Although the Western Academy of Sciences was an important 
cultural and scientific influence in Cincinnati and the Middle 
West, it had become moribund by the late 50' s. It had never 
been on a sound financial basis; its membership was small; its 
scientific interests were narrow, being largely, especially in 
later years, confined to paleontology and conchology; and most 
of its members were without professional training, being little 
more than self-taught collectors. As has been said, the latter 
was characteristic of many nineteenth century naturalists, 
was a time when the maior scientific effort was in collecti( 
It 
and 
had been pretty well met, and th< 
Academy were not equipped for more 
More 
and more, as 
ry wore on, natural science, 
branches of science, became specialized and 
professionalized, and there was less and less room for the mere 
collector. 
As the study of natural science thus passed from the hands 
of the amateur to those of the professional scholar, the place 
of the Cincinnati Academy in the cultural life of the city was 
narrowed to providing a natural history museum for the education 
— ^ ^- ' ■ • - Since the Academy did not have 
funds for this, and since its formal organization had fallen 
apart, it remained for a few Interested members, in cooperation 
with other civic leaders, not especially personally interested 
in natural history, to found the Cincinnati Society of Natural 
History in 1871. The major purpose of this organization was to 
maintain a public museum and carry on a publication program. 
After a short time the latter was abandoned except for pur- 
poses of popular education, and the museum became the principal 
activity. 
Two other early natural history organizations were ^^"^^^^ 
at Little Rock, Arkansas, and Cleveland, Ohio. The ^^^"^""fl^ 
and Natural History Society of Arkansas was organized ^""J^^^J' 
and, although Little Rock was a prosperous city, ^* /^ ° ^ 
to an agrarian economy rather than to commerce and i°^"»"y' ^^ 
While there were a few doctors and other men with an l'*^^^^* 
natural history, there were too few. Neither was there a mea 
cal school nor a college, and the attempts to organize cuitura 
activities like lyceums, circulating libraries, 0^.^^°"^ ^ 
societies were short lived. The Little Rock organization,^ 
therefore, had only a fitful existence of some five "'* 
years 
32 
and 
Cleveland Academy of Natural Science was °^g^i^^^ J^^^ 
lived until 1859." Like other societies it way 
T*^ mr^af act Ivc fflembers 
"^ me cultural growth of the city. Its most acxxv 
were professors at the Cleveland Medical College and tne 
242 
