32 



The presidential address was then delivered by Stephen A. 

 Forbes as follows : 



RELATIONS OF THE ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF 

 SCIENCE TO THE STATE. 



The Illinois Academy is meeting this year at what we may 

 now truly call a great state university, with its thoroughly 

 organized and well-equipped departments of instruction and 

 investigation in science both pure and applied ; the home 

 also of other organized public agencies for scientific work 

 not immediately connected wdth instruction, — the Geological 

 Survey, the Agricultural Experiment Station, the State Water 

 Survey, the Engineering Experiment Station, the State Ento- 

 mologist's office, the State Laboratory of Natural History, and 

 the Soil Survey of the State ; and we know that there are other 

 active organizations elsewhere in Illinois of equal interest to 

 us with those about us here, — the State Museum, the Field 

 Museum, the Chicago Academy of Sciences, the great uni- 

 versities in and about Chicago, and the active scientific de- 

 partments of the several colleges of the state, and of our 

 five state normal schools. 



Under these conditions we may reasonably ask ourselves the 

 question : What is the place and proper work of this Academy 

 in the midst of all this great array of established agencies for 

 the scientific work of the State? \Vhat elements of scientific 

 activity still remain in Illinois unorganized, or imperfectly 

 organized, which can be brought together in a state society 

 for their improvement in efficiency? What service may we 

 possibly do to institutions and movements already in ex- 

 istence, by establishing useful bonds of affiliation and prac- 

 ticable systems of cooperation among them? What may we 

 do to strengthen them? to supplement their work at any point 

 by our own undertakings? to make them more immediately 

 and more widely useful to the people of the state? 



