- 

 livered before this Society in Bloomington, January, 1860. About 

 this time he became a regular contributor to the agricultural and 

 horticultural press, his articles being always of a popular character 

 and very interesting. 



In 1861 he was awarded the prize of $25 for the best essay or 

 suggestions for diminishing the loss sustained by insect ravages, 

 offered by the State Agricultural Society. This paper, entitled, 

 "Insects Injurious to Vegetation in Illinois," was published in the 

 transactions for that year, and was followed in a subsequent volume 

 by another bearing a similar title. In both, his aim was to arouse 

 the agriculturists to a sense of the immense losses they sustain from 

 the depredations of injurious insects, and the necessity of a more 

 general knowledge of these little foes. It is probable that these 

 articles did much toward opening the eyes of those interested, to the 

 need of a State Entomologist. From 1862 to 1866 about a dozen 

 scientific papers emanated from his prolific pen, appearing in the 

 proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, and those of 

 the Entomological Society of Philadelphia. In October, 1865, the 

 latter mentioned society commenced the publication of the Practical 

 Entumolof/ist, of which Mr. Walsh was associate editor during the 

 first year, becoming sole editor of Volume II. 



Your society, ever ready to take the lead in every progressive 

 movement in which the tillers of the soil are interested, petitioned 



