, 1874-05-03
4 Museum that Shall Instruct Mankind
for All Time.
Circular Of the Committee-.-The Teachers
..-Anecdote OF Agassiz.

try the study Of Nature and srrit Of scientific inyes
native and for tie Unitea G s.tes e. is md beeae n
American citizen. Those twentyefRa years he gave
nnzemt'ed labor in behalf Of that higher educstfon
His interest WIS confined to no town State, to nc
individual! or class. He journeyed much and, wher-
rested on % tho reputation @ be brought from Europe
by !eetuEtng md Writing, have made fortune. Such
= Hfo however, he wonld not, or perhaps could not,
vo At the age Of 81 bis brain gave way. snd he died.
leaving no wealth but his name his example, aud bis
| works.
It would not be grateful for tho country nor would
It he for the countrys interest," that Agassiz should
! rAss away without fitting memorial. Such memo
rial can be made out Of the great museum which he
which be has left ful directions completed il would
he pernetual fountain Of knowledge, and = monu-
| nnent quick With bis sp1r3t.
Museum "a word that commonly suggests little
more than collection Of curious objecs1a scarcely
an appropriate nnmo for the memorial that A9asslz
ought to hare. The museum he hbored for ia
presentation of the animal Hngdon,-foetil and
lnR-arranged to picture the creative Thought.
The stndy Of such subject il the hgheat to which
| the human mind can aspire.
1t tho end Of Tho nineteenth century, nation,
least OF Ill the American, may daro to lag In eciencc
knowledge ia the OF power, and Of whatever
contributes to power. All knowledge springs from
nd y h1 stn.sd II ts root 9". = through
in ta turn nourishea the roots Few dsttnctons are
80 groundlesa a. the popular one between practical
Three or four generations stuce learned men
drred why tho rubbing Of seaingwz1 should make 1T
rh5 te muscles Of sQ aoud thon
apparent What. to-day has reaulted from the
study Of these observations Tho t1ectrotype Of the
printer, tho rated-ware tables, the telegraph
across the Atlantic, the determination OF longitude the
knowledge Of the nervous s5ate1a,-theae and hnn-
dred other thngt, 40 important to our modern civil
izaon, havo resulted from the abstract studies Of
| Volta, Franklin. and Faradsy.
Not long ago the a1kworas main source II wealth
nobody fasv Why. P1of. @ cornas ssid "T5e Worm 1orns
are destroyed by noldg growth on their bodies.
Or y nay b. BY tss n,
Each moths eggs must b collected aeparatey then
the blood Of the moth must be examined, and ali eaer
Of unhealthy parents must be destroyed.7 So the
| microseopists saved the aiG-growers Of Italy and
France.
zooogst collections Of natural objects syste1nati
cay ART nged- Such arrangement ueana tha e1hl
bion Of the animal creation in its natural order. This
IS one Of tho prime difficulties Of science which taxes
the powers Of the greatest genius. So difficult Is it,
indeed. that no two leaders Of zoology have eTer e1
acty agreed In their vfews md it ia only by eemrar-
ing these vews that the student judge for himself
OF what tncalcilable value would collections be, II
such had been arranged by Linnnus In Sweden, by
But such museums do not exist Even the great COL
ectons Of Cuvier mingled with those of his oppo
nents. Ike book culed from the works Of many au-
thors. In this country may have surh = museum
il We choose The celebrated System Of Nature Of Lin
nnua can be studied only in books. We may and
should have Agassiz System Of Nature illustrated by
the specimens which his hands have set in order.
It for people to say whether they Will neglect
this nnagnthcer. opportunity to OF ed
ucatou which money cannot buy, and the future may
not give.
The Museum Of Comparative Zoology ut Cambridge
is independent establishment, governed by
faculty Of its own. 1t founded fifteen years
ago by Agass'z, and has grown to Its present large
proportions under bis hand In connection With It is
on the Island Of Penikese, endowed by Mr. Anderson.
Of New York. The system Of instruction has the
widest character. and includes elementary teaching
ayrnuA highest iuyeAtjrntiOn8. The exhibition
free to the public. Large sums hare alresdy
been expended IN bringing THU National Museum to
branches are superior to those British Nnsen
or the Garden Of Plants. To make euc establish
siderable annual income for the payment Of Profess
and To perfect the grand nan conceived
Shout onehtr would be used tn enlargng the build
ing, snd two-thirds would be funded.
II is to be hoped that the peop1e Of America, for
whom ARassiz unselhsh1y abored, nnd among whom
be spent the bes. portion Of his life. will not hesitate
to ca11y the work he began. His exampie and his
teachings have benefited every eocton Of The country
The museum ho planned and founded will, II suitably
endowed become eyer-fncreasfng source Of scfen-
tdc and practical usefulness to the nation and the
win be- answered by tho public In tho sa,re generous
snlrtt In which Agasstz devoted his genius to the
furtheraace Of science and to the advancement OF edu
But NO would not sppeal to the friends Of liberal
culture in this country alone. The works and tho exar
naons and we foel su1s that in tho Rrfnt centres Of
scientific activity in tho Old World where his genius
received is first impusea aud acheved its earliest tr
umphs there will be felt IN earnest desire to aid In
the work which, while COMMUNICATING the fabors and
influence Of Agassiz viii be enduring source Of SCI
entlac discovery and inspiration.
AoAssH MEMoR1A1. co.fsnr1EE.
John A: 1ovsll. George O. Rtch.rd:H. c.hot Lodge.
$:s;;!f' S;:s. E, william. s'$:
S$ S::s,
j. H. Haffa, fftt,s fasss'e 1HS'e-
s;:; 5s$Gs! Ss: A'''
FL b:s:: a':.' s.;
Be E. eRss f;csSis.sa D. e'sss zn*s.u
fs, ci,:o Gilman s'a Fran aas.5 Joseph 1s,d, pht
e.. E; "oeS. s. Se!ss sses, Pssi + E. Rogers phlla
RI 5e:s1s hes, Davidson. San Fran
ptos:' 1at':: y. $. sh.ler, ctnc,n- '
scniesinger. Esd. Treasurer Of tho Committee,
Oliver street, Boston
THE TEACHERS.
It is proposed that the teachers OF tho United
States and their pupils contribute special fund
for the same object. The following ID their cir
cular:
Louis Agssstz, Teacher This was the heading Of
ts sttupIa wills this his chosen title: and 1t is
we'll known throughout this country. and In other
auds how much be has done to 1stae The dignity Of
the profession; and to improve ita methods. Ills
friends the friends Of educatton propose to raise
memorial to him. By placing upon q strong and en-
during basis the work to which he devoted
hls liz, this Museum Of Comparative Zoology, which
is at once collection Of natural objects rivaltng the
most celebrated collections Of the Old Word, and
ychool open to al the teachers Of the 1And.
1t Is proposed that the teachers and pupils OF the
whole country t7ks part In this memorial, and thst
he birthday OF Acassiz the cs.h OF May, 1874 they
shau each contribute something, however sIall, to
he TescheEs' and Pupils Memorial Fund in honor Ct
Louis Agzsstz; the fund to be kept AID too
ncome to BE- applied to the expenses OF the Museum
JoH3 EATON, Commissioner Of Education, Wash |
ngtou. D. c.
JoszrH Hrxar, Secretary of the Smithsonian 1nsa-
ution, Waahin3ton, D. c.
JosEpH wHrrE, Secretary Of the Board of Education
# Nav arhusetts, Boston.
r.. T. HAnR1s Superintendent Public 5cnooas' o1'
Louis, Mo.
EDWARD j. LOWELL, Boston.
n-H4e