TRANSFER OF LOEW’S COLLECTION TO CAMBRIDGE 
81 
I shall forward to you by return of mail. I am most desirous of 
acquiring the collection for us,’' etc. 
In a letter from Cambridge, Mass., November 21, 1873, I in¬ 
formed Loew that Professor Agassiz had agreed to his conditions, 
and that, upon his (Agassiz’s) expressing some anxiety about the 
identity of the object of the purchase, I had given him the assur¬ 
ance that the collection was kept in a separate case or cupboard 
(“ Sclirank ”), so that no mistake was possible. I added that upon 
receiving the price of it, he (Loew) should immediately insure it 
for the corresponding amount; that, in return for the long delay 
accorded, he should continue his work on the collection, and also 
on the promised Catalogue. To this Loew replied (Guben, Decem¬ 
ber 16, 1873) : “In the matter of the purchase of the collection, I 
accept Professor Agassiz's conditions. I shall compensate for the 
immediate payment of the fifteen hundred dollars by continuing to 
complete it so far as possible (‘ nach Moglichkeit zu vervollstan- 
digen’), and to use all diligence in the publication of the unde¬ 
scribed species which it contains. You were perfectly right in 
reassuring Professor Agassiz about the state of the collection, 
which is kept separate from the others in a case containing fifty 
glass-covered drawers, easily distinguishable from my other collec¬ 
tions. I agree to the assignment of ten years for the final 
delivery of the collection, although I believe that the growing 
infirmities of my age will make the interval shorter. All 1113 ^ col¬ 
lections are insured against fire; but I shall make a separate 
arrangement for the insurance of the North American collection.” 
At the end of the letter Loew thanked me for the sacrifice I had 
made of my own collection: “ The generous way in which 3*011 
intend to give up your own collection I appreciate with sincere 
gratitude (‘ Die generose Art in welcher Sie sicli Ihrer Dipteren 
entaussern zu wollen erklart haben, erkenne ich mit aufrichtigem 
Danke an’).” This letter of Loew was dated December 16, 1873 ; 
in the meantime (December 14) had occurred the untimely death 
of Prof. Louis Agassiz. Nevertheless the promised sum for the 
collection was paid to Loew during the next 3 *ear, 1874. 
Besides my Diptera, I had presented to the Museum of Compara¬ 
tive Zoology in Cambridge, Mass., my collection of deforma- 
6 
