IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 35 



when winter comes they are in excellent bodily condition. The winter 

 being passed in a state of hibernation the slight wastes are supplied immedi- 

 ately from the tissues, no food being taken. In tropical countries this is 

 said to be reversed, the hot dry summer being passed in a doraiant condi- 

 tion. When kept in captivity they readily eat flies and other insects, but as 

 they will live for a considerable period of time without food, they are com- 

 monly so keijt. It has thus been found that frogs will live three or four 

 months without food and suffer but slight loss of tissue. They have been 

 kept nine months in cages where there was no chance for them to obtain 

 food, and in one instance some were kept fourteen months. In this case a 

 number died, evidently by disease, which could not be resisted in this starved 

 condition. At the end of this time the remaining frogs were greatly emac- 

 iated and apparently could not have lived many more months, but as they 

 were then needed for laboratory purposes the experiment on their powers 

 of endurance came to an end. 



The productiveness of frogs has to do only with the preservation of the 

 species, and with the great number of the tadpoles and adult frogs destroyed 

 every year, it is necessary, if the species are to be preserved, that a corres- 

 pondingly large number of eggs be produced. 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



BY C. C. NUTTING. 



What tee hare been doing: — 



In choosing a subject upon which to address you on this occasion, it occurred to 

 me that it raiffht be profitable to present briefly as possible, the work done by the 

 individual members of the Academy, aside from the papers presented before this 

 body. 



In calling upon the State to publish the proneedings of this Academy we have 

 assumed to be a representative body of the working scientists of Iowa. Such an 

 assumption could be made by any body of men who chose to call themselves scien- 

 tists. It is my purpose in giving a resume of the year's work done by our Fellows, 

 to demonstrate that the real workers are in our ranks, and that our body can sup- 

 port its claims by a creditable showing of achievement. And this we are able to do 

 in spite of the havoc made in our ranks by the removal from our midst of an unpre- 

 cedented number of our best and most active workers. 



Glancing down the list of Fellows we find that the following workers are no 

 longer among us: R. E. C«/?, charter member, secretary for several years, and 

 prominently active in all our meetings. //. L. Bruner, formerly of Drake Univer- 

 sity. Erasmwi Haworth, called from Penn College to the State University of 

 Kansas, one of the very first and best scientists on our list. J. E. Todd, charter 

 member and at one time president of this Academy; a man beloved and honored 

 by us all. Seth E. Meek, called from Coe College to the Arkansas Industrial Uni- 

 versity, the only Ichthyologist of eminence that we had. 



All these known to have left the State since our last meeting. We can ill aS"ord 

 to do without them, and it will take not only good, but the best men to replace 

 them. 



