ANXIETY ABOUT COLLECTIONS. 507 



Institution and remained upon the Board until 

 his death. 



Agassiz now began to feel an increased 

 anxiety about his collections. During the six 

 years of his stay in the United States he had 

 explored the whole Atlantic sea-board as well 

 as the lake and river system of the Eastern 

 and Middle States, and had amassed such ma- 

 terials in natural history as already gave his 

 collections, in certain departments at least, a 

 marked importance. In the lower animals, 

 and as illustrating the embryology of the 

 marine invertebrates, they were especially val- 

 uable. It had long been a favorite idea with 

 him to build up an embryological department 

 in his prospective museum ; the more so be- 

 cause such a provision on any large scale had 

 never been included in the plan of the great 

 zoological institutions, and he believed it 

 would have a direct and powerful influence 

 on the progress of modern science. The col- 

 lections now in his possession included ample 

 means for this kind of research, beside a fair 

 representation of almost all classes of the ani- 

 mal kingdom. Packed together, however, in 

 the narrowest quarters, they were hardly with- 

 in his own reach, much less could they be 

 made available for others. His own resources 



