STATE HORTICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 177 



departments he turned his attention to entomology, to which he ever 

 afterward remained faithfuL 



After studying under the tutorship of his nncle, Dr. Joseph Kit- 

 tridge, he hegan the practice of medicine in his native town, remain- 

 ing there several years; suhsei|ueutly, however, he completed his 

 medical studies, graduating from Harvard Medical College in 1837. 



In 1841 he married Sarah Jarvis Carr, of Ellsworth, Maine. 

 Three years later he removed to Geneva, Kane County, Illinois, 

 where the remainder of his life was spent, with the exception of the 

 last year, when he resided in Chicago. While in Geneva he con- 

 tinued in practice, attaining a high degree of eminence. 



In 1850 Dr. Le Baron made his advent into the scientific world, 

 publishing an article in the old Prairie Farmer on "The Chinch 

 Bug," which was, at that time, making serious ravages in the wheat 

 crop, then the most important iiroduct of the State. In this article, 

 which Avas republished in Fitch's Second New York Entomological 

 Report, he gave the first scientific account of the life history of this 

 important pest. Of this paper Dr. Fitch says: " Little requires to 

 be added to this account." The same is true of the many scientific 

 papers written by Dr. Le Baron. His exhaustive researches into the 

 habits of the chinch bug, and practical suggestions (in this and sub- 

 sequent papers) as to their extermination, attracted the attention of 

 the leading entomologists of Europe and America. 



In 1865 he accepted the editorship of the entomological depart- 

 ment in the Prairie Farmer^ to which paper he had contributed at 

 intervals for years. 



When called to the office of State Entomologist by Gov. Pal- 

 mer, in 1870, to succeed the lamented Walsh, he was taken entirely 

 by surprise. From that time he devoted his whole attention to this 

 work, that lay nearest to his heart, until his health gave way under 

 the severity of the strain. One of th*^ first moves made by him, after 

 his appointment, was the ])urchase of the VV^ilsh collection, which 

 secured to the State one of the finest and most accurately named col- 

 lections of insects to be found in America. Recently his own private 

 collection has been presented to the State Labratory of Natural His- 

 tory by his family, tliough he had, during his term of office, augment- 

 ed the collection belonging to the State University. But this is not 

 all; his hiljors l)eing of an original character added directly to our 

 knowledge of insect life, and his name will be handcid down to pos- 

 terity as one of the most eminent of our economic entomologists. 



Dr. Le Baron died in Elgin, 111., October 14th, 1876, leaving a 

 wife and five children. 



The doctor's standing as an entomologist will be based on his 

 four Annual Reports, three of which have appeared in your Trans- 

 actions. These reports are replete with valuable information, the 

 last being a m(tnograi)li of the (yoleo])tera, and the one to follow to 

 have l)een a similar work on the Diptera, his speciality. 



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