LOUIS AGASSIZ 103 



Being interested above all things in 

 comparative science and in structure 

 even more than in function, Agassiz was 

 of course a collector. He had been con- 

 stantly collecting from the time he was 

 old enough to paddle about the Swiss 

 lakes in search of eels and chub. All 

 was fish that came to his net the more 

 the better, since specimens could then 

 be exchanged and also sacrificed without 

 compunction when they were wanted for 

 a demonstration. Any money which had 

 not been twice spent on other things was 

 lavished on the purchase, transportation, 

 and care of specimens. Once we have 

 seen that his collections did him good 

 service outside their use for his investi- 

 gations, since it was their sale which en- 

 abled him to marry, and on the money 

 they brought he had lived for some time 

 at Neuchatel. The nominal ownership 

 of the things, so long as they were prop- 

 erly arranged for use by scientific men, 

 was of too little consequence for Agassiz 



