There are over twenty German choruses in Milwaukee; in St. Louis there are probably as many, while in Chicago the number is beyond count--there are certainly more than one hundred. St. Louis started its musical life rather early and established a Philharmonic Society in 1838. Seven years later a Polyhymnia Society was formed and about the same time a Cecilian Society and an Oratorio Society came into being. A new Philharmonic Society was organized in 1859 and later came the St. Louis Choral Society. These, of course, leave out of account the German societies, of which the most prominent are the _Liederkranz_, the _Socialer Sängerchor_, the _Germania Sängerbund_, the Orpheus, and the _Schweizer Männerchor_. As early as 1858 Chicago had a Musical Union devoted to the study of oratorio. During the eight years of its existence it gave the principal oratorio classics, including the 'Creation,' 'Messiah,' and 'Elijah.' It was succeeded by the Oratorio Society, which persevered, under the conductorship of Hans Balatka, until the great fire. After the fire it was revived, but in 1873 its library and effects were again burned and further attempts to continue it were unavailing. The summer of 1872 saw the organization of the Apollo Club, which is to-day the only society of importance in Chicago devoted to the cultivation of oratorio music. There is also a Chicago Musical Art Society patterned after the Musical Art Society of New York and doing similar work. These are the chief agencies for the cultivation of choral music in Chicago, apart from the multitude of German societies to which we have already alluded. San Francisco had an oratorio society, organized by Rudolph Herold, as early as 1860, and soon afterward a Handel and Haydn Society entered the field. The fact that these societies received support during several years of competitive existence speaks well for the state of musical cultivation in San Francisco at that date. And certainly the city has not deteriorated musically since then, if we may judge from the number of choral societies now active there.