4 i4 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 



to help the architect, a building was erected, which, with- 

 out architectural beauty, was admirably adapted to its 

 purpose, and was, moreover, in the ratio of cubical space 

 to cost, the cheapest building ever erected by the Govern- 

 ment in Washington. It was sufficiently completed, 

 though unoccupied, for the Garfield inaugural ball to be 

 given in it in March, 1881. Since that time regular appro- 

 priations have been made by Congress for the support 

 of the Museum, the salaries of its staff, the purchase of 

 books for its library and for the care and preservation 

 of the collections. 



George Brown Goode, a graduate of Wesleyan Uni- 

 versity, Middletown, Connecticut, in 1870, was for a 

 part of that year a graduate student under the inspiring 

 influence of Louis Agassiz. He was recalled to his Uni- 

 versity to take charge of their museum. In 1872 he first 

 met Professor Baird at Eastport, Maine, and in 1873 at 

 the Portland meeting of the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science the acquaintance was re- 

 newed. Baird recognized the promise in his young friend 

 and invited him to take part in the work of the Fish Com- 

 mission. In the summer he was employed by the Com- 

 mission, and in the winter he divided his time between 

 the University Museum and the National Museum. His 

 compensation during this period was found in duplicate 

 specimens of fishes and other animals which in turn were 

 presented by him to the University collection at Middle- 

 town. 3 



In 1877 he severed his connection with the University 

 and settled permanently in Washington. 



His aptitude for Museum administration grew under 



3 D. S. Jordan, in The Smithsonian Institution, the History of 

 its First Half Century, Washington, 1897, pp. 501-515. 



