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Gow, of Dixon : "Natural History in Schools." By R. H. 

 Holder, of Blooming-on : "A Catalogue of the Birds of Illi- 

 nois." By James Shaw : "The Great Tornado of i860." By 

 Dr. Thomas ; "Insects of Illinois, with Catalogue of Coleoptera," 

 "Mammals of Illinois." These latter papers, it scarcely need be 

 said, were extremely slight sketches of their subjects. By Dr. 

 Vasey: "Additions to the Flora of Illinois," "The Pernicious 

 Weeds of Illinois," "The Range of Arborescent Vegetation." 

 By Mr. Walsh: "Insects Injurious to Vegetation in Illinois," 

 "The Army-worm and its Insect Foes," "Insect Life in its 

 Relation to Agriculture." By Mr. Wilber: "The Mastodon 

 giganteus, its Remains in Illinois." Most of these papers were 

 published in the Transactions of the State Agricultural Society, 

 some of them also in the Prairie Farmer, of Chicago, those 

 being virtually the only avenues of publication open to students 

 of science in Illinois in that day. 



The society operated through an elaborate organization of 

 special committees of its members, one for each division of the 

 natural history of the State, each committee ^composed, of 

 course, of unpaid volunteers, who were made responsible for 

 the accumulation and preparation of material for their several 

 departments of the museum, and for contributions on their re- 

 spective divisions of its natural history. This survey work was 

 extremely irregular in amount and unequal in value, and its 

 results were never organized by the society into a working 

 collection. The curator was an instructor in the normal school, 

 and seems to have received no pay from the society; but the 

 general commissioner was supposed to give his entire time to 

 its service. His salary was evidently uncertain in amount, and 

 dependent largely on his success in securing entrance fees fromi 

 new menibers. P'inancial complications arose — disputes as to 

 ownership of property, difficulties in the payment .of debts in- 



