ALEXANDER AGASSIZ — MAYER. 455 



hension. for its annual income was but $10,000, while it had a debt 

 of $40,000, and only four-fifths of the north wing was completed. 

 Fortunatel}^ however, the devotion of the country to the memory 

 of the great Louis Agassiz was such that the museum was not allowed 

 to fail as had the school at Penikese. Over $310,000 were raised 

 by popular subscription and through State grants for the support of 

 the museum and as a memorial to Louis Agassiz, $25,000 being con- 

 tributed by Alexander Agassiz himself. It is interesting to see that 

 $1,215 of the- amount was subscribed by 1,233 workmen of the Calu- 

 met and Hecla, although there were at that time not more than 

 1,400 men at the mine. 



From 1874 Alexander Agassiz remained th^e actual, although not 

 constantly the nominal, head of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 

 and from 1902 until his death in 1910 he bore the title of director of 

 the Harvard University Museum. 



The growth of the museum building w^as slow but constant. Alex- 

 ander Agassiz himself completed the construction of the zoological 

 section in 1882 and other public-spirited men and women, including 

 his two sisters, contributed to build other parts of the edifice, until at 

 present only 100 feet of the southern wing of the building planned 

 so long ago by Louis Agassiz remains to be completed. The total cost 

 of the building has been more than $1,200,000, and its invested capital 

 amounts to somewhat more than $900,000. Thus, while it is much 

 hampered for funds, it still remains the greatest university museum in 

 the United States. The zoological section has been greatly enriched 

 by collections gathered by Alexander and Louis Agassiz, and their 

 gifts to the library have placed it in a position in which it is unsur- 

 passed in America, more than 6,000 bound volumes having been pre- 

 sented by Alexander Agassiz himself. 



In the classification of its zoological exhibits the museum is one of 

 the clearest existing models of the system of Cuvier, for it must be 

 remembered that intellectually Louis Agassiz was Cuvier's son, and 

 Alexander Agassiz steadfastly pursued his father's plan in so far as 

 the museum's exhibits were concerned. 



No family has striven more effectually for the intellectual uplifting 

 of Harvard than that of the Agassiz, and it is to be regretted that the 

 great museum which they founded and fostered does not officially 

 bear their name, but instead is described by an almost meaningless 

 phrase, "The Museum of Comparative Zoology." 



Alexander Agassiz was a loyal son of his alma mater and he served 

 as an overseer of Harvard from 1873 to 1878 and again in 1885, and 

 he was a) fellow from 1878 to 1884 and from 1886 to 1890. In 1885 

 the university conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL.D. 



The year 1875 marks the beginning of Alexander Agassiz's career 

 as a leader of expeditions, for with Dr. Samuel Garman as his assist- 



