VASSAE brothers' institute. 107-(77) 



making, at the last stated meeting of the- year, a report 

 relative to the work and condition of the Section. The 

 time for the tirst discharge of that duty has arrived, and 

 T beg leave to submit the following statements : 



The Vassal' Brothers 1 Institute was organized in the 

 spring of the year 1881. The object of the founders was 

 to supply an appropriate building with facilities for 

 conducting the Scientific and Literary work which had 

 been carried on for several years but with indifferent 

 success for want of rooms and funds, by the Poughkeep- 

 sie Society of Natural X<-inu-<< and by the Literary Club 

 of PoughJceepsie. 



The constitution of the Institute required that the or- 

 ganization should contain three sections : one devoted to 

 scientific research, one to literary and one to artistic 

 work. Moreover the constitution declared that "at the 

 first meeting of the board of trustees of the Institute 

 they shall, from their number, form these three sections 

 which shall thereby be duly organized for the purpose 

 of adopting by-laws, electing members and transacting 

 each its special business/' Accordingly, on June 13th. 

 1881, the Scientific Section was formed with the follow- 

 ing named trustees of the Institute as members : 



MAthew \ "assail S. M. Buckingham, 



John Ctuy Vassar, W. a. Stevenson, 



A. P. Van Gies< > \ . H. V . P e lt< >k . 



T. J. Backus, C. N.Arnold, 



Edward Els worth, J. P. Adriance, 



W. B. D wight, Le H. C. Coolet. 



The section thus formed proceeded to elect its perma- 

 nent officers and to frame its by-laws, which were finally 

 adopted, Sept. 7th, 1881. This action perfected the or- 

 ganization and the section was, as far as organization 

 could prepare it, ready to enter upon its legitimate work. 



But in the mean time opinions as to the proper mode 

 of making the transition from the old Poughkeepsie 

 Society of Natural Science to the new Scientific Section 

 of the Vassar Brothers' Institute were nol altogether 

 unanimous, and the question was still undecided when 

 the time arrived which was fixed by the by-laws for the 

 beginning of the active work for the season of L881-82.- 

 It thus came to pass that the members of the section 



