Our Retrospect. 



113 



ing into and so constituting the other, the constitution and routine 

 almost the same in each, — we can truthfully look upon ourselves as 

 one continuous body, extending back for nearly a century, reaching 

 very closely to the earliest period when the progress of thought began 

 to encourage such efforts as ours, the cotemporary of any other 

 long-established society in the country, and perhaps even older than 

 any other, and known in the United States and Europe as an aggre- 

 gation which, without wealth or government patronage, has grown up 

 with respect and authority. This is the proud position in which the 

 long delay in free thought and action has placed us, giving us an op- 

 portunity to make our retrospect with satisfaction, a3 conscious of an 

 honorable precedence properly bestowed upon us and of a reputation 

 which we cannot but believe has been well sustained. 



Looking back, we find our first volume bears date of 1830. The 

 number of officers was less than now, the organization of the society 

 having since been changed as it became desirable to enlarge its scope. 

 For President we have Stephen Van Kensselaer, for Vice Presidents 

 Simeon DeWitt and T. Eomeyn Beck, for Treasurer William May ell. 

 Peter Gansevoort and W. Henry Webster, were Corresponding Secre- 

 taries and Henry W. Snyder and Richard V. DeWitt Recording Sec- 

 retaries. Then we had for Librarian Joseph Henry, while the Cura- 

 tors are Lewis C. Beck, W. Henry Webster, George W. Clinton, Richard 

 V. DeWitt and William Cooper. All these men have long passed away 

 from us, and it is probable that only the older members of the Institute 

 have any personal recollection of any of them. The late Vice Chan- 

 cellor Clinton was the last to leave us, and beyond him there are some of 

 us who remember Gansevoort and DeWitt — possibly these are all. 

 Looking at the table of contents we see that the contributions were of a 

 high order and principally by members who have left their works well 

 impressed upon their generation, so that it may be said that our In- 

 stitute sprang into being, full fledged. Dr. Lewis C. Beck contrib- 

 utes two papers, one on the Geographical Botany of the United States 

 and one upon the Climate of the Mississippi Valley; and T. Romeyn 

 Beck is not behind him, coming with Notes upon the Peculiar Vocab- 

 ulary of the United States and also an Anniversary Address. Joseph 

 Henry contributes a paper upon Modifications of the Electro-Magnetic 

 Apparatus, showing the direction in which his genius was already 

 leading him, and also a Topographical Sketch of the State of New 

 Y °rk. Doctor I. Green, a corresponding member, gives four papers of 

 a scientific character, and the names of Simeon DeWitt, Lieut. In- 

 galls of the United States Army, James Geddes, James 0. Moore and 

 Doctor James McNaughton also appear as contributors. Last to be 



