THE MUSEUM HIS HEADQUARTERS 43 



at present traveling on the frontier for the Smithsonian, 

 and I don't quite know when we shall get him back. It 

 seems to me that I remember that when he first began 

 to work here he sent you a small box with a few speci- 

 mens from California, and I will examine our books to 

 see if I can send you any new species. Unfortunately I 

 am only superficially acquainted with the Crustacea, and 

 I fear I shall make a mess of it, but I will do my best. 

 I have written to my father to send home alive what 

 animals he could, and as they are accustomed to being 

 broiled I trust they will be obliging enough not to turn 

 up their toes before they arrive. 



Kindly present my regards to your father. 



TO SIR JAMES HECTOR 1 



Cambridge, Oct. 19, 1865. 

 Professor Agassiz intended before his departure for 

 Brazil to have written you on the subject of entering 

 into correspondence with you for the sake of obtaining 

 fossils from New Zealand, which we are very desirous 

 of acquiring. We can offer you in return North Amer- 

 ican Palaeozoic things, or specimens of almost any other 

 nature which might be perhaps acceptable for your 

 studies. Our Museum is still in its infancy but we hope 

 that one of these days it will have a national importance 

 in this country and become the centre for the study of 

 Natural History. We are particularly desirous of obtain- 

 ing authentic specimens from the hands of original in- 

 vestigators and hope in this way to transfer little by 

 little much of the scientific tradition of Europe and 

 other countries to North America. The want of such 



1 Sir James Hector (1834-1907) did much to develop the fauna of New 

 Zealand. 



