135 



ite. Francis's Catalogue. Gardener's Monthly. Gloucester Telegraph. Haverhill 

 Gazette. Ipswich Advance. Land and Water. Lawrence American. Little Giant. 

 Lynn Reporter. Medical and Surgical Reporter. Nation. Nature. Pavilion. 

 Peabody Press. Quarritch's Catalogue. Sailor's Magazine and Seaman's Friend. 

 Salem Observer. Silliman's Journal. Sotheran's Catalogue. Tilton'B Journal of 

 Horticulture. 



The President mentioned the great loss which science 

 and history have sustained in the destruction of the build- 

 ings of the Chicago Academy of Sciences and of the 

 Chicago Historical Society with all their valuable collec- 

 tions and libraries, during the great fire on the eighth and 

 ninth of this month, which had laid in ruins so large a* 

 portion of that great and beautiful city of the northwest. 

 He alluded to his recent visit to these institutions and was 

 impressed with the value of their collections, and with 

 the liberality of the citizens of that city in providing such 

 substantial buildings and generous endowments. 



" THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Ill 1856 the formation of a society for the promotion of 

 the Natural Sciences was proposed, and in the following 

 year the Chicago Academy of Natural Sciences was or- 

 ganized. A room was taken and a museum commenced, 

 but owing to the financial crash that came upon the coun- 

 try, very'little was done until the year 1859, when it was 

 organized as a corporation under the title of the Chicago 

 'Academy of Sciences. In 1862 the lamented Kennicott 

 returned from his three years' exploration in the Arctic 

 regions, richly laden with specimens, a part of which 

 we^re to become the property of the Academy. In the 

 winter of 1863-4 advantage was taken of Prof. Agassiz' 

 visit to Chicago to gain his opinion of the value of the 

 collections secured by Mr. Kennicott. His endorsement 

 of Mr. Kennicott's work, and his urging the importance 

 of the forming a great museum in the Northwest was so 

 stron" an incentive that money was at once secured (a 



