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logical Station (under that designation), and of three thousand dol¬ 
lars per annum for its expenses. This legislative appropriation for 
expenses was repeated in 1897 in a bill providing for the mainte¬ 
nance of the natural history survey, and the work has been continued 
under these auspices, and with approximately these appropriations, 
ever since. The station is consequently a state establishment, sup¬ 
ported wholly from state appropriations, for purposes of investi¬ 
gation only,—a point in which it differs, I think, from everv other 
American station of aquatic biology. 
Its general objects, as defined by me in a formal report published 
in 1894, were to provide additional facilities and resources for the 
natural history survey of the state; and to contribute to a scientific 
knowledge of the whole system of life existing in the waters of 
the state, with a view to economic as well as to educational appli¬ 
cations. It had for its immediate field the entire system of life in the 
Illinois river and connected lakes and other adjacent waters; and 
an intention was expressed to extend operations as rapidly as pos¬ 
sible to the Mississippi river system, thus making a beginning on a 
comprehensive work on the general subject of the aquatic life of the 
Mississippi valley in all its relations, scientific and economic. 
The special subject upon which I fixed at first as the point tow¬ 
ards which our studies should tend, was the effect produced on 
aquatic plant and animal life by the periodical overflow and grad¬ 
ual recession of the waters of great rivers,—a topic chosen es¬ 
pecially because it had never been studied, and because it included 
in its scope nearly everything concerning the life of our waters of 
any considerable interest either to the biologist or to the practical 
man. As another result of our work I hoped that we should ac¬ 
cumulate material for a comparison of the chemical and biological 
conditions of the waters of the Illinois river at that time and after 
the opening of the Chicago drainage canal, then in process of con¬ 
struction. 
The main features of the equipment provided, were a floating 
biological laboratory, built especially for the purpose in 1895, a 
steam launch, a number of skiffs, a variety of seines, pound-nets, dip- 
nets, and other fishing apparatus, a plankton equipment, including 
a centrifuge for the rapid condensation of the minute contents of the 
collections, and a set of breeding-cages of special construction for 
keeping aquatic insects under natural conditions but exposed to con¬ 
tinuous observation. The laboratory boat was amply provided with 
microscopes, chemicals, glassware, aquaria, and apparatus and ma- 
