AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 43 



the Journal in 1818, the Connecticut Academy freely 

 gave its support both in papers for publication and at 

 least on one occasion later it gave important financial aid. 

 Upon the occasion of the celebration of the centennial 

 anniversary of the Academy on October 11, 1899, Pro- 

 fessor, later Governor, Baldwin, the president of the 

 Academy, discusses this subject in some detail. He says 

 in part : 



To support his [Silliman's] undertaking, a vote had been 

 passed in February [1818], "that the Committee of Publication 

 may allow such of the Academy's papers as they think proper, 

 to be published in Mr. Silliman's Scientific Journal." 



Free use was made of this authority, and a large part of the 

 contents of the Journal was for many years drawn from this 

 source. In some cases this fact was noted in publication ; 2 but 

 in most it was not. . . . 



In 1826, when the Journal was in great need of financial sup- 

 port, the Academy further voted to pay for a year the cost of 

 printing such of its papers as might be published in it. In 

 Baldwin's Annals of Yale College, published in 1831, it is 

 described as a publication "honorable to the science of our 

 common country," and having "an additional value as being 

 adopted as the acknowledged organ of the Connecticut Academy 

 of Arts and Sciences." 



Many active campaigns were carried on over the 

 country through paid agents to obtain new subscribers 

 for the Journal and it was doubtless due to these efforts 

 that the nominal subscription list was, at times, as 

 already noted, relatively large as compared with that of a 

 later date. The new subscribers in many cases, however, 

 did not remain permanently interested, often failed to 

 pay their bills, and the uncertain and varying demand 

 upon the supply of printed copies was doubtless one 

 reason why many single numbers became early out of 

 print. 



An interesting sidelight is thrown upon the efforts of 

 Silliman to interest the public in his work, at its begin- 

 ning, by a letter to the editor from Thomas Jefferson, 

 then seventy-five years of age. The writer is indebted to 

 Mr. Robert B. Adam of Buffalo for a copy of this letter 

 and its interest justifies its being reproduced here entire. 

 The letter is as follows : 



