TRANSACTIONS. 



In response to the generally expressed wish of the members of the Academy, the 

 Executive Committee called the seventeenth annual meeting at Lawrence, on November 

 24th, 25th, and 26th, 1884, the sessions being held at the University. The following ab- 

 stract of the proceedings includes the business transactions of general interest, and the 

 papers read at the sessions, so far as furnished for publication by their authors and ac- 

 cepted by the Committee on Publication. 



The proceedings of the afternoon of the 24th were of a general business nature, in- 

 cluding the annual reports of the officers of the Academy and the appointment of tem- 

 porary committees. 



At the evening session the annual address of the President was delivered by Dr. 

 Brown, as follows: 



IS A GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE STATE A NECESSITY? 



In accordance with the custom and rule of this Academy, the President is required 

 to deliver an address at each annual meeting, on some subject pertaining to the work of 

 the past year, or on the advancement and progress of science in our midst. In response 

 to tins, the work and labor of the members of the Academy will be presented to you 

 during the meeting, as they have come fully prepared with papers of great value and 

 interest, covering all branches of science, with new discoveries and new developments 

 in every department. Time, labor and money have been expended by them to bring 

 together so much original investigation and research, that will be appreciated by scien- 

 tists everywhere, and by the people of our State. 



We will devote the remainder of the evening to something we deem of vital im- 

 portance to our State. That is, the question of a geological survey of Kansas. If we 

 can convince you, and through you the great mass of our citizens, that there is a neces- 

 sity that such a work should be made, and that the benefits derived from it will be one 

 hundred fold of the cost attending the same, our labor in bringing this subject before 

 you will not be without some good results. 



This Academy was organized for the advancement and promotion of scientific knowl- 

 edge. In pursuit of it, many facts in regard to the resources of the State have been 

 made public, which have proved of value to the people of this commonwealth. Take, 

 for instance, the weather reports of Profs. Snow and Lovewell, which have been fur- 

 nished to tin' public; the botany of the State, by Prof. Carruth; the geological forma- 

 tions, by the late Prof. Mudge; besides mineral deposits, insect life, etc., by the members 

 of the Academy. 



We know very little in regard to our mineral wealth. The digging of a well has de- 

 veloped coal, opened up lead mines, brought forth mineral waters, and unearthed hidden 

 treasures. If the State should take hold of a geological survey and prosecute it faith- 

 fully, the public would find that Kansas possesses within her limits, valuable resources 

 which now lie idle and unknown. What is there in a geological survey that the 

 farmer, merchant and mechanic should lend his aid and influence in securing an appro- 



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