Annual Report, made to the Academy of Sciences of St. Louis, on the 10th January, 1859, 
By A. WISI.IZENUS, Vice President. 
la the absence of our President, Dr B. F. Shu- 
MARw, who, having- been appointed State Geolo- 
gist of Texas, has found there a more extensive 
field for his scientific acquirements, the duty has 
devolved upon me of laying before the Academy 
an abstract of our progress during the last year. 
I am happy to state that our young Institution 
has given also, in the past year, such proofs of 
its activity, that its future permanency may be 
safely relied upon. Our meetings have been reg- 
ularly attended, and were enlivened by scientific 
discussions, and by verbal and written communi 
cations on a great variety of subjects; donations 
to our Museum and JL.ibrary have been most liber- 
ally forwarded frorrt, friends far and near; and 
the second rj umber of our Transatt’ons,'' pub- 
lished during the last year, has been received with 
great favor, if not partiality, by the scientific 
world, both at home and abroad. 
The distribution o&ur pubiicaiions in foreign 
countries, has been chiefly effected through the 
agancy of the Smithsonian Institution, and in this 
way we have been put in compiunication with 
numerous Institutions of similar tendency in the 
cultivated world, who kindly appreciate the first 
fruits of our industry and in exchange return us 
most valuable books and whole sets of scientific 
jourrials. The number of societies with which we 
are at present connected, is one hundred and 
eighty -one, to wit: 
Forty- nine within the United States, Canada, 
Mexico, Cuba and Cbili ; 5 in Asia ; 2 in 
Australia; 1, in Africa; 134 in Europe — 1 Ire- 
land, 1 Danmark, 2 Norway, 4 Sweden, 1 Spain, 
1 Portugal, G Switzerland, 6 Balgium, 7 Holland, 
8 Russia, 12 Italy, 22 France, 24 Great Britain, 39 
Germany. 
It is certainly very desirable to keep up this 
intercourse with our newly acquired scientific 
friends, and the yearly publication on our part of 
a volume, large or small as our means allow, seems 
to be the most appropriate mode of doing it. 
The acquisitions that our library has made 
during the past year, are quite considerable. Most 
of them we owe to the liberal system of exchange 
from older societies, but a great many also to 
private donation. The public documents, too, of 
the last Congress, presented to us by the Hon. 
Trusten Polk and the Hon. Frank P. Blair, 
afford an unusual interest on account of the nu- 
merous Pacific Railroad Explorations, with con- 
tributions from a host of scientific men. 
The additions made to the Museum emanate 
nearly all from the liberality of gentlemen, who 
justly think that objects of that class are made 
more useful under the control of a society that 
Classifies and arranges them, than in privaie hands. 
I will mention some of them under their different 
departments : 
Ethnology .—ThQ Rev. C. H. A. Dall, of Cal- 
cutta, India, presented us with an interesting 
collection of East Indian figures, exhibiting the 
characteristics of that Eastern people. 
Comparative Anatomy —Brs, Pope and Hil- 
lard made some valuable additions to this class. 
Mammalogy, — Col. A J. Vaughn has enriched 
this department with a handsome specimen of 
the grizzly bear, 
Ormithology has received additions from Capt. 
John Pope, (collected by him on the 32d paral- 
lel) and by E. Weyden, Esq. 
Herpetology and Ichthyology. ^Specimens of 
Siren lacertina, caught after the great flood in the 
Amerift^r^ot^ann^werc donated by Dr. Sander 
and Mr."De CIsto'BeIE. 
Malacology —V rot. A. Winchell, of Michi- 
gan, increased this department by a collection of 
landshells. 
Botany.— Idv. Tii. C. Hilgard presented to the 
Academy a collection of the flora of this neigh- 
borhood; also a collection of lichens *and algae. 
Through the kindness of C. Witter, Esq,, we re- 
ceived from Germany a fine collection of artifi- 
cially made mushrooms. Rev. Mr. Dall and Dr. 
McPheeters also made some additions. 
Meteorology. — Drs. Engelmann and Wislize- 
Nus reported an abstract of their complete mete- 
orological observations for the last year. 
Mineralogy .—Ih\s department received many 
interesting specimens from Dr. Pope, Messrs. 
CozzENS, Harrison, De Baun. Jones & Col- 
man and Bender. The latter gentleman pre- 
sented also a set of mathematical figures for the 
illustration of crystalographjL Chas. P. Chou- 
teau, Esq , has enriched this department with an 
exquisite specimen of meteorite, from the neigh- 
borhood of Fort Pierre, weighing 35 pounds. 
PalcBontology and (jeoZopy.— Although we have 
acquired no collection ija this department, as in 
previous years, many valuable donations have 
nevertheless been made, by Messrs. J. Charless, 
E. Pratt, Drs. Pope, Kennard, Koch, and 
others. Dr. B. F. Shumaed, before his depart- 
ure, deposited with the Academy three hundred 
specimens of Tertiary fossils, fiom Austria; Tri- 
lobites from the. lower Silurian of Bohemia, and 
fossils from the Trias of the Alps. Through the 
favor of cur associate member, C. Witter, Esq., 
we received also in exchange from Hildburghau- 
S0D, Germany, a superb specimen of the celebra- 
ted cheirosaurus or cheiro^herium. which, when first 
discovered in 1833, by Mr. Sickler, in the New 
Red sandstone of that region, created a great sen- 
sation among geologists. The slab upon which 
three larger and three smaller tracks of that sin- 
gular quadruped are well preserved, measures 
nearly five feet in length, and a foot and a half in 
width, and would be an ornament to any collec- 
tion. 
In connection with this department, I have yet 
to mention the interesting discovery, within the 
past year, of the Permian System, in the Terri- 
tory of Kansas, and its probable extension over a 
great part of the West. The minutes of the 
Academy show us what part was taken by sever- 
al members of our Society in this discovery — 
In February of last year. Professor Swallow 
and Dr. Shumard i^>formed the Academy 
of the discovery of certain fossils made in Kan- 
sas by our corresponding member. Major E. 
Hawn, of the United States Survey, which led 
the first named gentleman to the opinion that the 
Permian system existed in that region. In March, 
Dr. Shumard informed the Academy that from 
a series of fossils cellected by his brother, Dr. 
George G. Shumard, in the Guadalupe Moun- 
tains, New Mexico, he had also discovered the 
Permian system in ^[^egion. Dr, J. G. Nor- 
wood, of Illinois, w^P^jJie Academy in April 
that he believed he had found che same system in 
the upper beds of the La Salle coal field, in Illi- 
nois. Prof. SwALLO^ and Dr. Shumard pre- 
pared soon afterwards a paper on the subject, 
which created at first some discussion among 
geologists, but the discovery of new and more 
characteristic fossils seems to ha^ e removed all 
doubts, and the existence of the Permian system 
in Kansas may be regarded as a fact. Near the 
same time, Mr. F. B. Meek and Dr. E. V. Hay- 
den, at Philadelphia and Albany, published also 
an account of this discovery, claiming the prior 
ity for themselves~a question which we are un- 
able to decide; nor do we consider it of great im- 
portance, since all tJf them, no doubt, deserve 
credit for their zeal in proving a new geological 
system in the West. 
I consider it needless to enumerate here all thQ 
scientific papers read before the Society during 
the last year, since nearly ali of them have been 
published in the second number of our transac- 
tions, and have thus becorqe public property. 
Upon the authority of Dr. J||s"Gelmann, I will 
mention that in Europe the geological and palae- 
ontological papers published therein by Prot. 
Swallow, Drs.PROui^ F. and George Shu- 
maed, and Major HaiV^ were received with es- 
pecial favor. 
Lastly, I have to state, from the report of the 
Treasurer, Dr. Po^.lak, that the receipts of the 
Academy for 1^8 were $1,253 00; the expendi- 
tures $1,216 00; and that after meeling our lia- 
bilities, be estimates an actual balance of about 
$200 in our favor, in dues from members. The 
number of our corresponding members is at pre- 
sent 82; the exact number of associate members 
I could not ascertain, since many of them have 
indirectly withdrawn by not paying their dues. 
The dues from associate members formatpre&t 
our only revenue, and it requires strict economy 
to pursue with such limited means the various 
objects of our society. Similar institutions in 
Eastern cities have had, in the beginning of tligir 
career, to undergo similar triwls of mind’Versus 
matter, but liberal-minded citizens lent them a 
helping hand, and endowed them with sufficient 
means to make their field of operation more ex- 
tensive and useful. The Academy of Natural 
Sciences in Philadelphia, for instance, holding 
now the first rank, would not have prospered as 
well without the magnificent generosity of a Ma 
CLURE and others. Our own city, the great cen- 
tre of the Mississippi Valley, can certainly boast 
of as wealthy and liberal men as any in the 
Union. Let us hope, that in a not far dis^^^ 
day, a Maclure may arise among them, wil^ 
ling to perpetuate his name in the Annals of 
Science 
The following gentlemen were elected officers 
of the Academy for the year 1859 : 
President — Adolphus Wislizenus, M. D. 
First Vice Presidei^t^George Engelmann, M. D. 
Second Vice Pre^dent— Charles A. Pope, M. D. 
Corresponding Sec^— Nathaniel Holmes, Esq. 
Recording Secretary— J. S. B. Alley ne, M. D. 
Treasurer— S Poliak, M. D. 
Librarian— Theodoie C. Hilgard, M. D. 
Curators — H, A. Prout, M D,, C. W. Stevens, 
M. D , T. C. Hilgard, M. D., Spencer Smith, Esq. 
Committee on Publication- N. Holmes, Esq., 
W. M. McPheeters, M. D., Geo. Engelmann, M. D. 
Committee on Library— H. A Prout, M. D., C. 
A. Pope, M. D., Hon. Samuel Reber. 
Committee on Finance — Spencer Smith, Esq., 
J. B, Eads, Esq , C. C. Whittelsey, Esq. 
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