154 ALEXANDER AGASSIZ 



with reference books, cupboards for glassware, and a 

 large blackboard ; while the other end was occupied by 

 a huge open fireplace. Down the centre of the room 

 ran a double row of tiled tables. Clear salt water, 

 pumped from a windmill on the point, was piped to 

 each table. To this a system of slightly compressed air 

 was afterward added. For Agassiz soon found that the 

 best and most convenient way of keeping specimens 

 alive was to keep the water aerated, by allowing a small 

 jet of air to bubble up through the glass jars containing 

 them. By this method it was only necessary to renew 

 the water occasionally. 



A few students were made welcome here for over 

 twenty years. These were supposed to be capable of 

 laying out and pursuing their own course of study. 

 They were placed in nominal charge of one of the older 

 men, and Agassiz's instruction was limited to an occa- 

 sional remark, or bit of advice. Many biologists, since 

 famous, have ridden in the omnibus which used to ply 

 each morning from Newport to the laboratory with a 

 party of eager young naturalists. In the creek near by 

 lay a launch, much in request for collecting specimens. 

 The students often wondered why the boat always 

 disappeared from her moorings during the latter part 

 of June, — an absence which the following incident 

 explains. 



While passing through San Francisco, to join one of 

 his Pacific explorations, Agassiz was given a dinner by 

 the Harvard Club. When called on to say a few words, 

 he dwelt on the undue importance given to athletics at 

 Harvard, and the responsibility of her graduates for such 

 a misfortune. As he finished, a crack oar of a famous 

 crew, some twenty years after Agassiz's day, rose from 



