766 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



fore it during the first year of its existence The work done makes a very 

 creditable showing, and these papers will compare favorably with those of 

 much older societies. Two of the contributions, one on "Insects as an 

 Article of Food," and the other on "Fungus Eating," are very interesting, 

 to the general reader as well as the scientist. The Proceedings are gotten 

 up in good style, with illustrations to some of the papers. The Society is 

 composed of excellent material, having a good corps of working members, 

 who aim at a high standard of excellence in all that they do. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



This number completes the first volume of 

 the Eeview, and upon looking over the year's 

 work, we are tolerably well satisfied with it. 

 Our eflfort at all times has been to make it an 

 acceptable visitor to all classes of readers, and 

 with this in view we have been compelled to 

 procure our articles from a large number of 

 sources. Fortunately our contributors have 

 used their talents upon diverse subjects, and 

 our exchanges comprise periodicals, both Eng- 

 lish and American, devoted to almost every 

 branch of science, so that our task has been 

 comparatively easy, after all. 



It is a matter of pride to us that so many of 

 the distinguished scientific men of the West 

 have deemed the Eeview a suitable medium 

 for placing their [ideas, theories, records and 

 discoveries before the reading public, and we 

 have assurances that there will be no falling off" 

 in this respect in the future. 



We have given our readers seven hundred 

 and sixty-eight pages of well printed, substan- 

 tial and reliable reading matter, comprising 

 original articles by more than twenty able 

 writers, and selected from a list of over fifty 

 of the best scientific, medical, educational, agri- 

 cultural and literary periodicals in the world, 

 and have distributed for our advertisers twelve 

 thousand copies of the Review in more than 

 half of the States of the Union, bat principal- 

 ly in Missouri, Kansas and Colorado, where it 

 has reached not kss than four or five times as 

 many readers. 



The Review has been warmly welcomed by 



the press of the country, both scientific and 

 literary, and has been quite as well patron'zed, 

 especially in Kansas City, as could possibly 

 have been expected, considering that it is the 

 first publication of the kind which has ever 

 been started in the West. Another year we 

 shall hope to improve it in several respects, 

 still, however, only attempting to adapt it to 

 the popular rather than to the strictly scientific 

 taste. We shall also hope for an increased 

 support, both at home and from a distance. 



In fact, the only thing now wanting to make 

 the Review a permanent publication is more 

 subscribers and a few more advertisements. 

 We feel that we ought to have both ; not as a 

 gratuity, however, but because our periodical 

 is worthy of them, and will repay both as a 

 business investment. 



The Kansas City Academy of Science 

 met at its rooms on the evening of January 

 29th, and notwithstanding the disagreeable 

 weather there was a full attendance. Before 

 the commencement of the regular exercises, 

 those present availed themselves of the oppor- 

 tunity to inspect the fine collection of stuffed 

 birds prepai-ed and presented by Mr. Frank 

 Devens. 



At eight o'clock Judge West called the 

 meeting to order, and Col. Van Horn pro- 

 ceeded to read his paper upon "The Atmos- 

 phere and its Phenomena." As the article is 

 printed in full in this number of the Review, 

 it is unnecessary for us to say more than that 



