BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH XXXV 
duct in various crises of the history of the institution. The essen- 
tial character of the man comes out better probably in its mingled 
elements than in any other known relations. But this account 
must necessarily be incomplete and partial to the extent that 
Whitman is the subject, and not the Laboratory. Up to about 
1895 the relations of the Director and trustees seem to have been 
on the whole cordial, in spite of minor difficulties. But the 
rapid growth of the Laboratory imposed financial burdens of no 
slight amount. In 1890 an ‘L’ was added to the original build- 
ing; in 1890 a new wing was built; in 1893-4 a new dining hall and 
kitchen were erected, and the present botanical laboratory. 
The expenses of these additions was met by numerous contribu- 
tions from friends and by a loan of $3,500 secured by a mortgage 
upon the property of the Laboratory, and an unsecured loan of 
$3,000 from one of the trustees. 
The Boston trustees themselves felt great satisfaction in the 
rapid growth of the Laboratory. In 1894 they could say: ‘‘The 
only serious perplexities of the last year have been the result of 
its rapid growth and prosperity;’ the Laboratory had in fact 
become self supporting so far as current expenses were concerned. 
‘It was important, however, to meet the outstanding loans for 
new buildings and the following appeal was issued: 
Reluctant as the trustees were to incur expenses which would make it 
necessary, in this time of financial stress, to ask help from the friends of 
the Laboratory, yet, in the opinion of many, to have checked the growth 
of the institution at this stage, by turning away desirable students and 
investigators, would have inflicted a permanent injury. We ask, then, 
from those whose conviction of the value of such a Laboratory has 
helped to bring it to its present condition of prosperity, still further aid 
in its future development (from the Trustees’ Report to the Corporation 
for the year 1894). 
But the enlargements, great as they had been, were still in- 
adequate to the growing demand. In proposing the further 
enlargement which Professor Whitman felt to be necessary to 
provide for the growth of the Laboratory, he was hampered by 
the reluctance of some, at least, of the trustees, to incur further 
indebtedness. A new building was needed of the size of the orig- 
inal laboratory to provide a lecture hall and more rooms for inves- 
