January 4, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.^ 



The Agassiz Association, as most of you know, is a union of 

 local societies which have been organized for the study of nature 

 by personal observation. 



It is not for the sake of any money you may make out of it that 

 we advocate the study of nature. If it were, our association must 

 change its name ; for Louis Agassiz used to say that he had " no 

 time to make money." We urge you to join us in this study for 

 the sake of learning what is true. We honor those who set knowl- 

 edge above " gold and the crystal," and esteem the price of wisdom 

 " above rubies." There is great pleasure in the mere seeking of 

 truth. There is a delight in all discovery. 



Now, nature offers to every one of us new gifts every day. No 

 matter how long a beetle may have been known to others, until 

 you have found it for yourself, it is not old to you. So, too, al- 

 though the species may be familiar, each new specimen has the 

 charm of novelty. 



But besides the pleasure of learning, it has been found that one 

 who studies nature aright greatly improves his powers of attention, 

 discrimination, and reasoning. The right way to study nature is 

 to use your own eyes instead of depending upon printed accounts 

 of what somebody else has seen with his. It is a lazy boy who 

 hires another to do his fishing for him. To depend upon the ob- 

 servation of others will no more increase your mental powers than 

 it would improve your muscular development if a friend should 

 swing Indian clubs for you. To one who tries to get all his knowl- 

 edge of nature from books, every thing comes at second-hand : 

 nothing comes to him as his own discovery. There is no joy in it, 

 and but little benefit. That is why the Agassiz Association always 

 insists upon " personal observation," which is simply a Latinized 

 way of saying, " using your own eyes to see what you can see." 



This statement should make plain the nature of the work ex- 

 pected from the little clubs we are organizing in so many cities and 

 towns. The members are to search and find out what there is of 

 interest within, say, five miles of home. 



In order to do this, they will make excursions after flowers, min- 

 erals, insects, or whatever they most care about, and perhaps make 

 a map showing just where each sort may be found. Of course, 

 they will find a few books useful to help them learn the names of 

 what they find ; they will need a cabinet in which to keep their 

 treasures; and they will be glad to have wise men lecture to them 

 now and then, and explain the things that are too hard to study 

 out for themselves. I cannot see that it would do any great harm 

 even if every town and village in the land should have its natural 

 science club, with a little library and museum, and with wide-awake 

 members ready at any time to give the curious traveller an account 

 of all the interesting objects to be found in an afternoon's walk, 

 and able to show him specimens of each variety, nicely preserved, 

 accurately classified, and neatly labelled. All who have read " St. 

 Nicholas " carefully for a few years past, know that the Agassiz 

 Association has organized societies of this sort very successfully, 

 and that the boys and girls — yes, and their parents and teachers, 

 too — have found much recreation in these clubs, and learned much 

 natural history and natural science as well. 



During this very year, and since I last wrote to you about our 

 association, more than a hundred new clubs or " chapters " have 

 been added to our roll ; and that means more than a thousand new 

 members. You see, there must be at least four in a chapter, and 

 there may be as many more as are desired. One of our chapters, 

 in New Brunswick, N.J., has more than four hundred members, 

 with about a dozen professors to guide them, and there are micro- 

 scopes, and stereopticons, and all sorts of instruments to aid them 

 in their studies. 



After a number of these little clubs are fairly at work in any 

 large city, or throughout a State, they often wish to become better 

 acquainted with one another, and so the clubs hold joint meetings 

 occasionally, and they call these large united gatherings " assem- 

 blies." 



These assemblies elect their own officers, and hold regular con- 

 ventions. One of the largest has been formed this year by com- 

 bining the various societies in Massachusetts. We had a very suc- 



1 From St. Nicholss for Novembex, 1888. 



cessful convention in Boston on Decoration Day. This holiday 

 happens to occur within a few days of Agassiz's birthday, which is 

 very pleasant and convenient for us. There was an address from 

 Professor Hyatt of the Boston Society of Natural History, a man 

 deservedly popular with young people ; and one from Professor 

 Crosby, who has been conducting for our benefit a very interesting 

 course of lessons in mineralogy, extending over more than a year 

 (for which lessons he furnishes the specimens and necessary instru- 

 ments). Professor Morse of Salem, the author of an excellent book 

 on the study of zoology, also lectured to us. Professor Morse's 

 son is a member of a very active chapter of the Agassiz Association, 

 so active that it organized a stock company of boys and built a 

 house for their meetings. Dr. Lincoln, who is now helping the 

 members of our Boston .\ssembly to make a thorough study of all 

 minerals to be found within ten miles of the Boston State House, 

 was also one of our instructors. 



Another of our recently formed assemblies is the State Assembly 

 of New Jersey. Rev. L. H. Lighthipe is president of this assem- 

 bly ; and while I write (Aug. 10), he is conducting a well-attended 

 seaside meeting. It is to continue for a week. Every morning the 

 members make an excursion, under the lead of some expert, and 

 may have the choice of botany, entomology, or microscopy. Every 

 afternoon they gather in the large Educational Hall, and examine 

 their " finds," with the assistance of the professor who led them in 

 the morning. Every evening they attend a lecture, usually illus- 

 trated by the gas-microscope or by the stereopticon. Professor 

 Austen, the president of the New Brunswick Chapter, has been 

 very helpful in organizing and managing this pleasant seaside 

 assembly. 



The Iowa State Assembly is about to hold its fifth annual con- 

 vention. Iowa conventions are always successful. All the chap- 

 ters send delegates, who bring to the meeting not only carefully 

 written reports of the work the chapters have done during the year, 

 but also the finest of the specimens collected. The young men, 

 and young women too, give most interesting accounts of their 

 studies, illustrating them with specimens, original drawings, dia- 

 grams, and maps. Then there is a dinner, a meeting for the prac- 

 tical demonstration of their methods of work, and one or two ex- 

 cursions. This assembly offers three prizes each year for the best 

 work done in any chapter since the previous convention. 



I must not stop to give in detail accounts even of all our large 

 assemblies ; still less can I undertake to tell of the individual chap- 

 ters. Among so many, it would be impossible to select single ones 

 for special praise. Merely by way of illustration, however, I may 

 mention Chapter No. 3, of Frankford, Philadelphia, which, under 

 the lead of John Shallcross and Robert T. Taylor, has maintained 

 itself in full vigor since the first year of our extension beyond Mas- 

 sachusetts, and which was instrumental in founding the Philadel- 

 phia Assembly, the first assembly in the association. 



The Manhattan Chapter of New York City is a noteworthy illus- 

 tration of what young people can do without aid. This society has 

 grown from a handful of boys, meeting from house to house, into 

 a club of a hundred young men, renting rooms at No. 103 Lexing- 

 ton Avenue, and exhibiting there a fine collection fairly represent- 

 ing the natural productions of Manhattan Island. This chapter, 

 like all others, is glad to welcome visitors to its rooms. 



The largest chapter in Massachusetts is No. 448, of Fitchburg, 

 with a hundred and fifty members. This chapter has published a 

 handsome'pamphlet, giving an account of all the flowering plants 

 to be found in the vicinity. 



A new sort of club has been devised and put into successful 

 operation during the year. Chapters of this sort are called " corre- 

 sponding chapters." They are composed of members who do not 

 live in the same town, but are united by their common interest in 

 the same study. The first of these was the Archaeological Chapter. 

 Its President is Hilborne T. Cresson of Philadelphia ; vice-presi- 

 dent, Dr. C. C. Abbott of Trenton, N.J.; secretary, A. H. Leitch of 

 Dayton, O. The members of this club are grown men ; and they 

 propose, under the auspices and general direction of the Peabody 

 Museum of Cambridge, to preserve ancient mounds from the spade 

 of the vandal and the speculator, until they can be properly and 

 scientifically explored under competent supervision. Two other 

 corresponding chapters recently added are the Gray Memorial 



