36 



In my opinion the first duty of the members of this Academy is a complete 

 study of the material resources of the county in which they reside. Xot, for ex- 

 ample, a list of flowers, unless it is indicative of soils, of drainage, of forest 

 wealth, of forage resources, of the numerous facts of which the list stands as in- 

 dex. Not a mere list of birds, or fish, or insects, interesting though such lists be, 

 but the conditions of which they stand as the visible sign. Not catalogues of 

 fossils, nor sections of wells, save as they speak of mineral resources, of what may 

 be called the unutilized wealth of the State. This material should be furnished 

 to the State Geologist for proper correlation and use. The Academy has enough 

 work of other character, of equal value to turn all of this material over to the 

 State Geologist. 



These facts in the hands of individuals are practically valueless, usually 

 travelling into a swift and secure oblivion through the columns of a county paper 

 or the introduction to a county atlas. In the hands of the State Geologist these 

 same facts would often prove of supreme importance, saving weary hours of study 

 and laborious trips of investigation. Within the year such a wealth of facts con- 

 cerning the resources of the State could be collected without especial effort on the 

 part of any one person, that many conclusions could be drawn with almost abso- 

 lute precision. Conclusions that would serve to develop new industries on the 

 one hand, or prevent the useless expenditure of thousands of dollars on the other. 

 I say it is a duty you and I owe the State — we have always owed it, but the duty 

 is now an imperative one since the State has given official recognition to this 

 organization. 



Another duty is in the conservation of the wealth of the State. A collation 

 of facts that will tend to the conservation of forests, to the destruction of weeds, 

 the protection of birds and fish, the warding ofl of plant and animal diseases, 

 improved sanitation in homes and municipalities, the increase of crop production. 

 All of these are within the domain of science, and it is only through the labors 

 of scientists that success will be achieved. No one has a higher and more pro- 

 found respect for pure science than I. No one feels more deeply the truth that 

 pure science — the theoretical, if you please — must precede the practical ; is, in- 

 deed, the foundation of the practical. But if science expects to justify herself to 

 the State, and hopes for continued recognition by the State, she must from time 

 to time, at least, descend from the heights of pure science and mingle in the 

 affdirs of daily life. She must not always claim; she must occasionally do. 



This duty of developing and conserving the material resources of the State I 

 believe to be an imperative one, and one which, unfulfilled, leaves us culpably 

 derelict. 



