ADVERTISEMENT. 



In the year 1799, several gentlemen in New Haven formed a So- 

 ciety for the promotion of useful knowledge, under the name of the 

 Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences; and in October of the 

 same year, obtained from the Legislature of the State, an Act of 

 Incorporation. Under this charter, a copy of which is subjoined, 

 the Academy was fully organized, and has continued in active ope- 

 ration to the present time. 



One important object proposed by the founders of the Association, 

 was to collect materials for a statistical account of the State of Con- 

 necticut. This object was j^artially accomj^lished, A large amount 

 of statistical facts were collected and a portion of them were pub- 

 lished. 



The main design of the Association was, however, the general pro- 

 motion of the arts and sciences ; and in compliance with this design, 

 several papers on philosophical subjects were from time to time pre- 

 sented to the Academy, and some of them were selected for publi- 

 cation. In the year 1810 was issued Part I of an octavo volume, 

 embracing seventeen short memoirs in various departments of science ; 

 and in subsequent years, eight other memoirs were added, making 

 together an octavo volume of 412 pages. Besides this, the Academy 

 also published some statistics of the State of Connecticut. 



After the establishment of the American Journal of Science in 

 1819, by Professor Benjamin Silliman, the Academy judged it inex- 

 pedient to continue the publication of memoirs in a separate form, 

 and henceforth such papers as were read at its meetings, and were 

 considered worthy of publication, were given to the public through 

 the medium of the Journal of Science. This practice has continued 



