ee E 
AMERICAN NATURALIST. 
Vol. VII.— NOVEMBER, 1873.— No. 1l. 
LTEDPORYOD I~ 
THE STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED 
BY PROF. LOUIS AGASSIZ. 
Taer subject announced in the programme for this evening’s 
lecture is “ The Structure and Growth of Domesticated Animals.” 
It would take a year’s course to do justice to the whole subject, 
and I had therefore to choose a portion of it, and especially such 
a part as may give you an idea of the difficulties of investigating 
some of the topics which are, perhaps, of the greatest importance 
in practical life. It is often expected that science will furnish all 
the information wanted at a given moment, but minerai 
science is not always ready. My object is to show that you 
must have knowledge before you can apply it, and üa knowledge 
is not always to be had for the asking. There is not always that 
information on hand which may be needed even for the most 
useful purposes; and in order to allay the impatience which is 
sometimes manifested in respect to the want of usefulness on the 
art of scientific men and their ability to enter into the arena of 
practical life, I wish to show you how difficult it is to handle some 
of the subjects, and I have chosen one respecting which, of course, 
a farming community supposes that science can furnish all the 
information wanted. 
Yp. yar tay epee PEM, 7 S t Barre, Dece mber 3d, 1872 
* 
the Twentieth 4 Annual Report of the Secr etary of the Massachusetts Board of Agricul- 
ture, bted to C. L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of the Board, for the use of the 
ishiasipicestie illustrations. 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF 
SCIENCE, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 41 (641) 
