Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting 79 
welcomed. Since there is not likely to be another meeting of the 
Academy before the next Assembly meets, some direction or indication 
of the wishes of the Academy will be of special value. 
There has been no session of the Assembly since our last meeting 
and therefore no presentation of our wishes has been possible. 
It appears to the committee that desired legislation may be sought 
along two lines; first, to provide funds for the Academy to undertake 
definite researches along special lines and to provide a fund for the 
publication of the proceedings of the society; second, to secure such 
legislation as may connect the Academy in an advisory capacity with 
the State in regard to matters of scientific importance requiring technical 
scientific information, and which the membership of the Academy is 
qualified to give. 
For the first purpose it seems that the most probable fund might 
be one providing for publication either directly by state printing, 
with perhaps, a limitation of say 500 pages per year or a direct appropria- 
tion, to be expended by the Society for publication purposes. Such a 
request might be the first to urge, and then a request for the appropria- 
tion of a research fund, to be expended under the direction of the 
Trustees of the Research Fund of the Academy in such an amount as 
might be deemed essential for the investigations proposed. 
For the second general purpose, there would seem to be necessary an 
act creating an advisory committee within the Academy, with power 
to form sub-committees for specific problems, especially with reference 
to needed legislation along lines within the scope of the Academy. 
Such, for example, as legislation concerning conservation and utilization 
of natural resources of the state, the protection of forests, the develop- 
ment of fisheries, game and other natural resources, the best develop- 
ment and utilization of which are matters of scientific knowledge and 
which are in considerable degree now the subject of controversy by 
special interests, rather than the objects of care by intelligent agencies 
interested in their widest service and perpetuation. 
Unless it is possible to have a careful discussion of these questions 
and to give certain fairly definite instructions, it would seem necessary 
in order to make any progress within the next year that the committee, 
or a new committee formed for the purpose, be given considerable 
discretion in the matter of character and extent of the legislation 
sought. While there is perhaps less hope at present on account of the 
urgency of other matters, it would seem that the importance of these 
measures for the Academy merit as prompt action as possible and it 
will be well certainly to have our needs formulated in such definite 
shape that we may be prepared to act as promptly as circumstances 
will permit. 
T. C. MENDENHALL, Chairman, 
HERBERT OSBORN. 
Owing to the request of Dr. Mendenhall to be excused 
from the chairmanship of the committee and to Prof. Waite’s 
temporary absence on war work, it was voted that the present 
