VI 
Proceedings. 
construction of a building for the accommodation of the libra¬ 
ries of the State Historical Society and the Academy, and 
recommending that the library of the University of Wisconsin 
be accommodated in the same building. (This report is printed 
in these proceedings immediately following the treasurer’s re¬ 
port. ) The report was unanimously adopted, and the Council 
of the Academy was made a committee to co-operate with the 
secretary of the State Historical Society to bring this matter 
before the legislature. 
The treasurer then offered the following resolution, which was 
adopted: 
Resolved , That the secretary and treasurer be instructed to 
strike from the list of active members of the Academy, the names 
of all who are in arrears in the payment of their annual dues,, 
except in such cases as they know of reasons why, in their 
judgment, it is advisable to retain them for a while longer. 
, The following communication was then read: 
Madison, Wis., Dec. 23, 1892. 
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Etc. 
Sirs :—It is doubtless known to you that at the disposal of 
the fossils collected by the Wisconsin G-eological Survey, two 
distinct collections were given to the Wisconsin Academy. 
These were, first, a collection of type specimens, from which the 
descriptions of new species published in the reports of that 
survey were prepared; and, second, a collection of the charac¬ 
teristic and common old species then known. The second col¬ 
lection was one of the twelve equal divisions into which the 
material other than* types were separated, the other eleven be¬ 
ing given to the principal educational institutions of the state y 
including the State University. The value of the first of these 
collections is purely scientific, and was rightly placed in charge 
of the Academy for safe keeping and for reference. The second 
collection has chiefly an educational value, as is illustrated by 
the use to which the other similar collections was put. It is 
well known that the State University lost its entire collection 
of Wisconsin fossils a few years since by the fire which destroyed 
Science Hall. 
In view of these facts, and further, since both the Academy’s 
collections have been placed in the University Museum for safe 
keeping, it would seem to be a fitting act for the Academy to' 
donate to the University its educational collection, which will 
replace the one which the University lost by fire. I make this 
suggestion because I happen to be familiar with the facts, the 
collections of the State Geological Survey having passed through 
my hands in their distribution in 1879. Respectfully, 
Ira M. Buell. 
