STUDIES ON MUSEUMS. AND KINDRED INSTITUTIONS. 439 



Fho iiojicUMiiy issues Transactions (two vols, in (juarto, with 85 plates, 

 1867-1870), Bulletins (two octa\<) volumes since iss:!), Aiuuial Reports 

 (1895-1897), Catalouues for exeluiiioe, and Bulletins of the Natural 

 History Survey (formerly (leolotiical and Natural History Survey), 

 four of which were issued and sevei'al others are in preparation. 

 'I'hese ])i'blicatious are treatises especially on the bmnches of paleon- 

 tology, zoology, iind botany of the country. The library is almost 

 exclusively augmented by exchanging the al)o\'e })ublications, the pub- 

 lications of more than i*<)0 other institutions, aiui contains 10,000 vol- 

 umes and several thousand pampldets. 



The meetings of the academy in which scientific lectures are given 

 take place monthly, and besides these, weekly popular scientitic lectures 

 ar«» given during the winter season. In liMM) twenty-five such lectures 

 took place and were patronized by 7,000 persons. The lecture hall 

 holds about 800 persons. 



The nuiseum had 300,000 visitors in 1900, from 25 to 6,000 daily. 



The increase in the collections amounted to 7,600 specimens in 1900, 

 1,000 of which were by exchange. The entire number of specimens 

 w^as 150,000, among- them 75,000 mollusks, HO.OOO arthropodes, paleon- 

 tolog'ical and botanical objects, 15,000 each, 5,000 mineralogical objects, 

 and -1,000 birds. 



The museum of the Chicago Academy of Science will certainly develop 

 itself from these existing lieginnings, for it contains even now many 

 original and suital)le features, and tln^ building itself nuist be consid- 

 ered as a model of a smaller nmseum building. On account of the 

 careful planning of the wliole, and (^specially on account of the practical 

 views the architects so preeminently followed, it would be greeted with 

 the greatest satisfaction if the I'ich citizens of Chicago who patronize 

 nuiseum interests would at this time not oidy favor the Field Colum- 

 bian Museum and the Art Institute, but also help the academy to such 

 a success as it deserxcs by I'eason of its modest yet praiseworthy accom- 

 plishments, compared with other great American institutes. A city 

 like Chii-ago. with its extensive area, should not oidy have two great 

 museums for natural science, but they are really a necessity. There- 

 fore a "'crescat, Horeat'' is certainly in its place, 



II. (MnC"A(i() ItlSTORICAL SOCIKTY. 



The Chicago Historical Society was founded in 1856, and in 1857 

 incorporated by the State of Illinois. Its object is to institute and 

 encourage historical in(|uiry, to collect and preserve the materials of 

 liistory, and to spi-ead historical information, especially with regai'd 

 to the Northwestern States, In 1868 it occupied its own building, 

 whose construction had cost $()0,00(>, l)ut the great Chicago fire in 1871 

 whoUv destroved it. together with the entir-e collection of over 100,000 



