THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION 



389 



chusetts. l)Oth these men have done 

 much to i)romote the interests of the 

 Cliapter and our gratitude for the suc- 

 cess of the year is due to them and the 

 other good friends who have assisted 

 us in so many ways. 



The newly elected officers for the 

 coming vear are: President, Robert B. 

 Taylor, " Ph. M. ; Vice-President. 

 Charles I. Balsley ; Secretary, Mr. 

 Howard Goodrich. Other officers re- 

 tained. 



Marion H. Dampman, Correspi)nd- 

 ing Secretarv. 



Will Report Each Month 



A good suggestion comes from our 

 Glenbrook, Connecticut, Chapter. Mr. 

 Halbert C. Phillips writes : 



"On a separate sheet I have prepared 

 a report of our last month's meeting. 

 I intend to do this each month. Will 

 it be asking too much of you if I ask 

 you to answer this letter at any length 

 that may be convenient, and as circum- 

 stances Avarrant? I felt that last year 

 we made a mistake in not keeping in 

 closer touch with headcpiarters. 



"Two lines of thought are always 

 open to you in your replies : first com- 

 ment suggested by the particular letter 

 you are answering and, secondly, help- 

 ful suggestions on vour own initiative." 



Obtained a Rare Salamander. 



Air. Halbert Phillips through the 

 Glenbrook boys' Chapter of The Agas- 

 siz Association has contributed to 

 ArcAdiA a live, spotted salamander, 

 Amhlystoma pnnctatiim, caught in Glen- 

 brook. This salamander is now on ex- 

 hibition. This is one of our largest 

 varieties, has a stout body and broad 

 head and. as its name implies, it is 

 beautifully spotted. While these sala- 

 manders are not especially rare they 

 are seldom seen because comparatively 

 few people look for them and. indeed, 

 one might go hunting for quite a long 

 time and never find one. They are not 

 at all plentiful. He has recently been 

 urging, especially the yoimg folks, to 

 hunt for these and other forms of sala- 

 manders. The Glenbrook Chapter is 

 the first to find a specimen. The sala- 

 manders very soon, if not already, will 

 take to the w^ater where they will lay 

 their eggs which resemble the spawn 

 of frogs. A little later the adults may 



be found under logs and stones, espec- 

 ially in thinly timbered sections. 

 AkcAdiA is taking a special interest in 

 frogs, toads and salamanders and will 

 heartily welcome any cooperation along 

 these lines, especially of the rarer forms. 

 The collection at present consists of two 

 bullfrogs, (contributed by Mr. Ditmars 

 of the New York Zoological Park) and 

 this spotted salamander. 



TEAR DOWN AGASSIZ HOUSE. 



Building Owned by Harvard College 

 Is So Badly Damaged by Fire That 

 It Probably Will Not Be Rebuilt. 



It is probable that the Agassiz house, 

 at the corner of Broadway and Ouincy 

 street, Cambridge, which was damaged 

 by fire last night to the amount of $15,- 

 000 to $20,000, will be torn down. I'he 

 interior was so badly burned that it is 

 said it will be hardly worth while to 

 rebuild from the structure that re- 

 mains. Practically all the partitions 

 from the roof down to the second story 

 are destroyed. The house, which since 

 1910 has been the property of Harvard 

 College, was insured for $10,000. If it 

 shall be torn down, it appears that the 

 land will stand idle for a while, for 

 nothing had been projected for the 

 site. 



President Lowell and former Dean 

 Hurlbut watched the firemen in their 

 three hours' fight to save the building. 

 They were specially interested for 

 Professor Hurlbut's house is next door 

 on Quincy street, and President Low- 

 ell's is not far away. 



The fire was discovered about eight 

 o'clock in the evening, and two alarms 

 were sounded. 



Mrs. Louis Agassiz purchased the 

 house many years ago. It was a mod- 

 est dwelling, but it has been renovated 

 and added to until it contained thirty- 

 six rooms and numerous bathrooms. 

 It was spacious and substantial, with a 

 high basement story of brick and a 

 frame superstructure with a slated 

 French roof. After Louis Agassiz's 

 death, the house was used by the fam- 

 ily of Alexander Agassiz ; and a few 

 years ago, together with the house oc- 

 cupied by Professor Hurlbut, was be- 

 quathed to Harvard College. For two 

 or three years after 1910, the Speakers' 

 Club, a Harvard students' organization, 



