Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary. xxzvii 



broke out in May, 1869, destroying almost the entire Museum. 

 Fortunately the Library was saved. The loss of its Museum 

 was irreparable and no efforts to re-establish it were made 

 until a few years ago. 



During the years that the Academy was tenanted in the 

 Public School Library Building, the Washington University 

 and the Missouri Historical Society, what was left of the 

 Museum and such small accessions as were acquired from 

 time to time were stored in cellars and consequently of no use 

 to the members or to the public. 



However, during the bright days of the Archaeological 

 Section in 1876 and 1877, excavations were made by the 

 Academy in the mounds of southeastern Missouri, in north- 

 ern Arkansas and in Illinois, the partial results of which were 

 published in a quarto memoir. The pottery and the crania 

 obtained then are among the treasures of our present museum. 



While no serious efforts were made during some thirty 

 years to re-establish the Museum, the energies of the Academy 

 during that time were devoted to the formation of a library 

 by the liberal exchange of publications. In this way we have 

 come into the possession of many valuable series issued by 

 kindred societies from all over the world. To-day we ex- 

 change publications with 420 foreign and 160 home societies. 



While we undoubtedly have as valuable a series of the cur- 

 rent scientific literature as published by societies of kindred 

 aims, our files are devoid of the works and publications de- 

 voted exclusively to certain branches of science, as, for in- 

 stance, " Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie," **Mor- 

 phologisches Jahrbuch," '* Annals and Magazine of Natural 

 History," ♦* Transactions and Procedings of the Zoological 

 Society,'* " Palaeontographica," "Quarterly Journal and 

 Transactions of the Geological Society " and •' Poggendorf's 

 Annalen der Physik und Chemie," but which are considered 

 indispensible as references to keep in touch with the progress 

 made in those branches. These are not obtainable by ex- 

 change but only by purchase and, since the funds of the 

 Academy have been very limited, no appropriation could be 

 made to supply this necessary addition to the Library. How- 



