854 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVII. No. 439. 



The state is almost three times the size of 

 either Iowa, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Alabama, 

 North Carolina, New York, Mississippi or 

 Louisiana ; it is 140 times the size of Ehode 

 Island, 75 times as large as Delaware, 30 

 times the size of Connecticut, 20 times the 

 size of New Jersey, 18 times the size of 

 Massachusetts, 16 times that of Vermont, 

 14^ times that of Maryland, 6 times that of 

 West Virginia and almost five times the 

 size of Maine. Its area equals the com- 

 bined areas of Maine, New Hampshire, 

 Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, 

 Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, 

 Maryland and West Virginia; or of 

 Nevada with Pennsylvania thrown in; or 

 of Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and 

 Kentucky. It is about 600 miles from the 

 eastern to the western end of the state, 

 722 by the Northern Pacific Railroad. 



The climate varies from the moist and 

 heavily timbered belt in the west to the 

 dry arid plains in the east; from the cold 

 northern boundary to the mild western 

 and southern area, with boreal regions 

 along the mountain chains. 



The scenery of the mountainous regions 

 is sublime. Numerous lakes, flanked by 

 towering mountains, tempt the artist who 

 is skillful with the brush. Broad valleys 

 with winding streams alternate with 

 mountain ranges with untold agricultural, 

 mineral and lumber wealth. 



The hardy pioneer, the vanishing red- 

 man, the scenic beauty of the state, the un- 

 developed natural history resources and 

 the remarkable geological beds offer a rich 

 field for the novelist, the ethnologist, the 

 historian or the scientist. The number to 

 undertake the work is small. The field 

 is large. There is a wide range for selec- 

 tion. Within a decade the work wiU be 

 much more circumscribed. It- should be 

 a part of the mission of the academy to 

 call the attention of the people of the state 



and of the world at large to the marvelous 

 resources of the state, and to aid in their 

 development. 



Permit me to suggest a few ways in 

 which the academy may be of value in the 

 state. 



One of the most necessary lines 'of work 

 to be accomplished, and in time the first to 

 be undertaken, is to discover what is pres- 

 ent in the state. It is impossible to begin 

 work without knowing what the work is 

 about. To determine the distribution of 

 shells necessitates the preliminary work of 

 collecting and identifying species. To 

 discuss vertical range of vegetation on 

 mountains or horizontal range on the 

 plains demands a large amount of hard 

 work in digging, drying, transporting, and 

 mounting numerous collections of speci- 

 mens, as also their identification. 



In this connection it may be stated that 

 there are many important localities in the 

 state to which the collector has not yet 

 made a visit. It may, therefore, reason- 

 ably be expected that many of the first 

 scientific papers in natural history and 

 geology will be lists of collected material 

 from limited localities. These are specially 

 desirable and are of prime importance. 

 In geology we may reasonably expect 

 descriptions of mountains showing special 

 structure, discussions of river and lake 

 beds, reports on rocks and minerals, with 

 lists and descriptions of new fossils. We 

 may certainly expect from time to time 

 that those gifted in photography may pre- 

 sent slides illustrating the natural scenery, 

 and it is certainly in reason to expect from 

 time to time exhibits of work with the 

 brush, whether they be of topography or 

 natural history matters little. 



The academy should pick up the younger 

 individuals and put them to work. It is 

 to them we must look for recruits. They 

 need help. There are in every locality 



