BUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 13 



large in amount and oftentimes discouragement has stared us 

 in the face, but some plan would be suggested for raising such 

 funds as were absolutely necessary, such for example, as the 

 Horticultural Fair held in 1866, to provide the money needed 

 for entertaining the American Association; but most frequently 

 when bankruptcy seemed imminent, a committee would start 

 out with a subscription paper headed by themselves and public 

 spirited men of Buffalo were not appealed to in vain. 



From the outset the library and collections of its Museum 

 had always been freely opened to the public; valuable scientific 

 papers were read at each semi-monthly meeting of the Society 

 and while still continuing these, in January 1876, the Society 

 began its first public educational work by inaugurating its 

 popular lecture courses which have been regularly continued 

 each year since that time. For several years they were given in 

 the Assembly room of the Central High School and in their 

 earliest days the able members of the Society were the first 

 lecturers. The initial course of ten lectures began with an 

 excellent address by Judge Clinton enlightening his hearers as 

 to the work of the Society and its possibilities. Then followed 

 the familiar names of Grote and Linden, Larned and David 

 Gray, Pitt and Kellicott, Milburn and Prof. William B. Wright 

 and others, repeated and added to from year to year until there 

 was sufficient money available to bring some distinguished 

 savant whose name might add lustre to our native gold. 



The effort to interest the people was timely and soon 

 showed results, for in 1878, for the first time, an attempt was 

 made to introduce into the city grammar schools elementary 

 scientific studies, and it is recorded on the minutes of the Society 

 that at a meeting held April 11, 1879 a resolution was adopted 

 heartily commending the experiment and urging the school 

 authorities to continue the effort to instruct the children in the 

 elementary facts of the natural Sciences. 



April 9, 1880, to the great regret of his many friends, 

 Mr. Grote tendered his resignation as Director of the Buffalo 

 Society of Natural Sciences which was reluctantly accepted. 

 His scientific work had been and continued to be of the highest 

 value. To the first three volumes of the Society's publications 

 his contributed articles included his descriptions of North Amer- 

 ican Moths and his check list of the Noctuidae of this country. 



