264 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. XI, No. 3, 
accessible in their immediate neighborhoods, they would have a 
basis for teaching which would be of the utmost service in their 
work. Such knowledge is more particularly in demand since 
there has been such a general movement in nature study, and so 
much demand for instruction in those branches which are closely 
related to agriculture and the industries. 
In another direction such a survey is desirable because it is 
becoming known that many diseases have their means of trans- 
mission in the lower forms of organisms such as the fly, mosquito, 
flea, etc., and to the physician it is a matter of distinct importance 
to know what animals capable of bearing these diseases are to be 
found in the locality in which he is at work. 
In connection with the distribution of plant life there is an 
important work to be done in recording areas of timber and the 
proportion of the different kinds of timber trees in the state. 
While this may in its details belong to a distinct division of for- 
estry, the general distribution could naturally be determined in 
such a survey as is here contempleted, and unless provided for in 
other directions would be an important subject for study. The 
distribution of plants with special reference to soil and conditions 
would form a very important basis for the experimental work 
carried on by the state experiment station, and the necessity for 
such a Survey has been very pointedly urged by the director of 
the Experiment Station. 
A feature of the proposed Survey that will concern the various 
schools in the state particularly is that of the distribution of the 
identified material through the schools, to form local collections in 
the colleges, city museums or high schools where they may be 
desired. Such a distribution is carried on in Illinois and has been 
a means of large service in the state. One advantage of this pol- 
icy will be to distribute the services of the Survey widely over the 
state rather than to centralize a large collection in any one place. 
It means also that the different communities throughout the 
state will have an opportunity to co-operate with the Survey 
both in the collection of material, the preparation of reports, and 
in the direct use of the materials obtained. 
Work of the kind here proposed is in progress in Connecticut, 
Vermont, Maryland, North Carolina, Alabama, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, 
Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan and probably some 
other states, and it will be noted that of the northern and central 
portion of the country Ohio stands alone in not providing for 
such work. The surveys in these different states are organized on 
somewhat varied lines, but in all cases provide for more or less of 
the work here proposed. In Connecticut the Survey is practically 
along the lines here suggested, although it does not provide for 
distribution of collections to schools. In New York it is carried on 
