ANNALS OF THE ACADEMY 93 



of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Michigan Agricul- 

 tural College, May 28 to 31 ; Dr. Alexander Agassiz represented 

 the Academy at the Seventh International Zoological Congress 

 held in Boston, August 19 to 23; Dr. Arnold Hague, at the 

 centenary celebration of the Geological Society of London, Sep- 

 tember 26 to 28 ; Dr. George E. Hale, at the meeting of the Inter- 

 national Association of Academies, and at the third meeting of the 

 Union for Cooperation in Solar Research, in Paris, in May; 

 Professor W. C. Brogger, at the bicentenary celebration of the 

 birth of Linnaeus atUpsala, May 23 and 24; and Professor Henry 

 F. Osborn at a similar celebration in New York. 



1908-1912 



The proceedings of the Academy in 1908 and the events of that 

 year were important from manv points of view. The last of the 

 incorporators of the Academy, Professor Wolcott Gibbs, died on 

 December 9. He was Vice-President of the Academy from 1872 

 to 1878 and President from 1895 ^o 1901. He had also been the 

 first Home Secretary, serving in that capacity from 1863 to 1872. 

 In a brief sketch of his life published in 1908, it is remarked: 

 " His long life was devoted to the cause of research in the field of 

 pure science, and his influence was always on the side of the 

 highest ideals." He was succeeded in the presidency by Alex- 

 ander Agassiz. 



The subject of the preservation of the forests of the United 

 States had become one of strong public interest in the country 

 in 1908, and the Academy again voiced its opinion regarding 

 this matter in so far as it related to the forests of the White 

 Mountains and the Appalachians in the following resolutions 

 of the Council which were transmitted to the Senate and House 

 of Representatives: 



" Whereas under the present drain upon the forest timber supply of the 

 entire United States will be exhausted within twenty years, while in the Eastern 

 States, where no adequate means have been employed to protect the forest, the 

 end of the supply is even nearer ; 



