New-York tribune., 1867-08-16
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

.r,rrn DAy-ryoP. AGAssIZ ON sELAcIiiANs.
ADDRESS BY TUE HOY. HENRY bAlNAi'D'
COMMIssIONER OF EHUCATiON' -
81 rELEeK'PH II. fnE 1IlBuSL - -.
HART roRp. Conn. Ang. l5--l DC Av"u ','o. :, ,ho
ass>nbled at 10 o'clock this morning. froi ,o ~
chair Parers were read on the ,t of,b par
h so,ocb;ors. sterlty among skatesi Oh 'i'' ~ a.
,,o organ Of hearing in skates; on l,rlou.
-, ,ta, a., sterks and skates; on the cHcu",''" VI
n,oa 80 ,lacbians; ON parasitic erh''"''' -,.s--s,
r. -, sborts and on the emlTyoiosy ana AMI aiiI'
t!es Of the nrobcm In Curvature by Presi-
1heh iIu of Harvard University ls'ha Il ,,e ~
dehl tious of the Inastodon ana Iossil S.t tn suS
l0glci , ecovery Of the COh0es ~ ~ ndstOdOh
~ prof James Hall OF Albany, ~ ,rir & =, ti 80
10y TY"vrs and Mutation ana ne lItgfy OF lnf GytO-
the rearEs explanatory Of raed proectiles by
don J. q. Barnard, u ;. A., anu slhSie, doupe,
I'll and ouadruple linear associative Agebras, by
tuIpS peni Pierce. The paper on seachians by Prof
roi el b' WIS exceedingly Interesting The distinguished
naturalist 1cd sSS fst inn@ss was the rst to Accurately
recognize in the Animal Kinsdo The inyesgat-
0s o g Mat are these cnps - What DO they repre-
senti and How they characterized" The eelaehans'
the speaker was convinced, constituted Distinct class
they all have tail Of certain dmensions in respect to
the body this is moro marked than in fishes
region distinct Attenuation between the heaq and back
with bone which is freely movable SelaShlahs Mele
the first selachans were created complicated hand Of
was brought into existence. Now the brain Is con
sucted in the same manner Gezenbaurs recent
teatton the n which the Professor remarked started
him in this Investigation, shows that the ola Oue OF
getting geological Identity by comparing ndVldnal part
with part is nadmissable for some have the cOmPsIe
fin others only the outer or only the inner or the mue
element So il absurd 70 assume that the nm as woe
must correspond to the fin as whole In conciuslon
Prof Agassiz said that the vertebla ioTmatl0h Oh
seao hans found its eliminating point in man, ana was
prophetic Of many new discoveries in natural history
On motion of PROT Newton Of Yale College, the lion
Henry Barnard Commissioner Of Education at Washing,
ton addressed the Academy He said that the OBJECT Oh
the National Department Of Education OF whch ne was
the Supernendent, had for It's object the collecting OF
statistics in regard TO educational progress In an Tue
States that seekers Of information relative 10 TINS great
subject might have fountanhead from which 70 receive
the desired knowledge. IL designed 70 oDtalD as
carly as practicable accurate but condensed Information
OF the deIuaton history and present condition or every
institution and agency of education III the Ume salc
and of the name, residence, anu epcclal WoIh
of every person In the administration, Instruction,
and management of the same. THIS Information
was to embrace the following: Elementary or primary
Educat0n; Academic or Secondary Edueation COleglto
or Superior Education; Professional Special, or Css
Education; societies, institutes, museums, cabinets anu
galleries for the advancement Of education, scehees'
eratnre and the arts educational and other periodicals.
school funds and educational benefactions legsalon
state or municipal respecting education school archte
ture; penal and charitable Institutions churches anu
other agencies OF religious Instruction; reports anu oe
publications on schools and educatlon; memoirs oI
teachers and promoters of education; CON-
petitiye otherwise for admission 10 nallOhh VI D'
schools TO public service OF any kind -, ,,-,..
The papers by the other scientists were OF te Enc'
interest 20 those who understood the SUBJECTS o'
but were entirely technical and incapable OF beng
lated into types 10 be reproduced In TINS correspondence