MRS. M. I.. D. PUTNAM. PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS. 99 



Centennial Association that first inaug-urated and successfully carried 

 out the pu]:)lication of the proceedincrs, on which, more than any other 

 one thing, the scientific character and standing of the Academy 

 abroad has been firmly established. The very ground beneath our 

 feet is the s^Dontaneous gift of a generous woman, and this commodi- 

 ous building which affords us a permanent home, from lowest founda- 

 tion stone to the highest roof crest, if not the direct work of woman's 

 hand, has been wx'ought out and completed under the inspiring influ- 

 ence of a woman's heart." 



These generous words and the hearty action of the Academy in ac- 

 cepting them, overcame the reluctance I naturally felt in assuming- a 

 position so exalted as to become the first female president of an 

 academy of natural sciences. The circumstances were peculiar and 

 embarrassing, but in gratefully accepting the position as a tribute to 

 my sex, I had hoped and expected to make up for any lack of scien- 

 tific qualifications by zeal and enthusiasm in behalf of your great 

 work, and if the performance has fallen short of the ])romise, you 

 will, I am sure, attribute my shortcomings to the dark experiences 

 through whose shadows I have been passing. 



The constitution of your Academy makes it the duty of the 

 Board of Trustees at the annual meeting to make a written rej^ort 

 of their proceedings. The by-laws devolve this duty upon 

 the President, and in compliance with this requirement I will 

 now submit to you a brief statement of the progress and condition of 

 the Academy during the i)ast year, (1879,) referring you to the very 

 full and complete reports of the various officers for the details. 



The objects of the Academy, as aptly expressed in the Constitu- 

 tion, are "the increase and diffusion of a knowledge of the natural 

 sciences by the establishment of a museum, the reading and publi- 

 cation of original papers and other suitable means." In reporting 

 the progress of the Academy during the year, the most important 

 question to l:)e answered is. What has been done to promote these 

 objects'? Under the first head, "the iurrease oi -a knowledge oi 

 the natural sciences," the following papers, embodying the results 

 of original investigations, have been presented : 



By J. D. Putnam, Notes on the habits of Cicadas ; bv W. C. 

 Holbrook, Antiquities of Whiteside county, 111.; by Prof. G. 

 Seyfi'arth, Inscriptions on the Davenport Tablets ; by Prof. E. L. 

 Berthoud, Explorations in Idaho and Montana in 1878 ; by Dr. W. 

 J. Hoffman, Antiquities of New Mexico and Arizona ; by W. H. 



