38 Kansas Academy of Science. 



vey. Without going further into details, it is sufficient to say that after 

 many years of urging and educational work on the part of the Academy, 

 an adequate geological survey of the state was ordered, and the dearest 

 ideal of the Academy triumphed. 



But before the survey was ordered, and during its progress, our 

 Transactions are exceedingly rich in papers on geology in its every phase. 

 The first paper read before the Society was a geological paper by Pro- 

 fessor Mudge, and at each succeeding meeting up to and including the 

 twelfth, which was the last meeting previous to his death, he read from 

 one to four papers on geological subjects, or twenty-four papers in all. 

 One of these was a list of Kansas minerals, the beginning of a catalogue. 

 Professor Mudge's record is also unique in that during his entire mem- 

 bership he was either president or vice president continuously, and did 

 not miss a meeting. At the fifth meeting Wm. H. Saunders presented 

 his first paper on the analysis of coals and limestones, and followed this 

 with other papers on analysis of coals and clays, thus giving a very 

 practical bearing to the work. Throughout our forty-seven years of ex- 

 istence geological papers have formed an important part of our programs. 

 It is difficult to pass over this part of our work without extended notice 

 of the work of such men as Williston, Hay, Haworth, Cragin, Prosser, 

 Grimsley, Beede, Gould, Wooster, and many others. Our Transactions 

 contain carefully prepared lists of invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, 

 fossil plants and leaves, lists of minerals, with many valuable papers on 

 every branch of the subject, both economic and scientific. 



At the third meeting Prof. J. H. Carruth read a paper on the "Plants 

 of Kansas," in which he dwelt largely upon species common in the west- 

 ern states that were not found here at all. At the fourth and fifth meet- 

 ings he presented papers in which a beginning was made in the identifica- 

 tion of Kansas species. At the sixth meeting he presented a preliminary 

 catalogue of the plants of the state. To this catalogue he made additions 

 each year, except 1877 and 1881, until 1889, when, so far as I can learn, 

 his last paper was presented. Professor Carruth was assisted by many 

 local collectors, the Academy furnishing the unifying means. In 1881 

 B. B. Smyth began an extensive series of contributions, particularly of 

 the plants of the western portion of the state, which was continued until 

 quite recent times. In 1884 Professor Kellerman presented a preliminary 

 catalogue of the parasitic fungi of the state, with their host plants. In 

 1888 and 1890 Professor Swingle presented a list of Kansas species of 

 Perosporaceae. In 1894 Miss Reed presented an "Analytic Key to Kansas 

 Mosses," with a list of the known species, and to this she made subse- 

 quent additions. Also, in 1894, Professor Hitchcock presented a list of 

 the grasses of Kansas. In 1910 B. B. Smyth and L. C. R. Smyth pre- 

 sented the first part of a revised "Catalogue of the Plants of Kansas," 

 and in 1912 Mrs. L. C. R. Smyth presented the second part, thus bring- 

 ing the work up to date. This is a bare outline of the systematic work 

 done in botany. There were many other contributors. However, I have 

 given enough to show that through the Kansas Academy of Science as a 

 unifying means the state has been given a fairly exhaustive catalogue of 

 the diff'erent forms of vegetable life, and that our Transactions furnish 



