SSS eee 
Its History, Aims and. Objects. 9 
The number of charter members in May, 1875, was thirteen; 
the enrolled membership now is seventy-three. 
As I said before, for the first seven or eight years the average 
attendance was about twelve; year before last it was thirty-five, 
and last year fifty-four. 
The museum now contains more than 10,000 specimens, some 
of them very valuable. ‘The herbarium embraces the entire 
flora of this section, and more. 
The library contains about 150 volumes. 
To show the interest the public are taking in this, I will say 
that the curator’s books show that since the rooms have been 
kept open to the public during year before last 5,948 persons, 
not members, visited them, and last year 7,700. 
The liberal poliev of the county, through her board of super- 
visors, in giving us the use of a suit of rooms for our museum, 
and for holding our meetings in, has been a material benefit to 
us, has reflected great credit on it, and is worthy of the highest 
commendation. Not only this, but when these rooms became 
well filled with a rich store of valuable specimens, and the mem- 
bers increased at our meetings till they could not be accommo- 
dated in them, we have been permitted to hold our meetings in 
the supervisors’ room. Tor all this they have our hearty thanks 
and the thanks of the public generally. The glory of Athens 
was her schools of science and art. These schools made Athens, 
made Greece. | 
Heretofore, Peoria has never been noted for any high attain- 
ments in science, literature or art, or of a high order of educa- 
tional institutions, but it can now justly boast of the best scien- 
tific association in the state. And I may add that it now has a 
school of art which is fully equal to any other in the state. May 
we not take courage from this and go on with our labor with 
renewed energy, hoping for still better days? 
Those who have attended these meetings for the last ten 
years must have learned much. <A spirit of inquiry has been 
awakened in this community as shown by the increased attend- 
ance at our meetings and the large number of visitors to the 
museum for the last two years, and a very considerable amount 
