PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



Twenty -Fifth Annual Session of the 

 Iowa Academy of Science 



REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



To the Members of the loiva Academy of Science: 



The Iowa Academy of Science is in a good vigorous condition. At the meet- 

 ing last year seven fellows and fifteen members were added to the list. This 

 year the number of applications is several times as large. It seems that 

 there is a renewal of youthful vigor. Many letters of invitation were sent 

 out by the president and the secretary with results that are encouraging. 

 Some three or four years ago the secretary sent out a large number of letters 

 without receiving a single favorable response. The Academy has not been 

 sufficiently aggressive in past years. Too much has been taken for granted 

 with reference to the knowledge of the scientists over the state concerning 

 the aims of the Academy and concerning its personnel. There must be no 

 reason for any suspicion of scientific exclusiveness or snobbishness on the 

 part of the Academy. The response to letters this year indicates that 

 numbers were ready to become members when their attention was called 

 to the aims and purposes of the Academy. The continuance of earnest work 

 will add many more to our membership. 



The committee, consisting of the president, the secretary and J. H. Lees, 

 appointed to see if the mechanical construction of the Proceedings could be 

 improved, did its work, the president by correspondence and the secretary 

 and Mr. Lees by conference. It was found that not much change was feasible 

 in the stock used as it is the same as that used for other state printing with 

 the exception of the reports of the Geological Survey. A betterment in the 

 binding was made, using buckram instead of cloth, adding tool line and head 

 band, using square edge boards instead of beveled, and putting the state seal 

 on the volume. 



Consideration should be given to the matter of the number of copies of 

 the Proceedings for distribution to members. One thousand copies are pub- 

 lished. Two hundred of these are put into better binding for the members, 

 the added cost being paid by the Academy. This number should be increased 

 to two hundred and fifty or three hundred to meet the needs of our increased 

 membership. There are now approximately two hundred names on the roll, 



