Vigth 5 OS a 
DIRECTOR OF THE STATE LABORATORY 
; —Oor— 
. NATURAL HISTORY. 
| Dear Str—The work of the State Laboratory of Natural History, 
as defined by the various statutes referring to it, and indicated by 
the appropriation bill of the last session, is essentially that of a 
zoological and botanical survey of the State, conducted with princi- 
pal reference to economic questions, and to the interests of publie 
education. It has been continued during the past two years on 
about the same lines as those described in my last report, with the 
exception of a very great enlargement in Entomology and Botany. 
‘The subjects now included in its scheme of Operations are, the sup- 
ply of natural history material to the State Museum, to the State 
educational institutions and to the public high schools ; the investi- 
gation of the food of birds for the benefit of agriculture and horti- 
culture, and of the food of fishes in the interest of fish culture $0 
study of the parasitic plants and animals of the State (a subject of 
portance to the stock and general farmer); and the publication 
of bulletins of original research relating to the natural history of 
Illinois. The appropriations made to the laboratory are for the field 
and laboratory expenses of these subjects, and for the improvement 
of its library. 
ed 
FIELD ZOOLOGY. 
On account of the exhaustion of the appropriations for that pur- 
ose, but little field work in either zodlogy or botany could be done 
nn the spring of 1881, and but three trips were made previous to 
July 1, when the new appropriation became available. In April, 
Mr. W. H. Garman and myself spent a week at Pekin and Peoria, 
Making collections of fishes for distribution, and of stomachs of 
ishes, for the study of their food. In May, a few days were spent 
n shooting birds and collecting predaceous insects in orchards, in 
fazewell county, infested by the canker worm. In June, I made an 
xtensive trip through Southern Illinois, from Centralia to Cairo, 
wd thence up the Ohio to Shawneetown, and back by way of Mount 
Vernon, collecting birds and insects by the way, and examining the 
sountry with reference to the further field work of the season. It 
Was decided, partly as the result of this trip, to concentrate during 
ihe fall of 1881 chiefly upon the aquatic fauna of Northern Illinois. 
After a brief trip to Pekin in the middle of June, for the further 
dllections of fishes and their food, preparations were made for an 
wborate work upon the lakes in the northeastern part of the State, 
