Short History of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

By

Edward J^.mes Nolan

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
AT LOS ANGELES

A

HORT HISTORY

y of Natural Sciences

PHILADELPHIA

EDWARD J. NOLAN, M.D,

Recording Secretary and Librarian

PHILADELPHIA

THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL Sci,

DECEMBER, 1909

fj^r^^^^^^^^Y s2T*L- -Z.

A

SHORT HISTORY

OP THE

Academy of Natural Sciences

PHILADELPHIA

BY

EDWARD J. NOLAN, M.D.

Recording Secretary and Librarian

PHILADELPHIA

THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES
DECEMBER, 1909

qt-U

npHIS brief history of the Academy of Natural Sciences

of Philadelphia was prepared as a contribution to

the volume issued in commemoration of Founders' Week,

so successfully celebrated from the fourth to the tenth of

^ October, 1908.

fO The length of the article was determined by the

number of pages available in the distribution of the matter

composing the book and the story is, therefore, necessarily

I "short." The Notices of Morton and Euschenberger have

been of assistance in preparing the earlier portion.

The sketch may be regarded as merely preliminary

^ to a detailed history of the Academy to be issued in

- ^ connection with the proposed celebration of the Cente-

g nary of the society in 1912. It is sent out in this form

^ with the hope that it will, by eliciting comment, criti-

£-£ cism, and perhaps correction, help to make the larger

*l work of more permanent value. Any assistance to this

end will be gratefully accepted by the author.

EDWARD J. NOLAN

THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES
OF PHILADELPHIA, November, 1909.

310140

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

By EDWARD J. NOLAN, M.D.

As for the Corruptions and Moths of History, which are Epitomes,
the use of them deserveth to be banished as all men of sound judgment
have confessed. — Bacon, "Advancement of Learning."

ALTHOUGH at the beginning of the nineteenth century Phila-
delphia was acknowledged to be the center of scientific, if not
of literary culture in America, there were not many societies
in the city devoted to scientific research. The American Philosoph-
ical Society had, indeed, established for itself an honorable position
in the learned world, but membership was scarcely aspired to by
those who had no right in any sense to consider themselves philos-
ophers. The "Botanical Society, held at Philadelphia," had been
founded in 1806, the name being changed the following year to the
"Philadelphia Linna3an Society." It had a brief and uneventful
existence and is at present remembered from the publication of an
essay by Benjamin Smith Barton, entitled "Discourse on some
Principal Desiderata in Natural History."

There were but few who cared anything about the natural
sciences, and these had to contend with many difficulties. Neither
cabinets to awaken curiosity nor libraries to satisfy it were in exist-
ence. There were two or three collections of minerals belong-
ing to gentlemen who had brought them from Europe, but they were
not accessible to the public.

A few young men in the city were, however, interested in the
study of nature. They were all engaged during the day in making
a living, and they must have found that occasional gossip in places
of resort available to those of their social condition would not help
them much in the search for exact knowledge.

After one of these accidental meetings early in 1812, John
Speakman suggested to his friend Jacob Gilliams that if their
associates could come together at stated times where they would be
free from interruption and could compare notes as to what they
supposed they knew, they would secure more pleasure and profit
than by desultory talk. Gilliams agreed with him, and before they

6 The Academy of Natural Sciences

separated it was decided to invite such friends as might be favorable
to the formation of ,a society to meet at Speakman's house the fol-
lowing Saturday night.

In accordance with this agreement Doctors Gerard Troost and
Camillus Macmahon Mann, with Jacob Gilliams, John Shinn, Jr.,
and Nicholas S. Parmentier, met at the house of Mr. Speakman, on
the northwest corner of Market and Second Streets, on Saturday
evening, January 25, 1812. Mr. Speakman acted as chairman, and
Dr. Mann as secretary. ^ The minutes are described as those of "a
meeting of gentlemen, friends oL science and of rational disposure
of leisure moments," and it was agreed that the exclusive object
of the society should be the cultivation of the natural sciences.

This was the humble origin of The Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia. Although there is abundant evidence in
the records and in tradition that the founders took themselves
seriously and were conscious of the dignity of their undertaking, it
is scarcely conceivable that they could have anticipated the future
development of their society into one of the most active and
influential scientific associations of the world.

In order not to be a burden on Mr. Speakman's hospitality, the
next two or three meetings were held at a public house on Market,
or High Street, near the corner of Franklin Place, known as Mercer's
Cake Shop. The title, Academy of Natural Sciences, was employed
for the first time in the minutes of March 21, 1812, and was sug-
gested opportunely by Dr. Samuel Jackson, of the University of
Pennsylvania. He had not joined the society because, it is said, he
feared that in the estimation of the public all its members would be
considered, however unjustly, as lacking in proper respect for
religion, a supposition which might be detrimental to a physician at
the outset of his career. It was decided that the origin of the
Academy should date from that session and that in subsequent years
the anniversary should be observed on that day.

At this meeting Thomas Say was chosen a member, and it was
determined that, although he had not attended the initial meetings,
his name should be enrolled as one of the founders, who are, there-
fore, recorded as being John Speakman,1 Jacob Gilliams,1 John
Shinn, Jr., Nicholas Parmentier, Dr. Gerard Troost,1 Dr. Camillus
Macmahon Mann and Thomas Say.1 It was John Speakman and

i Portraits of these are hung in the library.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 7

Jacob Gilliams, however, who had issued the invitation for the
preliminary meeting and the conclusion is a just one that the
foundation of the Academy is ascribable to these two men.

John Speakman was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and
belonged to the religious society of Friends. His apothecary shop at
the northwest corner of Second and Market Streets was a
center of literary and scientific gossip. He was for a time in
disastrous partnership with Say and was ever ready to do all the
work of the shop so as to enable his friend to devote almost his entire
time to the service of science. Through the endorsement of
unreliable friends the firm came to an unfortunate end, the partners
retaining scarcely anything for themselves. As late as 1839 Mr.
Speakman, at a considerable sacrifice of his private interests, visited
Mr. Maclure in Mexico, where he spent several months for the
benefit of the Academy.

Mr. Jacob Gilliams was a native of Philadelphia and a leading
dentist of the day. He was an intimate associate of Thomas Say
and Alexander Wilson, and when the latter was engaged on his
American Ornithology the three friends were frequent visitors to
Mr. William Bartram at his house attached to the garden which has
now become classic ground.

Mr. John Shinn, Jr., was a native of New Jersey. He was
employed as a manufacturing chemist. Soon after the Academy
was established in the new hall in Gilliams' Court he delivered a
course of lectures on chemistry, the first given under the auspices
of the society.

Mr. Nicholas S. Parmentier was born in France. He was
a distiller and manufacturer of spermaceti oil. He removed to
Florida.

Gerard Troost2 was the first President of the Academy and
served efficiently until 1817 when he was succeeded by Mr. Maclure.
He was born in Bois-le-Duc in Holland and educated as a pharma-
cist and chemist. He settled in Philadelphia in 1810. In 1815 and
1816 he engaged in the manufacture of alum on the Magothy River
in Maryland. On his return to the city he delivered lectures on
mineralogy in the Philadelphia Museum and the College of Phar-
macy. After spending two years with his friend Maclure at New
Harmony, Ind., he was elected, in 1828, Professor of Chemistry,

2 University of Tennessee, Bulletin of Information, v., 6, Jan., 1907.

8 The Academy of Natural Sciences

Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Nashville, retaining
the position until his death August 17, 1850. During his incum-
bency he served as State Geologist of Tennessee until the office was
abolished in 1849.

The first Recording Secretary, Dr. Caniillus Macmahon Mann,
was born in Ireland. He was "out" in the rebellion of 1798. After
a stay in France he sought refuge in the United States, living for a
time in Philadelphia, and later edited a paper in Baltimore. The
date of his death is uncertain.

The presence of Thomas Say at a meeting is first recorded on
Thursday, April 16, 1812. Henceforth, except when away from the
city, he was rarely absent from a session of the society. It may be
claimed that the continued existence of the Academy was in great
measure due to his devotion and the dignity he was able to give the
proceedings by the high character of his scientific work. After the
failure of the firm of Speakman and Say he resided for a time in the
hall of the Academy, accommodating himself heroically to his ex-
ceedingly cramped means. In 1825 he accompanied Mr. Maclure
to New Harmony. The communistic experiment in which they
were engaged having proved a failure he accompanied Mr. Maclure
to Mexico. He remained there for twelve months and was then
compelled by business engagements to return to New Harmony
where he died October 10, 1834, in his forty-seventh year. Much
the greater part of his work was completed before he left Phila-
delphia for the West. In his new home, however, his business
engagements evidently did not take up all his time for he issued
there six numbers of the American Conchology and several papers,
including two in the Annals of the Maclurean Lyceum.

Say was a born naturalist. He troubled himself but little
about relationships and classification, confining himself almost
entirely to the determination of specific distinctions of which he
had an unusually acute perception. His reports of original re-
searches were the first to replace the reading of extracts from
encyclopaedias or journals, which formed the attraction at the earlier
meetings.3

About the first of April a small room on the second floor of a

3 An appreciative biography of Say, by George Ord, is published in
connection with The Complete Writings of Thomas Say on the Entomology
of North America, edited by John L. Le Conte, M.D. Another by Benjamin
Homer Coates was issued under the auspices of the Academy in 1835.

WILLIAM MACLURE, 1763-1840.

Academy of Natural Sciences.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 9

house on the east side of Second Street, then No. 121, near Kace
Street, was rented. Here the nucleus of the present library and
museum was formed. Each member gave something, and although
the "display of objects of science was calculated rather to excite
merriment than to procure respect" the result formed the germ of
the superb library and museum which have given the Academy dis-
tinction among scientific societies.

On the fifteenth of August, 1812, a collection of minerals con-
taining about 2000 specimens, previously purchased from Dr. Sey-
bert for $750 by Mr. Speakman, was acquired by the society, and
soon after Dr. Troost delivered a course of lectures on mineralogy to
the members and others. It is a tradition that the necessity of dis-
charging the indebtedness incurred by the purchase of the Seybert
minerals, was a bond of union during the first year or two of struggle
and discouragement.

The collections, meager as they were, soon required more room
and in September of the same year they were removed to apart-
ments in the upper part of a house on the west side of Second Street,
then No. 78, north of Arch. These quarters were called the Hall of
the Academy. So little interest had the new society enlisted that
at the close of its first year it consisted of but fourteen members and
thirty-three correspondents.

During the following two years the museum and library in-
creased more rapidly. Lectures on entomology were delivered by
Mr. Say and on botany by Drs. Waterhouse and Barnes.

At the beginning of 1815 increased accommodation was again
necessary and Mr. Gilliams built a hall on a vacant lot in the rear
of his father's house on the north side of Arch Street east of Second.
The collections were removed to it in July. The first period of
the Academy's existence extended from its foundation to this, the
first exclusive occupancy of a building.

As far as regards the permanency and prosperity of the society
the most important event of these years was the election to member-
ship in June, 1812, of William Maclure without whose help it would
probably not have been possible to prolong its existence.

In 1816, a constitution was adopted and the society was legally
incorporated the following year.

At the instance mainly of Mr. Maclure the Academy decided on
the publication of a Journal, the first number of which was placed
before the meeting held May 20, 1817. The first volume was issued

10 The Academy of Natural Sciences

under great discouragement and the publication was suspended until
1821 when, owing to the industry and zeal of Dr. Isaac Hays, it was
continued without incurring further indebtedness.

In November, 1817, Standing Committees on Zoology, Botany,
Mineralogy and Geology were appointed for the first time.

Progress was not very rapid, yet at the close of 1820 the ques-
tion of enlarged accommodation once more presented itself for con-
sideration. At that time there were one hundred members and one
hundred and ninety correspondents on the roll. A committee was
appointed in 1823 to consider the best means of obtaining additional
room. It was not, however, until 1826 that a lot of ground and a
building at the southeast corner of Twelfth and Sansom .Streets
(then George's Street) were purchased for $4,300. The building
had been used for several years as a place of worship by a society of
Swedenborgians, and to fit it for the purposes of the Academy an
expenditure of $1,700 was required. A debt of $3,000 was created
and up to August, 1837, only $300 of the amount had been paid off.
Mr. Maclure then gave $5,000, the debt was liquidated and $2,300
were placed at interest for the current needs of the institution, the
first time in its history that it was in possession of such a surplus.

A first meeting was held in the new hall on May 9, 1826. In
1828, the museum was open to the public. Since that time
admission to the collections under varying conditions, has been an
important factor in the educational resources of the city.

For the next fourteen years the prosperity of the Academy was
uninterrupted, although its resources remained extremely meager
compared with the amount and character of the work accomplished.
William Maclure, because of his active interest in the society, richly
deserved the compliment of an annual re-election as President,
although his prolonged and frequent absence from the city made it
impossible for him to discharge the duties of the office. George
Ord, as Vice-President, acted as his zealous and efficient substitute
until 1834 when he was succeeded by John Price Wetherill. The
other Vice-President, William Hembel, was too deaf to act as
presiding officer.

Among the successors of Dr. Mann, the first Eecording Secre-
tary, William Hippolyte Keating is distinguished for his faithfulness
and efficiency. He served from January, 1822, to December, 1825,
and has left two annual reports which are of interest as indicating
specifically the value of the work the Academy was then doing. He

The Academy of Natural Sciences 11

relinquished the office because of removal from the city and was
succeeded by Dr. Samuel George Morton who served until 1829.

The necessity for increased room becoming yearly more press-
ing, a lot at the northwest corner of Broad and Sansom Streets was
bought on the twenty-second of April, 1839, for $13,333. On
Saturday the twentieth of May, the corner-stone of a new building
was laid with the usual ceremonies by Vice- Presidents William
Hembel and John Price Wetherill. An eloquent address was made
on the occasion by Walter R. Johnson4 who had been one of the most
active members of the society since his election in 1827. He had
been a Curator in 1836 and 1837 and subsequently served as Corres-
ponding Secretary from 1841 to 1848. The building was forty-five
feet front on Broad Street by eighty-five feet deep on Sansom with
an elevation of fifty-five feet. It at first consisted of a single saloon
with two ranges of galleries, beneath which, in the basement, was a
lecture room to accommodate five hundred people. The value of the
premises at the corner of Twelfth and Sansom Streets had appre-
ciated and the property was sold to William E. Hanson for $10,950.
The means for the erection of the new hall were, however, chiefly
derived from William Maclure who subscribed toward the object
$20,000. The building fund was largely augmented by liberal sub-
scriptions from members and others interested in science.

The transfer of the collections and library was made at a cost of
$34, several of the members giving their time and strength to the
service so as to lower the expense and save time. One of the most
active in this work and in the accumulation of the building fund was
William S. Vaux who had been elected a member in 1834. During
the rest of his life he gave devoted attention to the economic
interests of the Academy, serving continuously as Curator from 1838,
and as Vice-President from 1860, with a brief interval, until his
death in 1882. He also rendered indispensable service as a member
of the Publication Committee from 1840 and as treasurer of the
Board of Trustees of the Building Fund from its organization in
January, 1867.

The books and specimens were placed in the saloon on the
second floor and here the first meeting was held on the 18th of
February, 1840.

* Nat. Encycl. of Am. Biogr^, xii, 260. Barnard's Am. Journ. Educa-
tion, Dec., 1858.

12 The Academy of Natural Sciences

The death of William Maclure5 on the 23d of March, 1840,
inflicted on the society the greatest loss it had yet sustained. In
addition to his large pecuniary contributions, he had given in 1835
a selection from his library in New Harmony. The transfer of the
collection, amounting to 2,259 volumes and an extensive series of
maps and charts, had been safely accomplished by Charles Pickering,
the distinguished author of the Chronological History of Plants, who
was Librarian of the Academy from 1829 to 1833. He had also con-
ducted the transfer and arrangement of a great number of plants
bequeathed by the Rev. Lewis David von Schweinitz, who died in
1834.

Mr. Maclure was succeeded in the Presidency by William
Hembel6 who had been elected a member in 1825. He held the
office from December, 1840, until December, 1849. His adminis-
tration was uneventful. In the hope of being able to remedy
impaired hearing resulting from an attack of scarlet fever he had
studied medicine in the University of Pennsylvania but did not
graduate.

Dr. Morton announced to the meeting held June 16, 1840, that a
bill for the perpetual exemption of the property of the Academy
from taxation had passed both houses of the Legislature.

The first annual election in the new building at Broad and San-
som Streets resulted as follows: President, William Hembel;
Vice-Presidents, John Price Wetherill, Samuel Geo. Morton, M.D. ;
Corresponding Secretary, Eobert Bridges, M.D.; Recording Secre-
tary, A. Denman Chaloner, M.D. ; Librarian, A. L. Elwyn, M.D. ;
Curators, William S. Vaux, John S. Phillips, Eobert Pearsall,
George C. Leib, M.D.

In March, 1841, the publication of the Proceedings was com-
menced. The sessions of the Academy were then and until May,
1903, held every Tuesday evening throughout the year.

A most important event in the history of the society was the
election to membership on July 29, 1845, of Dr. Joseph Leidy. He
published the first of a brilliant series of contributions to natural
history in the Proceedings a couple of months later and for the
succeeding forty-six years he exerted a most active influence on the
well-being of the institution in every department of its administra-

5 A Memoir of William Maclure, by Samuel George Morton, M.D.
Published by the Academy, 1841.

6 Simpson's Lives of Eminent Philadelphians, 1859, p. 515.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 13

tion until, to the community at large, the names of Leidy and the
Academy were inseparably associated.

At the stated meeting of June 30, 1846, Dr. Morton announced
that Dr. Thomas B. Wilson, having purchased the famous collection
of birds of the Due de Eivoli, embracing 10,000 specimens mounted
and named, was desirous of arranging them in the museum. In
furtherance of Dr. Wilson's wishes the building was extended thirty
feet westward covering all the ground then at the disposal of the
society. The library was moved from the second floor to the new
room at the west end of the basement and the first meeting was held
in it May 4, 1847. Vice- President Morton made a brief address of
welcome and congratulation on taking the chair. He alluded feel-
ingly to the services of those who had sustained the burden during
the days of struggle and uncertainty and gave credit to those who
were then devoted to the interests of the Academy, alluding
especially to Dr. Wilson who had paid the entire cost of the extension
to the building but, in deference to his modesty, without mentioning
hfe name. Dr. Wilson's entire collection of birds, amounting to
26,000 mounted specimens and 2,000 skins, until then on deposit,
was presented outright in 1860. The ornithological collection
formed the most attractive feature of the museum, and for years
gave it distinction in the appreciation of the public.

While the collection of birds was Dr. Wilson's most striking
gift, every department of the museum and library received important
additions from him. No other benefactor of the Academy has
demonstrated his interest in its welfare with such active personal
exertion or with such self-sacrificing labor. His name, therefore,
should be among the first of those who deserve the gratitude of the
society.7

A second series of the Journal in quarto was begun in Decem-
ber, 1847, mainly through the influence and on the urging of Dr.
Wilson who subsequently contributed liberally to the expenses of
illustration, especially of the fine colored plates of Cassin's descrip-
tions of new species of birds.

In 1848, there were on the lists of the society 245 members and
520 correspondents. The most active workers were Samuel George
Morton, John Cassin, Joseph Leidy, William S. Vaux, Eobert

7 A Memoir of Thomas Bellerby Wilson, M.D. Proc. Ent. Soc. of
Phila., v., 1865.

14 The Academy of Natural Sciences

Bridges, John Phillips, William Gambel, Timothy Abbott Conrad,
and Samuel Stehman Haldeman.

At the close of 1849, Mr. Hembel declined a renomination for
the Presidency. He was succeeded by Dr. Morton who had, with
few exceptions, presided at the meetings during the entire incum-
bency of his predecessor. Dr. Morton's position as Vice-President
was filled by the election of Dr. E. Egglesfield Griffith, the accom-
plished author of the Medical Botany. He died in 1850.

The election of Dr. Morton to the Presidency was a fitting
recognition, not only of more than a quarter of a century's devoted
service, but also of his distinguished rank as one of the world's most
accomplished ethnologists. He was to enjoy the well-merited honor,
which was the ultimate expression of the Academy's appreciation of
his work, for less than eighteen months. He presided at a meeting
for the last time on .May 6, 1851, and died on the 15th of that
month in his fiftieth year, after an illness of four days. His first
work was in geology but his magnum opus, the Crania Americana,
was published in 1839 and has been properly described as a lasting
monument to his learning, energy and ability. His last paper was
on the size of the brain in various races of man and in support of his
belief in the plurality of origin of mankind, a doctrine to which
he gave unfaltering support.8

Dr. Morton was succeeded in the Presidency by George Ord.
He had served as Vice-President from 1816 to 1834 and as Curator
during 1816 and 1817. He belonged to the old-fashioned type of
naturalist which has now almost entirely disappeared. His favorite
subjects of study were birds and mammals although he did not
confine his attention entirely to them. He acted as the literary
executor of his friend Alexander Wilson. His contribution to
Guthrie's Geography is regarded as the first systematic work on the
zoology of North America by an American. His biographies of
Wilson and Say are specimens of elegant English and prove him to
have had what his friend Charles Waterton called "a polished mind."
Although he had declared as far back as 1841 that he was compelled
by the encroaching infirmities of age to abandon his nature studies
and devote himself to more sedentary occupations, he served the
society faithfully as presiding- officer until December, 1858, when,

8 A Memoir of Samuel George Morton, by Charles D. Meigs, M.D.
Read November 6, 1851, and published by direction of the Academy, Phila-
delphia, 1851.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 15

declining a renomination, he was succeeded by Isaac Lea. Mr. Ord
died January 23, 1866.9

The anniversary of the founding of the Academy was cele-
brated in 1854. On the evening of March 20th, William Parker
Foulke delivered an appropriate address in the Hall of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, and the following evening more than one
hundred members and correspondents, with a few distinguished
guests, dined in the hall of the Musical Fund Society, the occasion
being long remembered as an unusually pleasant one.

In 1855, the building was again enlarged by the erection of an
additional story of twenty-four feet in height at a cost of $12,263,
the entire amount being secured in subscriptions by a committee of
which Mr. William S. Vaux was the energetic and efficient chairman.

The specimens in the apartment fronting on Broad Street, at
first designed as a lecture room, were now removed upstairs and the
growing library was extended into the room thus vacated which
was used subsequently as the place of meeting. The western room
in which the meetings had been held was later divided by a galleried
partition, thus affording additional space for shelving.

In 1858, the recently formed Biological Society became the
Biological Department of the Academy, Dr. Leidy being the first
Director. Valuable contributions were made for the next three
years to the separately paged Proceedings by S. Weir Mitchell,
Henry Hartshorne, J. Cheston Morris, William A. Hammond, Isaac
I. Hayes, J. J. Woodward and the Director. More pressing matters
engaged the attention of many of the members on the breaking out
of the war, so that the meetings were suspended and not resumed
until 1868, when renewed life was acquired by union with the
recently organized Microscopical Society of Philadelphia, the com-
bination being known as the Biological and Microscopical Section of
the Academy.

As a presiding officer Dr. Lea was dignified and genial, greatly
enjoying the exchange of opinions with those brought together each
succeeding Tuesday evening. He imparted to the meetings more
than ever the character of conversazioni, frequently dropping the
gavel long after the appointed time. He died December 8, 1886.10

In 1860, the children of the late Augustus E. Jessup, in fulfil-

9 George Ord, by Samuel N. Rhoads. Cassinia, No. 12, 1908.

10 The Published Writings of Isaac Lea, LL.D. By Newton Pratt
Scudder. Bulletin of the U. 8. National Museum, No. 23.

16 The Academy of Natural Sciences

ment of his intention, announced that they would pay $120 per
annum toward the expenses of publication and $480 per annum for
the assistance of poor young men desiring to study natural history.
The sums named were regularly paid until February, 1872, when
$10,000 in bonds were transferred to the Academy. Mrs. Clara J.
Moore, in 1888, added $5,000 to the fund and, in 1893, she gave
$5,000 for the assistance of young women similarly inclined. Sixty-
nine men and four women have been assisted by the endowment,
some of them attaining dignified positions as teachers, geologists,
biologists and authors.

The same year the Academy lost the services of the Treasurer,
George W. Carpenter, who had served in that capacity most dis-
creetly for thirty-four years. He was ever generous in his
encouragement of young naturalists, Mr. Thomas Meehan, for
example, being always warm in his acknowledgement of indebtedness
to him.

The Academy entered on its second half century under the
brightest prospects and with a most gratifying record of honor-
able achievements. The year 1862 was made notable by the work
of illustrious veterans who were still active, and by what there was
reason to expect from their successors. But few of the great collec-
tions which have since come into prominence were in existence. The
Smithsonian Institution was then rather a distributing agency than
a storehouse of scientific material. The United States Government
had not become, through the Agricultural Department, the National
Museum, the Fish Commission and the Geological Surveys, one of
the largest publishing concerns in the world, and a formidable rival
in the publication of scientific matter, so that the work of Gill,
Meek, Hayden, Coues, Stimpson, Kennicott, Yarrow and others in
Washington and elsewhere, was issued promptly and accurately in
the pages of the Proceedings and Journal.

Leidy had suspended for a time his delightful field and lab-
oratory notes and was pursuing his paleontological studies in a
little dark and dusty room on the first floor of the museum. These
he continued until driven out of the field by the wrangling of Cope
and Marsh, when his microscopic studies were carried on more
comfortably at home.

John Cassin11 had held for years such undisputed sway over the

11 John Cassin, by Witmer Stone. Cassinia I, pp. 1-7.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 17

collection of birds as to be somewhat jealous of his authority as
Ornithological Curator. Daniel Giraud Elliot and others desiring
access to the specimens for purposes of study found him ready with
most generous assistance, but interference in the administration of
the department, as was once attempted by Dr. Heerman, the cata-
loguer of the oological collection, was sternly and effectively
resented. The western room of the library was filled with trays of
mounted birds and scores of volumes which no one dared to touch.
Books and specimens, although somewhat the worse for dust, were
made good use of by the autocrat, especially on Sundays, for the
exigencies of breadwinning left him but little time for his favorite
studies during the week.

The genial old Frenchman, Elias Durand,12 had charge
of the herbarium and was just then much perturbed by the
blunders of S. B. Buckley in his papers on the plants of Texas.
These were later unsparingly criticised by Gray.

Lea was reading at the meetings the prodromi of the papers
to be afterwards printed in extenso in the Journal and, it must
be confessed, not contributing greatly thereby to the interest
of the sessions. The sound of the fierce battle between him and
Conrad had died away and the latter, as efficiently as his dyspepsia
would allow, was describing fossil shells and making autograph
drawings on stone of his new species, his activity being greatly
stimulated by the facilities for publication supplied by the newly
started American Journal of Conchology.

George W. Tryon, Jr.,13 the devoted editor and proprietor of
the new journal, was an indefatigable worker and gave up his interest
in a lucrative business to devote himself to science. Before doing
so he devoted every spare moment to his conchological work and on
meeting nights and holidays would be found at his preempted
post in the library with trays of shells and piles of books preparing
his lists and monographs. He started the American Journal of
Conchology in 1865 and carried it successfully through seven
volumes. In 1879 he published the first number of the Manual of
Conchology, a work to which his future scientific labors were
almost entirely confined. The series has been continued by the

12 Obituary Notice of Elias Durand, by Thomas Meehan, Proceedings
A. N. 8. P., 1873, pp. 355-359.

13 A Biographical Notice of George W. Tryon, Jr., by W. S. W.
Ruschenberger, M.D. Proceedings A. N. 8. P. 1888, pp. 399-418.

18 The Academy of Natural Sciences

Academy since Tryon's death in 1888, under the able editorship of
Dr. Henry A. Pilsbry, the value of whose conchological work has
received the most cordial recognition. Mr. Tryon's business train-
ing enabled him to actually secure a revenue from his two unpromis-
ing ventures, which, with much more, he bequeathed to his favorite
department. In quite a special sense, therefore, his work con-
tinues.

Much the greater part of Cope's time was, at this period,
devoted to the study of herpetology, his work being done in a small
room in the northeast corner of the first gallery. Cope's contribu-
tions to science, his paleontological work especially, lent brilliancy
to the Proceedings and Journal and as time progressed entitled
him to be regarded as the greatest naturalist born on American soil.
In his relations to the administrative affairs of the Academy, he
was ever a storm center, absolutely a law unto himself, and so
divergent were his theories and methods from those entertained by
Dr. Leidy and his other associates, that for years before his death
in 1897, he had no official connection with the society, although his
interest in the meetings was maintained and the provisions of his
will give evidence that, through all the disagreements and in spite of
them, he retained confidence in its usefulness and was, perhaps, after
all not entirely opposed to its methods. He bequeathed to the
Academy about 8,000 valuable specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles
and fishes and the fund arising from the sale of his paleontological
collections after the payment of certain legacies.

Dr. James Aitken Meigs had taken up the work of Samuel
George Morton and was giving all the time he could spare from a
rapidly growing practice to the study of ethnology, with the fine
results recorded in the Proceedings.

John Hamilton Slack, a man of extraordinary versatility, in a
little room directly under Cope's, was studying the mammals and
laying ambitious plans for a monograph of the monkeys, which, it is
to be regretted, resulted in nothing more than a sixteen page con-
tribution to the Proceedings. He was a frequent visitor to the
library and by his accomplishments gave brightness and variety to
the dullest days.

William M. Gabb, during his term as one of the Jessup Fund
students, had fitted himself for the work accomplished later in
connection with the Geological Survey of California and as Director
of the survey of San Domingo.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 19

The first recipient of benefits from the Jessup endowment was
Charles Conrad Abbott, then engaged in the study of ichthyology,
but later recognized as an authority on the Stone Age in America
and as the author of graceful contributions to the literature of
nature study.

Harrison Allen14 had begun his fine work on the bats and had
contributed his first papers to the Proceedings for 1861. They
were, in common with those prepared by him in later years,
characterized by painstaking accuracy and remain of permanent
value, conscientiousness being the keynote of the author's character
and work.

John L. Le Conte15 was adding to his reputation as one of the
most accomplished of American naturalists by a series of papers on
the coleoptera. From him his friend and protege, George H.
Horn,16 was drawing the inspiration that enabled him to secure a
distinguished position in the same department of science.

Thomas Meehan17 had been elected a member ten years before
and was contributing to the Proceedings the results of his observa-
tions on the physiology of plants, continued until his death in
1901. He was indefatigable as Conservator of the Botanical Sec-
tion, and gave much time and labor, even when suffering from the
illness which proved fatal, to the increase and care of the herb-
arium. He was an acute observer and graceful recorder of the
life histories of plants, and it is far from being to his discredit
that he never, as far as known, thought it worth while to describe
a new species.

John Warner's communications on the mathematics of organic
morphology gave a novel interest to several of the meetings,

14 Proceedings of a meeting of the Academy held in commemoration of
Harrison Allen, M.D., and George H. Horn, M.D., Proceedings of the
Academy, 1897, pp. 505-535. Harrison Allen, 1841-1897, by Burt G. Wilder.
Association of American Anatomists, December 28, 1897.

15 Biographical Sketch of John Lawrence Le Conte, by S. H. Scudder.
Trans. Am. Ent. Soc., xi, 1883-84, pp. 1-27. Sketch of John L. Le Conte,
by Jos. P. Lesley, and Memoir, by George H. Horn, M.D. Proc. Am. Philos.
Soc., xxi, 1883, pp. 291-299.

16 Proceedings of memorial meeting, Proc. A. N. /5?.,.1897, pp. 505-535;
A Biographical Notice of George Henry Horn, by Philip P. Calvert. Trans-
actions Amer. Ent. Soc., xxv, 1898.

17 "The Botanists of Philadelphia and Their Work," by John W.
Harshberger, Ph.D., 1899, pp. 249-256.

20 The Academy of Natural Sciences

delivered as they were with a quaint earnestness which held the
attention even of those unable to follow his abstract deductions.

These were the men who were actually engaged in original
scientific work on and about the fiftieth birthday of the Academy,
in connection with its library and museum. Their contributions
to knowledge were published in the Proceedings and Journal,
which were additionally reinforced by contributions from most of
the leading naturalists of America.

Dr. Lea declined a re-election in 1863, and Dr. Wilson very
reluctantly and on the persistent urging of nearly every one he
met during his visits to the premises, allowed himself to be placed
in nomination, and was, of course, unanimously elected at the
annual meeting of that year. His term of office was the briefest
in the history of the Academy. He was not altogether satisfied
with the conduct of the entomological department, and had, with
characteristic zeal, allied himself with the American Entomol-
ogical Society, which had been founded in 1859 and incorporated
in 18C3. His sympathies during the war were distinctly South-
ern and therefore not in harmony with the rather aggressive
patriotism of the majority of his fellow-members. Moreover, his
desire to remain in retirement and to avoid any expression of
gratitude for his enormous benefits to the society made his posi-
tion as President distasteful to him. As a matter of fact he had
not presided at a single meeting when, on June 28, 1864, he sent
in his resignation.

Dr. Wilson was succeeded by Dr. Eobert Bridges,18 who had
been elected to membership in 1835. There probably has never
been one among those devoted unobtrusively to the interests of
the society who rendered more efficient service than Dr. Bridges.
He had served at various times as Librarian, Eecording Secretary,
Corresponding Secretary, Auditor and Vice-President, and did
effective work on numerous standing and special committees,
including those on the Library, Publications, Finance, Botany,
Entomology, Herpetology and Ichthyology, Physics and Chemis-
try. His unassuming modesty was like that of his predecessor,
and after one year in office he declined a re-election, and was

18 Biographical Notice of Dr. Kobert Bridges, by W. S. W. Ruschen-
berger, M.D. Proceedings Am. Phil. Soc., xxi, 1884, pp. 427-447. Proceed-
ings of the Academy, 1882, pp. 226-230.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 21

succeeded by Dr. Isaac Hays19 whose early services to the society,
especially as Curator and Chairman of the Publication Com-
mittee, established the propriety of his election, for there is no
doubt that to his zeal and ability alone was due the continuation
of the first series of the Journal. He presided with dignity and
efficiency for four years, and was then succeeded by Dr. William S.
W. Euschenberger.

Notwithstanding the space provided by the additional story
completed in 1855, the need of more room for the arrangement of
the collections was again becoming urgent. A committee of
forty was appointed in December, 1865, to solicit subscriptions for
the erection of a fire-proof building on a lot of ground not less
than three times the size of the one then occupied and as close
to it as possible. In January, 1867, a Board of Trustees of the
Building Fund was elected by the subscribers, Dr. Euschenberger
being made Chairman, George W. Tryon, Jr., Secretary, and
William S. Vaux, Treasurer. Without the least forgetfulness of
the loyal service and the courageous perseverance in the face of
many discouragements of the other members of the Board, it may
be claimed with justice that to these three men was due the suc-
cess of the undertaking.

After an ineffectual attempt to secure possession of one of
the four Penn Squares at the intersection of Broad and Market
Streets, and the rejection of propositions to move to Fairmount
Park and elsewhere equally undesirable, a lot of ground of
adequate size on the southwest corner of Nineteenth and Eace
Streets, was purchased in 1868 for $65,298. A plan submitted by
James H. Windrim, in competition with Messrs. Frazer, Furness
and Hewit, and John C. Trautwine, was adopted, and Mr. Wind-
rim was appointed architect. It was not, however, until May,
1872, that the Building Committee was authorized to commence
the edifice. The cornerstone was laid at noon on Wednesday,
October 30, addresses being delivered by Dr. Euschenberger, Eev.
Elias E. Beadle, Dr. J. Aitken Meigs, Dr. Horatio C. Wood and
Eev. George Dana Boardman.

So untiring had Dr. Euschenberger been in the fulfillment
of the trust confided to him as Chairman of the Board of Trustees

19 Memoir of Isaac Hays, M.D., by Alfred Stille, M.D. Trans. Col.
Phys. Phila., Third series, v, 1881. Obituary Notice [Dr. Isaac Hays], by
S. D. Gross, M.D. Am. Jour. Med. Sri., July, 1879, p. 281.

22 The Academy of Natural Sciences

of the Building Fund that, on the retirement of Dr. Hays in 1869,
he was almost as a matter of course elected President. His with-
drawal on age from active service in the United States Navy had
provided him with leisure for congenial employment, and his con-
nection with the Academy, the American Philosophical Society
and the College of Physicians, was productive of the most bene-
ficial results. '

After a quiescence of seven years, the Biological Department
had been revived, in 1868, by union with the Microsc'opical
Society, under the title Biological and Microscopical Section. Dr.
E. S. Kenderdine was President of the Microscopical Society and
Dr. Leidy of the Biological Department. When the union was
effected Dr. William Pepper was elected Director. He character-
istically imparted vitality to the proceedings of the first year, in
which J. Gibbons Hunt, Dr. Leidy, Dr. J. H. McQuillen, Dr.
Horatio C. Wood, Jr., Dr. S. Weir Mitchell and W. H. Walmsley
took an active part. Fragmentary proceedings were published dur-
ing the three succeeding years as supplements to the Academy's
volume, and were then suspended. The meetings of the Section,
however, have been continued, and occasional receptions have been
held. The semi-centennial of the formation of the Section was
celebrated last year by an enjoyable banquet, at which speeches were
made reminiscent of old times and in affectionate commemoration
of those who had labored and gone before.

Through the efforts of Mr. Tryon, a Conchological Section
had been established in 1866. Its administration resulted in the
completion of the arrangement of the conchological collection
which, because of the zeal of Tryon and his successor, Dr. Pils-
bry, is probably the equal of any to be found elsewhere.

The removal to Nineteenth and Race Streets was begun on
the 2d of September, 1875, Messrs. George W. Tryon, Jr., and
Charles F. Parker having been engaged on salary to transfer the
collections to the new building. The transfer of the library was
made early in 1876, the librarian making special acknowledgment
for assistance to James A. Ogden and John A. Eyder, both at the
time Jessup Fund students.

The building had been completed at a cost of $193,682.29.
The sum of $50,000 had been subscribed from the amount realized
by the sale of the old building, this sacrifice being made to secure
the arrangement of the library and museum in time for the visitors

W. S. W RUSCHENBERGBR, 1807-1895.

Academy of Natural Sciences.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 23

attending the Centennial Exposition, from whom large additions to
the revenues were expected in fees of entrance to the museum.
Interest was, however, so concentrated on the exhibition in Fair-
mount Park that sightseers had little time for anything else, the
additional income was only partially realized, the expenses of admin-
istration were greatly increased, and for the next few years the
Treasurer annually reported a deficit.

Mr. Tryon, not entirely satisfied with the condition of affairs,
resigned his position as Curator in July, 1876. His action was
probably for the benefit of science as he thereafter was able to
devote his time to his conchological studies without interference
from outside engagements.

In November, 1875, it had been agreed that the American
Entomological Society should be received into the Academy, and
on May 16th of the following year the Entomological Section was
organized on the basis of the proposed union, the Society retain-
ing its corporate existence as far as the administration of its trust
funds made it necessary. The union has been to the advantage of
both institutions. The entomological interests of the Academy,
almost entirely neglected from the removal of Say to the West
until 1876, have been most judiciously administered, especially
since the appointment of Dr. Henry Skinner as Conservator in
December, 1884.

The organization of the Botanical Section was reported the
following month. It was mainly due to the efforts of Mr. Thomas
Meehan, who had succeeded Dr. John L. Le Conte as one of the
Vice-Presidents in 1877, retaining the office until his death in
1901. He devoted much time to the increase and arrangement
of the herbarium in association with Mr. John H. Kedfield, the
Conservator, whose later years were devoted to botanical studies,
although prior to 1876 he had done good work in conchology.
Mr. Meehan was a prudent councillor, active in his support of all
enterprises for the public good. His personality was such as to
inspire confidence, and this quality was productive of great benefit
to the Academy when, in 1879, his friend, Henry N. Johnson,20
influenced solely by his esteem for Mr. Meehan, left his entire
estate, on the death of his wife, to the society. Mrs. Johnson
died in 1885, and the resulting increase in the Academy's resources

20 Biographical Notice of Henry N. Johnson. Proo. A. N. 8. P., 1885,
p. 381.

24 The Academy of Natural Sciences

went far to relieving necessities which were yearly becoming
more pressing. The estimated value of the Johnson estate was
$52,083.

Modification of the By-Laws adopted in 1876 provided for
the appointment of Professors and Assistant Professors, who were
to be intrusted with the arrangement, increase and preservation
of the collections. Under these provisions a number of professors
were appointed by the Council. The lecture fees were not enough
to defray expenses, proving, it was believed, that the attempt to
establish systematic teaching could not be successfully realized in
the absence of endowments, and the By-Laws defining the profes-
sorships were subsequently repealed.

'After the resignation of Mr. Tryon, the arrangement of the
collections was continued by Mr. Charles F. Parker,21 who had
earlier given devoted service to the care of the herbarium and had
been elected Curator in 1873. Mr. Parker succeeded Mr. Tryon as
the salaried Curator-in-Charge. He served most efficiently until
1883, when his death was, it is believed, hastened, if not caused, by
the tireless discharge of his duties.

Frequent acknowledgment is given by the Curators at this
time to John A. Eyder22 for assistance in the care and arrangement
of the collections. He had been appointed a Jessup Fund student,
after a first unsuccessful application, in 1874, being indebted
mainly to Mr. Meehan for his selection. His work as an attache
of the United States National Museum and of the United States
Fish Commission, and subsequently as Professor of Comparative
Histology and Embryology in the University of Pennsylvania, to-
gether with the high value of his contributions to the literature
of philosophical biology, entitle him to be considered the most
distinguished of those who have been assisted by the Jessup
endowment. He died at the height of his scientific vigor, full
of ambitious designs for the future, in 1896.

Dr. Henry C. Chapman succeeded Mr. Tryon as Curator in
August, 1876, but served only until the end of 1877. He had
been elected a member in 1868, and immediately availed himself
of the resources of the library and museum for the enthusiastic

21 Obituary Notice of Charles F. Parker, by Isaac C. Martindale.
Proc. A.N. 8. Phila., 1883, pp. 260-265.

22 A Biographical Sketch of John Adams Ryder, by Dr. Harrison Allen.
Proc. A. N. 8. Phila., 1896, pp. 222-256.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 25

prosecution of his studies in comparative anatomy. He was induced
to resume the duties of the Curatorship in June, 1891, succeeding
his dear friend, Dr. Leidy. He held the position until 1904, when
he declined a re-election, and was succeeded by William S.
Vaux, Jr.

The heirs of Joshua T. Jeanes, who died suddenly January
3, 1880, gave to the Academy $20,000, the sum which he had
indicated his intention of bequeathing in a pencil memorandum on
the margin of his will. The interest of Mr. Jeanes in the society
was due to the association of his brother, Joseph, with all matters
likely to advance its interests since his election to membership in
May, 1853. It was through the liberality of Joseph Jeanes, in
association with William P. Wilstach, that provision was made for
the publication of Leidy's fine work, The Extinct Fauna of Dakota
and Nebraska, constituting the seventh volume of the quarto Jour-
nal. His contributions for the increase of the library were frequent,
and, in truth, every department benefited by his desire to advance
the cause of science. In June, 1898, his sister, Anna, conveyed to
the Academy a gift of -$20,000, to be known as the Mary Jeanes
Museum Fund.

The Mineralogical Section was founded in 1877. In 1879
its scope was broadened and its name changed to the Miner-
alogical and Geological Section. Eeports of its work were, for a
time, contributed to the Proceedings. Its meetings are held regu-
larly, and much good is effected by a series of annual field excursions
in the Spring and Fall.

A severe loss was sustained in May, 1882, in the death of
William S. Vaux,23 who had been elected a member in 1834. He
had served the society effectively and generously for more than
forty-eight years, during which time, except when absent from the
city, he seldom allowed a day to pass without a visit to the Hall
in the discharge of his duties as Curator, which position he had
held continuously since 1838. He was earnestly interested in all
the building enterprises, and gave liberally to them himself, con-
tributing to the last building fund the largest sum given by an
individual. He bequeathed to the Academy his collections of
minerals and archaeological specimens, with the exception of ten of

23 Notice of William S. Vaux, by W. S. W. Ruschenberger. Proc. A.
N. 8. Phila., 1882, pp. Ill, 112.

26 The Academy of Natural Sciences

the minerals to be selected by his brother. He also left $1,000 to
provide additional cases and $10,000, of which the income was to be
expended for the care and increase of the collections.

The will provided for the appointment of a special Curator
and under its terms Mr. Jacob Binder assumed the duty of remov-
ing, arranging and increasing the collections, declining the com-
pensation which the Council was empowered to define. He had
been elected Curator in 1882, to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of Dr. E. S. Kenderdine. To fit himself for his duties as
Vaux Curator he attended courses of lectures on mineralogy at the
University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Koenig, the result being
apparent in the satisfactory arrangement of the collection according
to the system of Dana. He served as Curator until 1892, when
failing health forced him to decline a re-election. Dr. Joseph T.
Eothrock then held the office for one year, and was succeeded by
Arthur Erwin Brown, who has since served continuously.

Dr. Euschenberger declined a renomination for the Presi-
dency in 1882, and Dr. Leidy, having been at last persuaded to
become a candidate, his fellow-members evinced their affectionate
gratitude by conferring on him the highest office within their gift,
an honor which he had repeatedly declined. He still continued to
act as Chairman of the Curators, the Library Committee and the
Publication Committee, all of which profited by his guidance and
advice until his death on April 30, 1891.

Custody of the collections of the State Geological Survey was
confided to the Academy by Act of the Legislature in 1883.

On his retirement from the Presidency, Dr. Euschenberger
was elected one of the four Curators, thus becoming, of course,
an ex-officio member of the Council, where he continued his
services during the rest of his life. His well-earned leisure after
his retirement from active duty in the navy was occupied in constant
supervision of the building operations, in the revision of his
Notices, in the preparation of annual reports during his term of
service as President, and in convincing support of the Academy's
claims to consideration by means of frequent newspaper articles.
He died March 24, 1895.24

24 A Biographical Notice of W. .S. W. Ruschenberger, by Edward J.
Nolan, M.D. Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1895,
pp. 452-462.

JOSEPH LEIDY. 1823-1891.

Academy of Natural Sciences.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 27

Professor Angelo Heilprin25 succeeded Charles F. Parker as
Curator in October, 1883, and was immediately appointed Cura-
tor-in-Charge. He had begun his studies in the Academy in 1879,
on his return from Europe, where he had received a solid scien-
tific training under Huxley in the Royal College of Mines, London,
and subsequently in Geneva, Florence and Vienna. While serv-
ing as a Jessup Fund student he was engaged in the arrangement
of the collection of fossil invertebrata. He suggested as Curator a
number of enterprises in which he took more interest than in the
routine duties of his executive office. He began the formation of
collections illustrating the natural history of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, advocated the opening of the museum on Sundays, organized
popular courses of lectures, gave effective assistance in securing
appropriations from the Legislature in 1889 and 1891, inaug-
urated a series of evening receptions and conducted expeditions
to Florida, Bermuda, Yucatan and Mexico. He was also the
leader of the auxiliary party which accompanied the North Green-
land expedition sent out under Lieutenant Peary in 1891, and he
commanded the Peary Relief Expedition of the following year.

The meeting of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, held in Philadelphia in 1884, may be regarded
as a notable event in the history of the Academy, under whose
auspices it was held. It was probably the most important meet-
ing of the kind held in America up to that time.

In their report for 1884, the Curators make special mention
of the Rev. Henry C. McCook's gift of specimens of insect and
araneid architecture, with justice regarded as a collection of
unique value. Dr. McCook had been elected Vice-President in
1882 to succeed Mr. Vaux. He served until 1900, taking a spe-
cial interest in the Department of Instruction, the initial activity
of which was almost entirely due to his enterprise and zeal. His
collections, illustrating the anatomy and natural history of ants and
spiders, were made during the prosecution of his studies in the
brief intervals of exacting professional duties.

The Academy, in 1888, accepted from Mrs. Emma W. Hayden
an endowment of a memorial to her husband, Dr. Ferdinand V.
Hayden. Provision was first made to confer a bronze medal and
the balance of interest on the fund as a recognition of the best

25 Memorial Notices. Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Phila-
delphia, vol. vi, No. 1, Jan., 1908, pp. 1-30.

28 The Academy of Natural Sciences

publication, exploration, discovery or research in the sciences of
geology and paleontology. The bronze medal was awarded
annually until 1899, when the deed of trust was modified so as
to provide for the conferring of a gold medal once every three
years.26

An appropriation of $50,000 for building purposes was received
from the Legislature in 1889, and plans for the extension of the
building, involving an outlay of $239,000, were considered. A
second appropriation for a like amount was secured in 1891.

An invitation from the University of Pennsylvania to remove
the buildings to a plot of ground in West Philadelphia, immediately
adjoining those of the University, was received in 1889, and after
mature consideration was declined by a vote of 68 to 3. A second
proposition, with a like intent, was quite as decidedly rejected the
following year.

The formation of an Ornithological Section was authorized
in May, 1891.

The last meeting presided over by Dr. Leidy was that of March
10, 1891. His death, on April 30, inflicted on the Academy the
greatest loss it had ever sustained. He had served the society most
devotedly for forty-six years in almost every position within its gift.
The range of his scientific accomplishments was indicated at the
memorial meeting held May 12th, when his work in vertebrate
anatomy was considered by Dr. Harrison Allen, in invertebrate
anatomy by Dr. Henry C. Chapman, in paleontology and geology by
Professor Angelo Heilprin, in mineralogy by Joseph Willcox, and
in botany by Dr. James Darrach. An appreciative biographical
notice27 was prepared by Dr. Chapman in which his claims to per-
manent recognition as one of the greatest naturalists of America,
and indeed of the world, were ably sustained. A bibliography
attached to the memoir credits him with 553 papers dealing with
topics in almost every department of natural history. A bronze
statue in commemoration of his standing in the scientific world

26 The recipients of the award have been as follows: 1890, James
Hall; 1891, Edward D. Cope; 1892, Edward Suess; 1893, Thomas Henry
Huxley; 1894, Gabriel Auguste Daubree; 1895, Karl A. von Zittel; 1896,
Giovanni Capellini; 1897, A. Karpinski; 1898, Otto Torell; 1899, Gilles
Joseph Gustave Dewalque; 1902, Archibald Geikie; 1905, Charles Doolittle
Walcott; 1908, John Mason Clarice.

27 Memoir of Joseph Leidy, M.D., LL.D., by Henry C. Chapman, M.D.
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1891, pp. 342-388.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 29

adorns the pavement of the City Hall. It is to be hoped that it
will, in the near future, be moved to Logan Square, in immediate
proximity to the institution which he loved so well and served
so loyally, and within the walls of which he accomplished much the
greater part of his work.

Charles E. Smith28 succeeded Aubrey H. Smith as a member
of the Council. He was immediately appointed on the Publica-
tion Committee. In this position he rendered most important
service as a judicious adviser and an extraordinarily accurate
proofreader, until his death, April 15, 1900, in his eightieth year.
His interest in the Academy was shown by the bequest of his
botanical collections, books, maps and letters, and one-sixth part
of the sum realized from the sale of his real and personal property.
The latter amounted to about $75,000. Philip P. Calvert was
placed on the Publication Committee to fill the vacancy caused by
the death of Mr. Smith.

The Eev. Dr. McCook having resigned his position as one of
the Vice-Presidents, a minute of appreciation of the high value
of his services to science was placed on the records. He was suc-
ceeded by Arthur Erwin Brown, Sc. D.

Out of respect to the memory of Dr. Leidy, the office of Presi-
dent was allowed to remain vacant until the annual election in
December, 1891, when General Isaac Jones Wistar was elected his
successor. In the meantime the By-Laws had been amended so as
to provide that no member should be eligible to the office of Presi-
dent for more than four consecutive terms.

General Wistar was a prudent adviser and conducted the affairs
of the society with dignity and efficiency for the next four years.
In 1892, he contributed to the Proceedings an able paper on the
quantity, rate of consumption and probable duration of North
American coal and the consequence to air breathing animals of its
entire consumption. He died September 18, 1905.29

The new lecture hall was transferred by the Board of Trustees
of the Building Fund in February, 1892, the opening address being
delivered on the 22d of that month by the Rev. Dr. McCook.

An expedition for the exploration of West Greenland under the
command of Lieut. R. E. Peary had been fitted out by the Academy

28 Memoir of Charles E. Smith, by E. A. Scott. Buffalo, 1902.
t. Encycl. of Am. Biogr., xii, 359.

30 The Academy of Natural Sciences

in 1891, a party of associates more directly representing the society,
consisting of Messrs. Sharp, Holt, Hughes, Burk, Keely and Mengel,
being under the leadership of Professor Heilprin. Considerable
material new to science and to the museum was obtained. Because,
perhaps, of incomplete instructions, serious misunderstandings arose
among the members of the party on their return which, however, did
not prevent the sending of an expedition under the command of
Professor Heilprin to the relief of Peary the following year. This
party consisted of Henry G. Bryant, second in command ; Dr. Jack-
son M. Mills, William E. Meehan, Samuel G. Entrekin, Frank
Stokes, Albert W. Vorse, Charles E. Kite and the leader. The
object of the expedition was accomplished successfully. Lieut.
Peary and those left with him in Greenland the year before, with
the exception of John Verhoeff who was lost, were landed in Phila-
delphia, September 23d. Extensive collections were brought back
and the leader testified in his report that in this party good fellow-
ship at all times prevailed.

An Anthropological Section was formed in 1895 with Harrison
Allen as Director. The interest in the organization was at first
active, but after the deaths of Doctors Brinton and Allen, it was
not sustained and no meeting having been held or report presented
for the preceding twelve months, the section ceased to exist at the
end of 1898.

Nearly one-half of the accessions to the library in 1895 had
formerly belonged to Dr. James Aitken Meigs.30 He had served as
Librarian from August, 1856 to May, 1859. He died March 9,
1879, and his father retained possession of his books and instruments
until his death, when he bequeathed them to the Academy with the
sum of $20,000, one-half for the increase of the library and the rest
without restriction or condition.

Dr. Robert H. Lamborn,31 who died in 1895, bequeathed his
estate to the Academy "to be used in biological and anthropological
researches, the income only to be used and the principal invested."
Question as to the validity of the will under the New York State
law having been raised by the heirs-at-law, a compromise was effected
on the basis of one-half coming to the society and the balance to

30 Memoir of James Aitkin Meigs, by Henry C. Chapman, M.D., Trans.
College of Phys. Phila., Third series, v, pp. 117-133.

31 Biographical Notice of Robert Henry Lamborn, by Carrie S. Aaron.
Proc. A. N. 8. Phila^ 1901, pp. 486-490.

The Academy of Natural Sciences 31

them. A conservative estimate places the value of the Academy's
portion of the estate at half a million. It now became possible to
broaden the work of the institution in various ways.

Among the sources of increase of the museum reported by
the Curators year after year is the continued interest of the Kev.
Dr. L. T. Chamberlain, who, out of regard for the memory of his
father-in-law, Dr. Isaac Lea, has furnished cases for the arrange-
ment of the collection of fossils associated with his name. He
has provided for its increase by fitting out expeditions to the
Eocene and Oligocene deposits of the South.

Having completed his fourth year as President of the
Academy, General Wistar was succeeded by Dr. Samuel Gibson
Dixon, who had been elected a member in 1890. Shortly after
his election he had resigned his professorship of Hygiene in the Med-
ical Department of the University of Pennsylvania and trans-
ferred his laboratory to the Academy, where he continued his
bacteriological researches and perfected the biological product
with which he had produced immunity to tuberculosis in the lower
animals.32 He had been elected one of the four Curators at the
annual meeting in 1891, and immediately instituted a number of
reforms in the administration of the office. He was appointed
Professor of Bacteriology and Microscopic Technology, October 24,
1892, and held the position until 1896, when he was compelled to
relinquish it because of the pressure of other engagements.

The year 1896 was made memorable by the opening of the
central section of the building and the consequent improvement
in the arrangement of the collections.

Notable action was taken in May, 1899, when a revision of
the By-Laws was adopted providing for important changes of
administration. Assistant Curatorships were substituted for the
Professorships, the clause limiting the possible continuous term
of the Presidency to four years was repealed, and provision was
made for the appointment of a Committee on Accounts in addi-
tion to the Committee on Finance.

The alteration of the By-Laws enabled the Academy to con-
tinue Dr. Dixon in the Presidency on the termination of his
fourth year of service, and he has since been re-elected annually
to the office. He has also served continuously as Executive
Curator.

32 Medical Neivs, October 17, 1889.

32 The Academy of Natural Sciences

During the administration of Dr. Euschenberger it had been
his practice to read at the annual meeting a resume of the
history of the year. These had been discontinued until 1901 when,
at the beginning of the new century, Dr. Dixon prepared a sum-
marized account of the operations of the society during the inter-
vening twenty years.

Because of the constantly increasing tendency to the division
of scientific interests into specialties, the organization of sections
and special societies, and the consequent interference with attend-
ance on general meetings, an amendment to the By-Laws was
adopted in 1903, providing for the holding of meetings on the
first and third Tuesdays of each month from October to May,
inclusive, thus reducing the number of sessions from fifty-two to
sixteen. -. .'

An appropriation of $20,000 from the State Legislature, in
1905, was expended in replacing the roof of the old building by
one which more effectually safeguarded the collections from dam-
age by storms. Another appropriation of $150,000 received last
year has secured the erection of a fire-proof building on the
remaining section of the lot. In the rear portion of the structure
the library has been arranged in five tiers of steel stacks, while
the front is divided into a lecture hall, and a reading room in
connection with the library.

The four Departments of the Academy through which its
work is accomplished are the Library, the Museum, the Publication
Office and the Department of Instruction and Lectures.

THE LIBRARY

• The formation of a library was one of the first subjects to
engage attention. At the initial meeting a committee, consisting of
Dr. Troost and Mr. Shinn, was appointed to consider "which are
the fittest periodical works to engage at first instance for the
accommodation of the society."

No report seems to have been received from this, the first
Library Committee, but under date of March 17, 1812, a memo-
randum records that "Mr. Shinn will accommodate the society with
the Mineralogical Journal of Dr. Bruce; Mr. Parmentier, the
Aurora and a map of Switzerland ; Dr. Mann, the Monthly Maga-
zine for 1807. Dr. Troost and Mr. Parmentier have engaged for

The Academy of Natural Sciences 33

the use of the society the Annales de Chymie and the Annales des
Arts et de Commerce. Mr. Shinn is commissioned to procure for
account of the society the Archives of Useful Knowledge of Dr.
Mease and the Medical Museum of Drs. Mitchell and Miller.
Agreed to procure the Repertory of Arts from London." Davy's
London Institution Lectures, Nicholson's Journal, Murray's,
Thompson's and Davy's Chemistrys and Tilloch's Magazine were
suggested as desirable. It is interesting to see how largely the first
members were concerned with physics and chemistry, subjects which
for years have received little or no attention in the Academy.

The growth of the library was slow until 1816 when the newly
elected President, William Maclure, began his donations which, in
1819, had reached nearly 1,500 volumes. A portion of his library
was transferred from New Harmony in 1834.

A catalogue of the library was published in the Journal for
1817 to 1824 when there seems to have been in the possession of the
society 1,675 volumes embracing 672 titles. Another catalogue pub-
lished in 1836 gives the number of volumes at 6,890 of which 5,232
are credited to Mr. Maclure. In 1841 the collection had increased
to 7,000. In May, 1845, Dr. Thomas B. Wilson presented Owen's
History of British Fossil Mammalia and Birds and from that
date until his death in 1865, more than ten thousand volumes were
given by him. His brother, Edward Wilson, presented 4,184 rare
volumes and pamphlets of the last century, and a valuable selection
from Dr. Wilson's library was received after his death from
another brother, Rathmel Wilson. Dr. Wilson bequeathed to the
Academy $10,000, the interest to be used for the continuance of
his subscriptions and as a contribution toward the salary of the
Librarian. A small amount had been received from the sale to the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania of a collection of historical
documents given by Mr. Maclure, and a little was secured from
time to time by subscription or from the sale of duplicates, etc., but
no permanent endowment was available until 1875 when Isaiah V.
Williamson gave $25,000 in ground rents, the interest to be expended
for the purchase of books.

The John Warner Library of about 1,045 volumes and 1,200
pamphlets, mostly on mathematics, was received in 1892 and the
library of Dr. James Aitken Meigs consisting of 5,089 volumes was
bequeathed to the Academy by his father, together with $20,000, in
1895.

34 The Academy of Natural Sciences

The old hand lists were replaced in 1885 by a regulation card
catalogue which has been kept up to date. An Assistant Librarian
was appointed in 1890. The library, exclusively for reference, now
contains about 60,000 volumes, almost entirely on the natural
sciences. In many respects it is the most important collection of
the kind in America. It is especially distinguished for its complete
sets of early Journals and Transactions and for finely illustrated
monographs in all departments of zoology and botany. Its sources
of growth are the incomes of the Wilson, the I. V. Williamson and
the Meigs Funds, supplemented within recent years by liberal
appropriations from the treasury. These sums provide the pro-
prietary journals and works on general science, while the publica-
tions of learned societies, perhaps the most important part of the
library, are secured by exchange of the Proceedings and Journal.

The arrangement of the library has been considered a model
of convenience by all having occasion to consult the books. They
have been removed to the new building where they are placed in a
fireproof compartment fitted up with tiers of steel stacks. Much-
needed increase of room has thus been secured.

THE MUSEUM

Mr. Witmer Stone, one of the Curators, states that the
Academy's museum to-day, both for its historic value and the
extent of its collections, is one of the most important in existence.
As in the case of all the older scientific institutions its arrangement
has undergone material changes in the course of time. The old
idea of having all specimens displayed in show cases has been super-
seded by the establishment of two distinct collections : an exhibition
series selected and arranged primarily for the education of the public
and a study series compactly arranged in the laboratories and study
rooms, where the large suites of specimens required in the work of
modern specialists may be accumulated and preserved. Perishable
material which has but a comparatively short life in exhibition
cases is here preserved from the ravages of light, dust and insects.
One of the features of the museum is the large number of type
specimens which served as the basis of the work of the eminent
naturalists who have figured in the history of the Academy, access
to which is indispensable to the students of the present day.

An idea of the extent of the collections may be gained from
recent examinations of the catalogues. The vertebrate animals

The Academy of Natural Sciences 35

number about 130,000 specimens, 12,000 being mammals, 60,000
birds, 20,000 reptiles and 40,000 fishes. The insects are estimated
at nearly 400,000 specimens and the shells at a million and one-half.
There are in the cases 50,000 specimens of fossils, 30,000 minerals,
20,000 pieces of archaeological material and over 600,000 prepara-
tions of dried plants. Nearly all the departments are now in the
care of specialists and the collections are growing at a rapid rate,
many of the study collections being equal or superior to those of
any other institution in America.

PUBLICATIONS

No one act of the society contributed so much to its pros-
perity as the publication of the Journal, commenced in 1817 and
continued at irregular intervals for a period of twenty-five years.
The series consists of eight octavo volumes, illustrated by litho-
graphic and engraved plates, and contains contributions from
nearly all the active naturalists of the period, who had, indeed,
scarcely any other avenue of publicity for the details of their
original investigations. The second series of the Journal, in
quarto, was begun in December, 1847, and is still continued.
Thirteen volumes have been completed. It contains papers re-
quiring more elaborate illustration than can be supplied in the
octavo form, and the plates throughout the series are of a high
artistic excellence. The numbers, as issued, are exchanged with
societies which publish Journals or Transactions of equal dignity.

The publication of the Proceedings was commenced in March,
1841, the sixtieth volume being now completed. Like the earlier
Journal, it supplied a need which was then more urgent, as the
workers were more numerous than formerly, of a vehicle of com-
munication with the scientific world. Continuous memoirs and the
proceedings of the meetings, including verbal communications
and comments made on them, form the contents. Volumes
iii to vii, inclusive, of the American Journal of Conchology, were
published by the Conchological Section, under the editorship of
Geo. W. Tryon, Jr., who had prepared volumes i and ii as a private
enterprise. The Manual of Conchology, also begun by Mr. Tryon,
was bequeathed by him to the Conchological Section of the Academy,
and was published under the direction of Dr. Henry A. Pilsbry
until 1904, when, on the dissolution of the Section, it was continued
by Dr. Pilsbry as one of the Academy's publications. Since the

36 The Academy of Natural Sciences

death of Mr. Tryon seven volumes of the first series and fifteen of
the second have been issued, every species of which a figure can be
obtained being illustrated by colored lithographic plates.

Since the formation of the Entomological Section by the
union of the American Entomological Society with the Academy
in 1875, the publication of the Transactions of the Society has
been continued. The Entomological News, embracing the proceed-
ings of the Entomological Section was begun in 1890, and the
nineteenth volume has been completed.

The several series of the publications form 151 volumes. The
output for the year 1908 amounted to 1,936 pages and 133 plates.
It is gratifying to know that the quantity of the matter published
is in no sense at the expense of its quality. The importance of the
Academy is measurably dependent on the discoveries announced in
its publications. They are the organs of speech of the society by
means of which it holds communication with naturalists in all
civilized countries. They encourage the student to labor, for
investigation would be purposeless if the results could not be given
to the world.

LECTURES AND INSTRUCTION

On the acquisition of the Seybert collection of minerals in
August, 1814, Dr. Gerard Troost, the President, delivered a course
of lectures on mineralogy. Courses on entomology were delivered
by Mr. Say and on botany by Drs. Waterhouse and Barnes. The
latter were so successful that they were repeated the following year.
Soon after the Academy's occupancy of the hall in Gilliams' Court,
Mr. Shinn gave discourses on chemistry, and this form of activity
was kept up until the removal to the building at Twelfth and
George's Streets, twenty-five lectures having been delivered in 1824
by Messrs. Coates, Darrach, Gilpin, Godman, Griffith, Harlan,
Hays, Keating, Lea, Mitchell, Patterson, Say and Troost. No
lectures seem to have been delivered in the building at Twelfth
and George's Streets, probably because of lack of accommodation,
but" a fine lecture room was provided in the new hall on Broad
Street, and provision was made in 1840 for renting the room to
lecturers on science, literature and the liberal arts, on such terms
as might be thought proper by the Lecture Committee. The use
of the room for such purposes was not found to be of practical
importance, and it was subsequently appropriated for the arrange-
ment of a portion of the collection until the completion of another

The Academy of Natural Sciences 37

story to the building in 1855, when part of the library was moved
into it, and the weekly meetings were held there until the removal
to South Logan Square.

In 1876, By-Laws were adopted providing for the appoint-
ment of thirteen professors, each with authority to appoint one
or more assistants. 'A number of these positions were filled and
acceptable courses of lectures were delivered by J. Gibbons Hunt
on histology and microscopic technology; by Henry Carvill Lewis,
on mineralogy; by Angelo Heilprin, on invertebrate paleontology
and geology; by Benjamin Sharp, on lower invertebrata, and by
Daniel G. Brinton, on ethnology and archeology. These courses
were well attended, and were, under the energetic management of
the Rev. Dr. McCook as chairman of the Committee on Instruction
and Lectures, productive of excellent results, but none of them
secured sufficient return for the adequate compensation of the
professors, and, in the absence of endowments, the By-Laws
defining the positions were subsequently repealed.

Courses of popular evening lectures were delivered successfully
during the winters of 1887 to 1895. In 1896 a proposition was
made by the Ludwick Institute that the Committee on Instruction
should cooperate with the Institute in arranging a course of lectures
on natural science and allied subjects, to be given in the Academy's
lecture hall and to be free to the public though primarily for the
benefit of public school teachers, the Ludwick Institute bearing all
expenses. Under this arrangement six to eight courses have been
given annually by members of the society, the courses for the
session of 1908-1909 being as follows : Seneca Egbert, A.M., M.D.,
"The Prevention of Disease and the Preservation of Health;" J.
Percy Moore, Ph.D., "Illustrations of the Life Histories and Habits
of the Lower Animals;" Spencer Trotter, M.D., "Anthropology and
Ethnology;" Henry A. Pilsbry, Sc.D., "Shell Fish (Mollusks) ;"
Witmer Stone, A.M., "Studies in Local Bird Life ;" T. M. Lightfoot,
M.S., Ph.D., "Economic Geology;" Stewardson Brown, "Wild
Flowers and Seasons;" Henry Skinner, M.D., "Geographical Dis-
tribution of Insects/'

The following officers were elected at the annual meeting to
serve during 1909 :

President, Samuel G. Dixon, M.D., LL.D.; Vice-Presidents,
Arthur Erwin Brown, Sc.D. and Edwin G. Conklin, Ph.D.;
Recording Secretary and Librarian, Edward J. Nolan, M.D. ; Cor-

310140

38 The Academy of Natural Sciences

responding Secretary, J. Percy Moore, Ph.D.; Treasurer, George
Vaux, Jr. ; Curators, Arthur Erwin Brown, Sc.D. ; Samuel G. Dixon,
M.D., LL.D., Henry A. Pilsbry, Sc.D., Witmer Stone, A.M. ; Coun-
cillors to serve three years, Charles B. Penrose, M.D., Charles
Morris, Henry Tucker, M.D., Spencer Trotter, M.D. ; Committee
on Accounts, Charles Morris, Samuel 1ST. Ehoads, Dr. C. Newlin
Peirce,* John G. Eothermel and Howard Crawley, Ph.D.

The remaining Councillors are as follows: —

Two Tears. — Thomas H. Fenton, M.D., John Cadwalader,
Edwin S. Dixon, Henry Skinner, M.D.

One Year.—Dr. C. Newlin Peirce,* Philip P. Calvert, Ph.D.,
Thomas Biddle, M.D., Frederick Prime.

The Academy is approaching its centenary. For nearly one
hundred years its progress has been steady and progressive and
during all that time its resources have been employed exclusively for
the intellectual advancement of mankind in connection with the work
of unselfish and devoted men. Its influence has not been local but
has been exerted wherever scientific research is cultivated. With
greatly increased resources and with improved methods of adminis-
tration its honorable record will assuredly be maintained as the
years go on.

* Since deceased.

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