88 



Ii.i.iNois Natlral History Slrvhv Hclletin 



Vol. 27, Art. 2 



was made that the hiw be changed to 

 allow for the move. In a report addressed 

 to the Recent and dated December 12, 

 1SS4. Forbes made known his needs at 

 the University (Burrill 1887^:10). He 

 stated : 



As voii are (l(Jiibtless aware, I have for 

 some time held the position of Director of 

 the State Laboratory of Natural History, lo- 

 cated in the Normal I'niversity building at 

 Normal, and, indeed, still remain in nominal 

 charge of that establishment, having received 

 from the State Board of Education a leave 

 of absence, without pay. from January 1 to 

 June 30, 1885. in order to enable me to enter 

 upon my duties in the I'niversity here. If I 

 believed that my acceptance of a chair in 

 this University necessarily involved an inter- 

 ruption or serious modification of the work 

 which I have organized as Director of the 

 State Laboratory of Natural History, I should 

 keenly regret it; and, indeed, I did not ex- 

 press my acceptance of that position until I 

 had arranged a plan of readjustment which 

 I thought adequate to prevent such a con- 

 tingency. 



Later in the same meeting, Trustee 

 Alexander McLean offered the following 

 resolutions (Burrill 1887^:18): 



Resolved, That the Trustees of the Illinois 

 Industrial University have heard with great 

 satisfaction the suggestion that the State Lab- 

 orator>- of Natural History may be united with 

 the University under their charge. 



Resolved, That in case such a union shall 

 be accomplished they will, to the extent of 

 the means intrusted to them, aid in carrying 

 forward the valuable work of the laboratory, 

 bv assigning to it suitable apartments in the 

 building of the University, and by providing 

 such conveniences as the nature of the work 

 may require, to the end that it may enjoy 

 a commodious and perpetual home within, 

 and the generous cooperation of, an institu- 

 tion founded and maintained for the promo- 

 tion of scientific research and the dissemina- 

 tion of practical knowledge. 



Forbes officialh' took over his duties at 

 Urbana on Ianuar\ 1, 1885 (Forbes 

 1886/^:lx). 



In the following March the Regent, 

 Dr. Selim H. Peabodv, had the following 

 comment (Burrill 1887rt: 19-20) : 



The unsuccessful effort of three years ago 

 to secure for the I'niversity the presence and 

 aid of Prof. S. A. Forbes for the organization 

 of the instruction of Zoology was renewed 

 last year, and has been crowned with better 

 fortune. Since the opening of the new year 

 the Zoological laboratory has become an ac- 

 tive agency in this department of physical 

 science, and its success is well assured. \ 

 new interest has been aroused in this science. 



The office of the State Entomologist has 

 found a home, it is to be hoped permanent, 

 where it naturally belongs. The governing 

 board of the Normal University has unani- 

 mously resolved that the State Laboratory 

 of Natural History should find its proper 

 abode here at the State University, and has 

 consented that the property peculiar to the 

 work of that [laboratory] may be transferred 

 hither. This change requires only legislative 

 action before it can legally go. as it has prac- 

 tically gone into effect, and there appears to 

 be little doubt that such action will be taken 

 during the present session. 



The legislature approved the action, 

 and everything was legal. 



On July 1, 1885, the appointment of 

 Forbes as Professor of Zoology and En- 

 tomology at the University of Illinois 

 (previously Illinois Industrial University) 

 at an annual salary of $1,160 was ap- 

 proved by the Board of Trustees, which 

 also appointed Forbes Director of the 

 State Laboratory of Natural History and 

 authorized him to receive laboratory prop- 

 erty transferred by the State Board of 

 Education (Burrill 1887fl:50). It is inter- 

 esting to note the size of the Laboratory 

 stafF at that time. On September 8, 1885, 

 the Trustees approved the following ap- 

 pointments (Burrill 1887^:55-6): 

 Entomological Assistants 



Thomas F. Hunt $40 a month 



Clarence M. Weed $40 a month 

 Botanical Assistant 



Charles F. Hart $45 a month 



Amanuensis 



Miss Mary J. Snyder $45 a month 

 Services relating to botanical survev 



Prof. T. T. Burrill $300 for the vear 



F. S. Earle $83 1/3 a month 



Such other miscellaneous assistants as 



might be required and within the 



funds available 

 The State Laboratory of Natural His- 

 torv continued under that name until 

 1917. 



STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 



The rapid settlement of Illinois during 

 the middle of the nineteenth centur\ 

 brought in a great number of agricul- 

 turists. The country was new, and the 

 breaking down of the original vegetation 

 for the establishment of fields in which 

 crops were grown brought about great 

 losses from insects. These losses, while 



