December, 1958 



Mills: From 1858 to 1958 



97 



ural History Survey, Forbes became the 

 first Chief of the new organization. He 

 held this position until his death, March 

 13, 1930, when almost 86 years of age. 

 The four sketches above cannot do jus- 

 tice to the entomological pioneers who 

 are their subjects, but they will give 

 some indication of the high quality of the 

 men. All were competent individuals with 



the State Laboratory Bulletin by Uni- 

 versity staf¥ members. 



The State Entomologist's responsibili- 

 ties changed as time went on, and the 

 agency became responsible for the admin- 

 istration of some laws, as well as for 

 research (Forbes 1909:6-^-5). With the 

 discovery of the San Jose scale in Illinois 

 in 1896, there was concern over the pos- 





The Natural History Building on the University of Illinois campus. About 1894 headquar- 

 ters and laboratories of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History and of the State Ento- 

 mologist were moved into this building. From July 1, 1917, until the middle of 1940 it housed 

 the main offices and most of the laboratories of the Illinois Natural History Survey. 



high standards, even though they came 

 from widely different backgrounds and 

 possessed widely different trainings. 



(Among the sources of biographical 

 material on Forbes are Anon. 1930, E. B. 

 Forbes 1930, Ward 1930, Howard 1932, 

 Van Cleave 1930, 1947, and Marshall 

 1956.) 



Reorganization 



Forbes administered the State Labora- 

 tory of Natural History and the State 

 Entomologist's Office as a unit, inter- 

 changing personnel and materials. Fur- 

 ther, he made these agencies available to 

 the University of Illinois in many ways, 

 and considerable publishing was done in 



sible spread of other pests into the state. 

 In 1899 legislation was passed giving the 

 State Entomologist large powers in in- 

 spection, certification, and quarantine. 

 Other duties were added in 1907. 



According to Forbes (1909:55, 66), in 

 1909 the staffs of the two agencies con- 

 sisted of the following: 



State Laboratory of Natural History 

 1 Director 



1 Entomologist 



2 Zoological Assistants 

 1 Artist 



1 Secretary 



Special assistants from time to time 

 State Entomologist's Office 

 1 State Entomologist 



