W'lial is iruc in ihi^ >iiliifi I i-^ (•(|ii:ill\ line in ;in\ ntlicr luiinch of 

 science. W'c wish in ilcxcinp .i-. m.inx ;ii ii\c woikcis ;is i)()ssil)lc for 

 vr \vAvc ;i hir^r woik in t\n in ihc nr:\v tiiltirc for llic ;i(('<)nii)lishni('iil 

 (if wtiii h we >li:ill nccil ilic ( nniliincd cffnit^ nf nil wlm will hilioi' with 

 us. 



\\\- iuhmI iiiorc careful, si it'iililic botanists, and tliere is no suhjecl 

 which al'furds a more delight full>- invi^oratin^^ avocation than this. 

 l-"ortunaleiy we have in our membership one of the very best botan- 

 ists in the world, ami his aid aufi counsel are available at all times 

 and especially at the monthly nieetinp;s of the botanical section of 

 the Academy. There are other thoroughly competent and genial 

 men and women w-ho are always ready to assist those who show- a 

 disposition to learn. 



One of our recently elected members has vigorously taken up the 

 study of vegetable galls and within a week after his election he had 

 begun a collection of these wonderful little objects. We expect to 

 hear from him in a very practical way in the near future- Would 

 you not like to join him? 



\'egetable galls are interesting for many reasons — partly because 

 of the element of surprise that attends the study. You collect the 

 galls and put them away in jars and await the emergence of the little 

 creatures that produce them. You will often be surprised with the 

 results. 



Among the insect agencies producing galls there are to be men- 

 tioned beetles, flies, wasps, bugs and moths. Other galls are caused 

 by tiny worms like the vinegar eels; others by fungi and still others 

 by mites. 



The material for this study is everywhere to be found and you 

 can get enough in a single day to make a good working collection. 



The study of butterflies has been carried on to a great extent in 

 our country, but at the present time the life histories of a large 

 number of them are not known. It is quite within the realm of pos- 

 sibility that you may add some interesting and valuable facts to our 

 present knowledge of butterflies. 



What is true of the lepidoptera is equally true of all the rest of the 

 insect world, and in some cases the information that you and I might 

 collect may be very greatly needed in saving crops or forest trees 

 from destruction. The study of birds has developed to a wonderful 

 degree and it is reasonable to suppose that there are no birds in the 

 United States that have not been discovered and classified. Still 

 there remains a vast amount of work to be done in ornithology. Some 

 workers have been very painstaking in their efforts to know the inter- 

 nal structures of birds, and they have accomplished wonders. Among 

 these are Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, Mr. C. W- Beebe and our own beloved 

 townsman, Dr. L. H. Miller. These men have advanced our knowl- 

 edge of the osteology of birds immeasurably and it is along this par- 

 ticular line that we need patient and competent workers. In my 

 collections I have a number of nestling birds, both wild and domestic. 

 These, together with some embryonic material, I expect to work up 



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