Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-06-03
In the Laboratory with Agassiz.

1t is more than fifteen years ago that
entered the laboratory of Prof. Agassiz, and
told him | had enrolled my name in the
: ientific school as a student of natural
history. He asked me a few questions
about my object in coming, my antecedents
generally, the mode in which | afterward /
proposed to use the knowledge might ac-
nuire. and finally, whether | wished to
study any special branch. To the latter
7 replied that while l wished to be well
grounded in all departments of zoology,
pllrposed to devote myself specially to in
sectS.
when do YOU wish to begin?" he asked.
Now" | replied. This seemed to please
him, and with an energetic - Very we'll,
he reached from shelf huge jar of
speci1nens in yellow alcohol. lake this
fish, said he :. and look at it; we call it
Hemulon; by and by | will ask you what
YOU have seen" With that he left me. but
in a moment returned with explicit In
structions as to the care OF the object be
fore me- No man is fit to be natural
ist.n said he, "who does not know how to
take care of specimens. L was to keep
the fish before me in tin tray, and occa-
sionallv moisten the surface with alcohol
from the jar, always taking care to replace
the stopper tightly. Those were not the
davs of ground-glass shoppers, and elegant
" shaped exhibition jars; all the old stu
dents will recall the huge, neckless glass
bottles with their leaky, wax-besmeared
corks. half eaten by insects and begrimed
with cellar dust. Entomology was clean
er science than ichthyology, but the exam
ME of the professor who had unhesitating-
! iy plunged to the bottom of the jar to pro-
duce the fish. was infectious; and though
this alcohol had "a very ancient and fish
like smell.'' | really dared not show any
aversion within these sacred precincts, and
treated the alcohol as though it were pure
water. Still | was conscious of a passing
feeling of disappointment, for gazing at Il
fish lid not commend itself to an ardent
entomolopist. NV friends at home, too,
were annoved when they discovered that
no amount of eau de cologne would drown
the perfumc which haunted me like a
shadow.
In ten minutes had seen all that could
he seen in that fish, and started In search
of the professor, who had however left the
museum: and when | returned, after lin
cerinr over some of the odd animals stored
in the upper apartment, my specimen was
drv all over. l dashed the fluid over the
: 6sb ms if to resuscitate the beast from
f,;nting fit, and looked with anxiety for a
, return of the normal, sloppy appearance
This little excitement over, nothing was tt
: he done bat return to steadfast gaze a
7 nv mute companion. Half an hour passed
an hour-another hour; the fish beSaf
| to look loathsome. 1 turned it over an'
l around; looked it in the face-ghastly
/ from behind, beneath, above, sideways a
+, a three-quarter view-just rs ghastly.
j.. was in despair; at an early hour l conciu
1 ded that lunch was necessary; so, Will III
finite relief the fish was carefully replace'
;, in the lar, and for an hour l was free. vi
Y nv return learned that Prof. Agasslz na
: been at the museum, but had gone an
a would not return for several hours.
v fellow students were too busy to be disturb
Il ed bv continued conversation. Slowly
y drew forth that hideous fish, and with
S feeling of desperation again looked at L
I might not use n magnifying glass; II
a struments of all kinds were lnterdlctet
i Nv two hands, my two eyes, and the fish
d it seemed a most limited field. pushe
" nv finger down its throat to see how shar
a the teeth were. l began to count the scale
st in the different rows until l was convince
of that that was nonsense. At last naPE
n thought struck mel would draw the fs
t. and now with surprise began to discov'
S, new features in the creature. just the
g the professor returned. That IS right
said he, "a pencil is one of the best OF eye
s. 1 am glad to notice, too, that you ket
10 your specimen wet,and your bottle corked
ne With these encouraging words ne adde
e. "Well what is it like?r He listened 4
I'd tentively to my brief rehearsal of the stru
tn ture of parts whose names were still
IS, known to me: the fringed gill arches, t
ge movable operculum; the pores of the hea
VI fieshy lips, and lidless eyes; the latel
We line, the spinous fins, and forked tail;