484 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



MAXIMILIAN, ALEXANDER P.. 



of Fall River. The whole amount thus far in- 

 vested in the college is $275,000. The plan 

 of study and training at this school is laid out 

 with a view exclusively to fitting its graduates 

 for agricultural pursuits. There are at this 

 time 29 agricultural societies in the State, four 

 of which were incorporated by the Legislature 

 at its last session. The various fairs and ex- 

 hibitions given under the auspices of these asso- 

 ciations, in the fall, showed -no decrease in the 

 interest taken in improvements in stock and in 

 agricultural and horticultural productions, and 

 gave evidence of a good degree of success in 

 the rural industry and enterprise of the year. 



The number of paupers maintained at the 

 State almshouses during the year was 1,717, 

 who were provided for at a cost of $165,000; 

 the number of lunatics supported solely by the 

 State was about 500, maintained at a charge of 

 $95,000; at the same time 2,149 belonging to 

 these two classes have been removed from the 

 State, at a cost of $10,000. The classification 

 of the inmates of these institutions, first put 

 into operation in the autumn of 1866, is repre- 

 sented as working well so far as completed. 

 They are at present classified thus : 1st, the 

 chronic insane and the imbecile, numbering 

 275 ; 2d, those who seek support at almshouses 

 under the pressure of poverty, brought on by 

 vicious indulgences, and who are sent to the 

 workhouse, averaging 225 in number ; 3d, 

 children at the primary school, 400 ; 4th, pau- 

 pers pi'operly so-called, of whom between 700 

 and 800 are now supported by the State. 



The last Legislature granted an act of incor- 

 poration to the Clarke Institution for Deaf 

 Mutes, which was organized at Northampton 

 in July. The endowment for the objects of 

 this was the result of the munificence of Mr. 

 John Clarke, a venerable citizen of Northamp- 

 ton, who made the most liberal donation ever 

 devoted to a similar purpose on this continent. 

 The institution opened in October, and promises 

 to do much for the education of the unfortunate 

 class of persons consigned to its care. 



The number of persons committed to the 

 State prison during the year is 128, but little 

 more than half the number sentenced in 1866, 

 arid less than the average of 38 years. The 

 prison has not only supported itself by the well- 

 organized system of labor carried on within its 

 walls, but has earned for the State the sum of 

 $21,000 over and above all expenses. There 

 are three reformatory schools for juveniles in 

 Massachusetts, viz., a Nautical School, a Re- 

 form School for boys, and an Industrial School 

 for girls. The inmates in all these number 

 752, maintained at an expense of $140,000, 

 which shows a decided increase over the figures 

 of last year. 



The great excavation of the Hoosac Tunnel, 

 on the line of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, 

 has made considerable progress during the past 

 twelve months. At the east end a linear advance 

 of 1,051 feet has been made, and at the west 

 end there has been a decrease of 112 feet on the 



progress made during the previous year. There 

 has been considerable delay at the central shaft, 

 owing partly to the failure of a contract made 

 for prosecuting the work, and partly to an in- 

 terruption, caused by the burning in October 

 last of the buildings and machinery. This acci- 

 dent was attended by a considerable loss of life 

 among the laborers engaged in the work. Not- 

 withstanding these drawbacks, an increase of 76 

 feet has been gained over the advance made at 

 the same point during the corresponding months 

 of the previous year. 



Much has been done also during the year for 

 the preservation and improvement of Boston 

 harbor, by way of constructing a sea-wall to 

 prevent the waste of the shores, and removing 

 dangerous obstructions from the main ship-chan- 

 nel; $375,000 have already been appropriated 

 by the General Government in aid of this work, 

 and a further appropriation of $287,000 has 

 been recommended to the present Congress by 

 the Secretary of War, for the continued pros- 

 ecution of these projected improvements. 



Commissioners from all the New England 

 States, except Rhode Island, have been appointed 

 and associated together in one general board to 

 devise means for improving the inland fisheries 

 of that region. Plans are on foot for restock- 

 ing the rivers with shad and salmon, and for 

 restraining and regulating the taking of these 

 varieties of fish in the future. 



MAXIMILIAN, ALEXANDER PHILIPP, Prince 

 of NETJWIED or WIED, a German naturalist and 

 author, born at Neuwied, September 23, 1782 ; 

 died there February 3, 1867. His mother, the 

 Countess of Wittgenstein Berleburg, a woman 

 of superior intellect and culture, superintended 

 his early education, and implanted in his mind 

 a desire for travel and scientific investigation. 

 At the age of thirty-three, having attained the 

 rank of major-general in the Prussian army, 

 he devoted nearly three years to the explor- 

 ation of Brazil. The result of his observa- 

 tions "was published in his " Iteise nach Bra- 

 silien, " (3 vols., Frankfort, 1810, 1829) ; his 

 " Albildunzen zur NaturgescJiiclite Brasiliens " 

 ("Weimar, 1823-'31) ; and his " Beitrdge zur 

 NaturgescJiichte Brasiliens''' 1 (Weimar, 4 vols., 

 1824-'33). Some years later, he travelled in 

 the United States, and gave special attention to 

 ethnological investigations concerning the Indi- 

 an tribes. These explorations were commemo- 

 rated in his " Eeise diirch Nord- Amerilca, " 

 with 81 plates (2 vols., Coblentz, 1838-'43). 

 This was translated into English and published 

 in London in 1843. The illustrations of this 

 work are very beautiful, and have caused it to 

 be valued by connoisseurs in art, as well as by 

 naturalists, who prize it very highly as a con- 

 tribution to American ethnography. 



McDOUGALL, JAMES A., a United States 

 Senator from California, born in Bethlehem, 

 Albany County, New York, November 19, 1817, 

 died in Albany, New York, September 3, 1867. 

 He was educated at the Albany Grammar- 

 School; studied law, and commenced the prac- 



