Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1894 [PAGE 309]

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310

UNIVEESITY OF ILLINOIS.

time, in order to facilitate the final disposition of the aqarium material, and to make sure t h a t it would be be properly utilized in any event, an arrangement was made for its transfer, November 1st, to the State Laboratory of Natural History, and I was so notified October 25th by the following telegram from Commissioner McDonald: "To Professor Forbes, Champaign. I have determined, with one exception, which I have indi ated to you, to ' t u r n over all the aquarium material to the State Laboratory of Natural History for such disposition as the director in his discretion may find best." This telegram was followed next day by a letter from Dr. T. H. Bean, representative of the commission at Chicago, saying, "In accordance with instructions received from the commissioner yesterday, I will t u r n over to you all the aquarium materials except such as have been reserved by the Commissioner for transfer to Washington." This tender was accepted by me October 30th, in the following terms: "In reply to your favor of October 26th, notifying me t h a t you are prepared, in accordance with the instructions of the Commissioner, to turn over to the State Laboratory of Natural History the specimens now in the Aquarium, with certain exceptions reserved by the Commissioner. I beg to say t h a t I shall accept with pleasure, on behalf of the Laboratory, all of this material which I find suitable for use or distribution .by us. •T need not say t h a t I recognize most gratefully the very great obligation conferred by the Commissioner upon the State Laboratory of Natural History, and upon the scientific and educational institutions dependant upon it in part for their supply of scientific material. Such specimens as I take possession of will be utilized to the very best of our opportunity for purposes of scientific study and instruction." Being notified October 31st, by one of the commissioners of the South Park, t h a t t h a t commission would probably accept the Aquarium on the conditions named, and would, at any rate, provide temporarily for its maintenance until formal action could be taken by them, I did not disturb it until November 7th, at which time the Park commissioners decided not to undertake to provide for its permanent support and development. I consequently then took charge of its contents for the State Laboratory; distributed such portion of them to the colleges and high schools of Chicago as they could utilize and care for; shipped the live marine material to Urbana for an experiment in aquarium maintenance, and placed the remainder in alcohol for subsequent distribution to scientific institutions and public high schools. A most careful and persistent effort made at the University to maintain these marine animals in tanks of sea water by the aid of a mechanical aerating apparatus such as we used in Chicago, gradually failed through the unavoidable fouling of the water, due, apparently, to the lack of marine vegetation, which the exigencies of the time had made it impossible for me to provide in advance. The specimens dying were, however, preserved and added to the mass of material held for the supply of public schools and other educational institutions of the state. .My experiment here, and my much more valuable experience at the Exposition Aquarium in the thoroughly successful maintenance of marine animals under artificial conditions, have given me positive assurance t h a t it would be quite practicable, within the limits of a reasonable expenditure, to maintain, at this distance from the sea, a salt water aquarium continuously, year after year, in which the more hardy and interesting forms of marine life could be exhibited for the benefit of a general public, and likewise for that of university students. I desire to commend this matter very earnestly to the attention of the trustees, especially as no university in America not in the immediate vicinity of the sea is at present doing anything whatever in this direction. The maintenance of a fresh water aquarium, although more difficult than t h a t of a marine