BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTOEY. 223 



might be erected. The motive urged was, that the institution would thus be established 

 " on a permanent basis of augmented usefulness.'" It was declared that the result of its 

 thirty years' efforts had been a rapid advancement of knowledge, with an almost uni- 

 versal dissemination of a love for the natural sciences, that now there was a general 

 recognition of its claims to an honorable rank in our system of public education, while it 

 was acknowledged that its labors tended to promote both the intellectual and material 

 prosperity of the Commonwealth. 



Thus while it was well understood that scientific men and professional students were to 

 have every advantage within command of the Society, still it was also understood that 

 the classification of all the collections, and their entire arrangement, was to be such that 

 the public generally should have opportunity of gaining correct knowledge, and that 

 such practical aid should be rendered to our schools, as might be invaluable in its results. 



My recollection of this Society goes back to the time when it had its rooms in the old 

 Athenaeum in Pearl Street. The building in Mason Street I often frequented, and at the 

 time when the plea was made for aid from the Commonwealth, I had the privilege of 

 being one of the petitioners, and acted with the committee, addressing the members of 

 the Legislature at the State House. I recall, as if it were yesterday, the interest of that 

 time. I had just returned from Europe, and during an absence of several years had 

 enjoyed opportunities of observing the working of such institutions abroad, and feeling 

 strongly that the educational principle was of the utmost importance, I dwelt upon it in my 

 statements. That this view had weight with the members of the Legislature, I have reason 

 to know, and upon this consideration the generous aid of the Commonwealth was granted. 



I well remember an address by Professor Agassiz, at that time, in the House of Repre- 

 sentatives, on which occasion he dwelt upon the desirableness of training the young, from 

 their earliest years, to observe and study the works of God in Nature, urging this as 

 among the best means of disciplining the intellectual powers, purifying the taste and ex- 

 alting the character. He insisted that the study of the phenomena of nature was one of 

 the most potent means of developing the human faculties, and that such education should 

 be introduced into the schools as soon as practicable, and made an indispensable part of all 

 education ; he trusted that the time when the importance of this view would be fully 

 recoo^nized was only so far remote as was necessary for the preparation of teachers capa- 

 ble of properly imparting this instruction. The only difficulty, he added, is to find 

 teachers equal to the task, and the task is no small one. The whole force of his argument 

 went to prove that an institution like this, to aid teachers in their preparation^ was of 

 inestimable importance. Here, as we may easily understand, those who have an aptitude 

 for such studies, may find materials, examples, illustrations, suggestions, all brought to 

 their hand arranged and classified. With such advantages the study of natural history 

 may be interwoven with the whole system of education, and become one of its most 

 essential features. 



After this building was completed, additional funds were requisite, to carry out the work 

 contemplated. The Commonwealth had granted the land. The building was erected by 

 generous contributions. Now, therefore, that forty thousand dollars in addition was to be 

 given by its earnest friends, it was not simply to render it more attractive to citizens and 

 strangers, but it was avowedly to make it "■one of the first -Educational Scientific 

 Institutions in the Country." 



