THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY II 



Ninth, the Cyrus B. Comstock Fund, which came into our 

 possession in 1907. The prize in money has not been awarded 

 thus far, but will be awarded at the meeting at the White House 

 tomorrow, and explanatory remarks made at that time. General 

 Comstock was a distinguished engineer and member of the Acad- 

 emy, who died in 1910. 



Tenth, the O. C. Marsh Fund. Professor Marsh, for twelve 

 years President of the Academy, died in 1899. He bequeathed 

 the sum of $10,000 to the Academy, the income to be used and 

 expended by it for promoting original research in the natural 

 sciences. This fund has not yet become available. 



Eleventh, the Alexander Agassiz Fund. Alexander Agassiz, 

 who was President of the Academy from 1901 to 1907, died in 

 1910, and bequeathed to the Academy the sum of $50,000, uncon- 

 ditionally. No decision has yet been reached in regard to the 

 uses to which this fund is to be put. 



And, finally, the Agassiz Medal, which will be awarded for 

 the first time this year, was provided for by a gift of Sir John 

 Murray. 



While this account may have proved tedious to some of you, 

 it seemed necessary for the purpose of giving a correct impres- 

 sion of the work being carried on. The Academy has sacred 

 duties to perform. It will soon devolve upon the younger mem- 

 bers to see that these duties are conscientiously performed. 



The constitution provides that the Academy shall hold one 

 meeting each year in the city of Washington and another at such 

 place and time as the Council may determine. Whatever may 

 be said of the duties of the Academy as the scientific adviser of 

 the Government, and as a custodian of trust funds, it must be 

 acknowledged that it is through the agency of its regular meet- 

 ings that its influence is mainly exerted. In this, as in other 

 matters, it is the subtle, the intangible, the spiritual that tells. 



Workers in the field of science are supposed by some perhaps 

 by many to be incapable of recognizing the force of the 

 intangible, and yet scientific work must inevitably lead to this 

 recognition. It is impossible to weigh and measure the effect of 



