JOURXAL OF PROCEEDINGS. 88 



Professor Agassiz commended the collection as of great ethnological 

 value, and expressed the opinion unhesitatingly that it ought to be 

 purchased by the Government. 



On motion of General Garfield, it was resolved that the Executive 

 Committee ascertain from the heirs of Mr. Catlin the terms on which 

 his Indian paintings, sketches, specimens, »S:c., can be i)rocured, and 

 furnish the information, with such recommendation as they think pro- 

 I)er, to the Library Committee of Congress. 



General Garfield presented the subject of the proposed endowment of 

 agricultural colleges in a bill which had passed the Senate and was 

 now before the House, and expressed the hope that some action could 

 be taken to secure the benefit of the act to the Smithsonian Institution. 



Professor Agassiz remarked that there were other institutions in the 

 country that were well worthy to share with this Institution any ben- 

 efits which might be derived from the distribution of the proceeds of 

 the sales of the public lands ; especially the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology in Cambridge. This museum now contains the largest collec- 

 tion of specimens for the illustration of some departments of zoology of 

 any in the world, and has been supported at an annual expense of from 

 fifty to sixty thousand dollars, principally raised from donations of the 

 friends of the establishment. Professor Agassiz also observed that he 

 thought Professor Henry, in the distribution of specimens abroad, ought 

 in all cases to ask for a return of an equivalent in kind. By not doing 

 so he interfered with the growth of other establishments of a similar 

 character iu this country, and especially with the museum at Cam- 

 bridge. 



In reply Professor Henry stated that the policy of the Institution 

 from the beginning had been of a most liberal character; that its motto 

 was " co-operation, not monopoly;'' that it had endeavored to cooperate 

 with all institutions iu this country and abroad; that the bequest was 

 forthe benefit of men, notfor men of this country alone, butof every coun- 

 try. Whenever specimens have been wanted for scientific research, these 

 specimens have been sent as far as the means of the Institution would 

 allow, and in cases where specimens were required for special investiga- 

 tion in this country, the Institution has endeavored to procure them for 

 the object required. It is true a return in kind has not been asked for 

 because the appropriation from Congress for the support of the museum 

 has not been more than one-fourth of the actual cost, and the Institu- 

 tion has not had the means to pay for transportation of the specimens 

 and the care of those not immediately wanted for research. It has, 

 however, iu all cases distinctly announced, in presenting specimens to 

 foreign institutions, that suitable returns would be expected from the 

 duplicates in their collections whenever the Institution might desire to 

 obtain them.* The Institution has in this way a large accumulation of 

 credit abroad, and now that the Government has commenced to make 

 *See Appendix " G " to the Journal of the Board. 



