1865.] SENATE— No. 96. 



[A.] 



SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT 



Of the Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Harvard 

 College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 



By Louis Agassiz. 



The past year has been the most prosperous in the history of 

 the Museum, though owing to changes rendered necessary in 

 its organization, the direction of its affairs has been unusually 

 difficult and perplexing. The progress of the institution has 

 been mainly due to the large accessions of specimens received 

 in the course of the year from every class of the Animal King- 

 dom, a special account of which may be found in the subjoined 

 reports, prepared by the superintendents of the different 

 departments, and to the improvement of the internal arrange- 

 ments, a work which is constantly going on in every part of the 

 collections. The difficulties have arisen from the necessity of 

 defining accurately the position of all the individuals engaged 

 on different terms and in a different degree upon the work of 

 the Museum, or availing themselves, for the sake of study, of 

 the advantages afforded by our institution. In proportion as 

 the Museum has been enlarged and acquired greater impor- 

 tance, claims have been advanced by those connected in various 

 relations with its interests, which could not have been granted 

 without damaging the institution itself; demands, the nature 

 of which alone shows how much a higher standard of scientific 

 culture, and a just appreciation of superior attainments, are 

 needed among our scientific students. 



The Faculty of the Museum has carefully considered these 

 difficulties, and after protracted deliberations, framed regula- 

 tions for the internal management of the establishment, as 

 well as for the proper uses of the collections by all classes of 

 students. Copies of these regulations are herewith submitted, 

 and as they touch also upon our foreign relations, it is desirable 

 that they should be reprinted with this Report. 



