204 



Illinois Natural History Survey Hui.i.etix 



Vol. 27, Art. 2 



In 1861 the Natural History Society 

 itself published what it termed the "Sec- 

 ond Edition" of V^olume I, Series I, of 

 its Transactions (Wilber 1861^). Most 

 of the material in this volume had been 

 printed previously by the Ai^ricultural 

 Societv in its Transactions for 1857-1858 

 (Wilber 1861^/). Wilber's Preface to the 

 voluni:' published by the Natural History 

 Societv was dated October 30, 1861 

 (Wilber 1861r/:4). The Civil War had 

 be<iun 6 n^onths before. 



In 1867, after the War was over and 

 men a^ain had time to consider civilian 

 science, the state legislature in a single 

 session made an appropriation to the Illi- 

 nois Natural History Society, provided 

 for a State Entomologist, and authorized 

 establishment of the Illinois Industrial 

 Universitv (Illinois General Assemblv 

 1867). 



The legislative act that provided for a 

 State Entomologist required him to pre- 

 pare "a report of his researches and dis- 

 coveries in entomology for publication by 

 the state, annualh" (Illinois General As- 

 sembly 1867:36). 



The act of 1867 in which state appro- 

 priations were first made to the Illinois 

 Natural History Society and the act of 

 10 years later establishing the Illinois 

 State Laboratory of Natural History 

 made no mention of publications (Illinois 

 General Assembly 1867:21-2; 1877: 

 14-6). In 1879, however, the state leg- 

 islature appropriated to the State Lab- 

 oratory for "publication of bulletins, the 

 sum of two hundred and fifty dollars per 

 annum" (Illinois General Assemblv 

 1879:42). 



An act approved June 27, 1885. a few 

 months after Forbes had moved to Ur- 

 bana, was specific about publication. It 

 stipulated that the Director of the State 

 Laboratory "shall present for publica- 

 tion, from time to time, a series of sys- 

 tematic reports covering the entire field of 

 the zoology and the cryptogamic botany of 

 Illinois." The act appropriated "for the 

 publication of bulletins, the sum of three 

 luindred dollars per annum, and for the 

 preparation and publication of the second 

 volume of the report upon the zoology of 

 the State, the sum of fifteen hundred 

 dollars per annum" (Illinois Cieneral As- 

 sembly 1885:23-4). 



The following year, Forbes staged an 

 intellectual sit-down strike over a pro- 

 posed publication. Insufficient funds and 

 conflicting legalities would not permit 

 him to include what he considered suit- 

 able illustrations in the State Entomolo- 

 gist's report he had prepared for publica- 

 tion in 1886. 



Forbes (1886rt:3) explained the situa- 

 tion in the preface to a group of articles 

 that he and members of his stafr had w^rit- 

 ten and that he had submitted to the 

 State Board of Agriculture for publica- 

 tion in its Transactions : 



A recent opinion of the Attorney General 

 makes it doubtful whether the State Entomolo- 

 gist of Illinois has the right, under the laws 

 referring to that oHice (to some extent incon- 

 sistent and conflicting), to prepare any other 

 than a biennial report; and a change in prac- 

 tice of the State Board of Contracts leaves no 

 doubt whatever that a report published this 

 year could not be illustrated. As an elaborate 

 monograph of insects injurious to Indian corn 

 was intended as the principal part of my ento- 

 mological report for lo85, and as this article 

 certainly should not be published without a 

 large number of excellent figures, I have de- 

 cided, under existing circumstances, not only 

 to withhold this paper, but also to refrain from 

 presenting any formal report for 1885, leaving 

 it to the State Legislature to provide for the 

 proper illustration of th? reports hereafter, and 

 to remove the present inconsistencies of the 

 law. Unwilling, however, that the work of the 

 office of the past year should be without repre- 

 sentation in the Transactions of the State 

 Board of Agriculture, with which the ento- 

 mological report has been annually published 

 for the last ten years, I have submitted to the 

 Board, at the request of its Secretary, C. F. 

 Mills, Esq., the following miscellaneous essays 

 on economic entomology, summarizing the re- 

 sults of such part of our operations as may 

 well be published without cuts. 



At its next session the Illinois Gen- 

 eral xA.ssemblN- (1887:72) appropriated to 

 the State Laboratory of Natural History 

 $300 for publication of Laboratory bul- 

 letins and $500 for "the illustration of 

 the biennial report of the State Entomol- 

 ogist." 



In these da^'s of high cost of printing, 

 engraving, and other services, such sums 

 as $300 and $500 seem insignificant. In 

 1887, however, they bulked large enough 

 to help confirm in the public mind the 

 importance of publication and illustra- 

 tion in scientific research. 



In a biennial report issued about 3 years 

 after assuming his duties in Urbana, 



