Maech 28, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



497 



and E. W. Washburn. One of the pur- 

 poses of the academy is to make science the prop- 

 erty of the people, and no part of the program 

 better met this purpose than these brief addresses 

 which gave specialists in one science clear notions 

 of the things being done in other sciences. The 

 evening address was by Professor E. E. Barnard, 

 Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, upon 

 ' ' Some Late Results in Astronomical Photog- 

 raphy," and was illustrated with lantern slides 

 made from the most recent and most valuable 

 astronomical photographs. As the lecture ended 

 doubtless a good many members felt as one said: 

 "There is no mind-stretcher equal to astronomy." 

 The academy has had several committees at 

 work during the past year, among which are the 

 following: on conservation, on legislation, on cal- 

 endar reform, on leaflets on high school science, 

 on pure and applied science in high schools, on 

 ecological survey. All of these committees are 

 continued so that they may make further report 

 next year, but the report of the ecological survey 

 committee, S. A. Eorbes, chairman, should be 

 especially mentioned. The districts actively in- 

 vestigated and made the basis of special reports, 

 printed or to be print-ed, are: the Chicago area; 

 the Beach area of northeastern Illinois; the 

 county of Jo Daviess in the northwestern part of 

 the state and Fulton County in the central part 

 of the state; the sand prairies of the state; the 

 Charleston area with extensions over the eastern 

 Illinois; and the Illinois River, with extensions to 

 the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers. A statistical 

 survey of the bird life of the entire state, made 

 four years ago, showing numbers, distribution and 

 ecological relations of the species is now being 

 prepared for publication. The ecological relations 

 of the crawfishes of Illinois are being investigated 

 by a special student. The work upon the animal 

 life of the Chicago area is soon to be published by 

 the Geographic Society of Chicago. While this is 

 not a part of the work of the academyj it has been 

 done by one of its members. Dr. Shelf ord, and con- 

 stitutes a part of the ecological work of the state. 

 Dr. E. N. Transeau is publishing a report upon 

 the algse of eastern Illinois, a report which notes 

 245 species, 23 of which have not previously been 

 collected in North America, almost all these new 

 forms having been found in old prairie ponds. 

 Mr. T. L. Hankinson reports a most interesting and 

 careful study of the distribution of the fishes 

 of Coles Comity, a county drained partly by the 

 Wabash system and partly by the Kaskaskia sys- 



tem, thus offering peculiarly good opportunity for 

 such a study. 



The individual papers upon the program of the 

 academy follow: 



' ' A Celestial Sphere, ' ' an apparatus to be used 

 in the study of descriptive astronomy, constructed 

 and installed at the Chicago Academy of Science 

 (illustrated), W. W. Atwood, Chicago Academy of 

 Science. 



' ' Chicago Academy of Science — An Educational 

 Force in the Community" (illustrated), W. W. 

 Atwood, Chicago Academy of Science. 



"Annotated List of the AlgaB of Eastern Illi- 

 nois," presented in form of a summary, E. N. 

 Transeau, Eastern State Normal School. 



"The Sexton Creek Limestone in Illinois," T. 

 E. Savage, University of Illinois. 



' ' A Plea for the Organization of Local Natural 

 History Societies," Ruth Marshall, Rockford Col- 

 lege. 



"A New Species of Marionina from Illinois," 

 Frank Smith and Paul S. Welch, University of 

 Illinois. 



"A Black-crowned Night Heronry" (illus- 

 trated), Charles W. Finley, Western State Normal 

 School. 



"Reproduction by Layering in the Black 

 Spruce," George D. Fuller, University of Chicago. 



' ' Studies of Evaporation and Soil Moisture in 

 the Prairie of Illinois, ' ' George D. Puller and E. 

 M. Harvey, University of Chicago. 



"The Stratification of Humidity in the For- 

 est," Wade McNutt, Highland Park High School, 

 and J. R. Locke, Streator High School. 



"The Distribution of the Fish in the Streams 

 about Charleston, Hlinois, " T. L. Hankinson, 

 Eastern State Normal School. 



"The Disappearance of the Beaver," Elliot R. 

 Downing, University of Chicago. 



' ' The Stratigraphy of the Chester Group in 

 Southern Illinois," Stuart Weller, University of 

 Chicago. 



"Cloud Studies" (illustrated), M. L. Fuller, 

 United States Weather Bureau, Peoria. 



The new officers for the following year are: 



President — F. W. Dewolf, State Geological Sur- 

 vey, Urbana. 



Vice-president — H. S. Pepoon, Lake View High 

 School, Chicago. 



Treasurer — J. C. Hessler, James Millikin Uni- 

 versity, Decatur. 



Secretary — E. N. Transeau, State Normal 

 School, Charleston. 



