The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1873-04-23

rA- mu-rura Of Cooperative zooloSy at Cam
hrea<r.


. Museum Of Comparative Zoology IN
oouucsiou with Harvard College, hiss led
r f-esh discussion Of the needs and merits
q that institution. Hearing it 50 much
tsIked about, l WAS interested TO see Tor
rayself its present condition, and | went
out 10 Cambridge for the purpose day
or two since Ny irst call was at the
bouse ofProfesSor AgasSiz- should like
10 describe to You the sunny, pleasant
rcon into which I was shown-a room
where al tiuts were harmonious, enriched
bv numerous works Of art, and bright aud
fragrant with flowers most daintily arrang-
ed Ii was the ct frame for the picture
which was snppEed when Prof Agassiz
himself came down stairs Do you know
how handsome man he IS A certain
gracious amplitude chzracterires him. His
figure Is portly. his voice Is full and rieh-
BIS smile Is geuiality itself He sIniles not
With his bps alone, but with his merry
brown eves, with whole kind, expressive,
bearinr face. And then his enthusiasm
i something magnetic and contagious. 1
dour see how a soalless corporation could
retuse auv request Of his He has asked,
1 believe, for a present State appropriation
Of So. ooa. But inquired, I" how
much money do VOC need to put the mu-
sezm n Sach condition IS Won desire =
. 4 milton Of dollars was the answer; ;
and I felt At once that be ought TO have
T. LAST year, he said, with only guar
auteed income for the museum Of $IO,5oo,
be had spent sT5.O0o, all save the Sl0,5O0
the gift Of personal friends Of his own
One does not wonder that his friends,
fnea By contact with his enthusiasm,
should give any smount, however large,
N aid Of bis pursuits. think If l saw him
every dzy should willingly beggar my
self. if there were an opportunity, TO pro
cure hin a fresh fish mean, be it under
stood. 4 fish that he hsd not seen before ;
10; \ fresh water fish, for which l do not
know that he has any particular partiality.
Professor Agassiz hiss been the soul Of
the Museum-its inspiration-the breath
q Life Of It's very department, as well as
the director ofthe whole 1t IS his child,
and he praises 1t with certain proud shy
ness. 4 parental ~though-I-say-it-who-
should not If he could but properly
display It's treasures, there are many re
spects IN which be would not fear CON-
pariSon with even the British Museum, or
the Jardin de- Plautes at Paris. His col
lecti0n Of fishes. for instance, Is larger than
that n both these together, though the
British Museum, has 4 Government en-
dopneut Of 500. 900 year, and the Jar
din des Plantes has 100000. More
assistants are employed by Professor
.Arassiz than IN either Of the others
fourteen assistants and eight sub-asSist-
zuts being constantly on duty. Think
what mus have been the inspiring soul,
the creative energy of this man, to have
formed in the brief space Of fourteen
wears a Museum which already, in many
regards. takes rank with the finest collee-
tons Of the Old World When Profes-
sor Tyndan was IN this country be visited
the Museum st Cambridge, and expressed
himself with much enthusiasm concerning
T. The British Museum, b. said, could
not ST al compare with It, in either its Ia
boratory or the facilities which it afforded
70 students
TIE EAELr TEARS OF The NUsEUM
But If already the museum IS so com
preheusive and so valuable, what does
Prof Azassiz want of million of dollars,
do vou askl The answer to this peril
neut question viii presently appear. |
viii preface It with brief resume of the
inception and progress Of the institution,
for the materials Of which l am chiefly
indebted 70 T. G. Cary, who has written
an admirable account Of the museum. In
Is47. the late Abbott Lawrence gave
100000 to Harvard University, for the
purpose Of establishing the Lawrence
Scientific Society, and Prof Louis Agas-
81 accepted the appointment of Lawrence
Professor of Zoology and Geology. But
on entering on his duties he found that
there were no collections in Cambridge
with which to illustrate his lectures, and
that no provision had been made to OBJ
tain such collections, by purchase or other
wise. He was therefore obliged TO do
without them, or make them at his own
expense, and he did the latter, until the
task outgrew his individual means aud
powers In 1852 Samuel Eliot, who was
Al that time Treasurer of Harvard Uni
versity. rzised BY private subscription the
sun Of $4,000. to purchase and properly
accommodate the collections already made
bv Professor Agassiz and ineonveniently
stored, partly N the cellar Of Harvard
Hall. partly in sbanty on the Brighton
road. and partly IN his own house. Prof
Agzssz, however, continued to spend
al he could spare of his time and his
earnings In adding TO these treasures,
until. IN 1855. they had outgrown the