INTRODUCTION. 
The office of State Entomologist of Illinois was established by an 
act of the Legislature, approved and in force March 9, 1867, by 
which the Governor was authorized to appoint “by and with the 
consent of the Senate some competent scientific person as State 
Entomologist, who shall hold the appointment for two years and 
until his successor shall be appointed.” This officer was required 
to investigate the entomology of Illinois, and particularly to study 
“the history of the insects injurious to the products of the horticul¬ 
turists and agriculturists of the State;” and was directed to “collect 
and preserve a cabinet of insects to be deposited at the Illinois In¬ 
dustrial University.” He was required to “prepare a report of his 
researches and discoveries in entomology for publication by the 
State annually;” and his salary was fixed at the sum of $2000 per 
annum. 
The first appointee under this law was Benjamin Dane Walsh, of 
Rock Island, nominated by Governor Oglesby, June 11, 1867, at an 
extra session of the Legislature. The Senate, however, declined to 
act on the Governor’s nominations at this special session, adopting, 
June 18, a resolution postponing such action until the next regular, 
meeting of the General Assembly, and Mr. Walsh’s appointment was 
therefore not completed. 
He nevertheless entered at once on the duties of the office,^ and 
prepared a report for the year 1867 as “Acting State Ento¬ 
mologist,” which he submitted, not to the Governor, but to the 
State Horticultural Society. This report was published in 1838 as 
an appendix to Volume I of the new series of the Transactions of 
the Society (for 1867), and an unknown number of copies were also 
issued separately, in pamphlet form, with a slightly different title 
page. 
At the next regular session of the Legislature, an act was passed 
“for the relief of the State Entomologist” (in force March *5, 1869) 
which recognized Mr. Walsh’s appointment “and the faithful dis¬ 
charge of his full duties from the date of his nomination, diiected 
“that he should receive the compensation provided by the statute 
under which he was appointed, as full compensation for his services 
from and after June 11, 1867, and until otherwise provided by 
law.” 
On the 12th November, 1869, Mr. Walsh died from the effects of 
a railway accident, without presenting any other report than that 
for 1867, already mentioned. 
