December, 1958 



Mills: From 1858 to 1958 



93 



Harvard Medical College. In 1844 he 

 moved to Geneva, Illinois, where he con- 

 tinued a successful career as a physician. 

 As a child he was greatly interested in 

 nature, moving from ornithology to botany 

 to entomology. In 1850, after 6 years in 

 Illinois, he published his first article, a 



way. He died on October 14, 1876. The 

 excellence of his four reports is a measure 

 of the high ability that Le Baron possessed. 



Cyrus Thomas 



The third State Entomologist did not 

 attend college (Coding 1889:106). The 



Cyrus Thomas, State Entomologist, 1875-1882. 



treatise on the chinch bug, in the Praii-'ie 

 Farmer. This study was so exhaustive 

 that Asa Fitch, the ISIew York State En- 

 tomologist, republished it in his Second 

 Report. In 1865 Le Baron was made the 

 entomological editor of Prairie Farmer. 



In the position of State Entomologist 

 he labored diligently until his health gave 



competence Cyrus Thomas attained was 

 the result of his own personal labors. He 

 was a versatile and practical person. He 

 was born in Tennessee, July 27, 1825, 

 and his mother had hoped that he would 

 become a physician. In 1849 he moved to 

 Jackson County, Illinois, where he stud- 

 ied law and taught school. In 1851 he 



