14 



COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



[Jan. 



tions of our knowledge ; but no museum where this is carried 

 out can become fossilized and lose its usefulness from being: 

 buried in the arrangement made years before. There is 

 always in every room blank wall-space enough not available 

 for the exhibition of specimens, where such general informa- 

 tion can be permanently placed, — where enlarged figures of 

 animals, which can be exhibited in no other way, can be 

 painted, and thus add to the general attractiveness of the Mu- 

 seum. The conditions upon which the bulk of the Memorial 

 Fund was obtained limit its use for several years. It is hoped, 

 however, that, even after the proposed addition to the Museum 

 is completed, the endowment will still be large enough to 

 carry on the operations of the Museum with something like 

 their former activity. It has not been thought unwise to 

 sacrifice a temporary brilliant existence to a permanent future ; 

 and it must be remembered by the friends of the University, 

 who have so often and so generously assisted us, that how- 

 ever large the funds at our disposal as compared to those of 

 other scientific departments of the College, our resources are 

 nevertheless meagre, contrasted with those of similar institu- 

 tions abroad. I may mention here, that, to place the Museum 

 on a level with corresponding establishments, each of its 

 several departments should have an income equal to that pro- 

 vided for the whole institution by its present endowment. 

 Until that is accomplished, we cannot hope to compete with, 

 much less to rival, the scientific activity of kindred institu- 

 tions in France, England, and Germany. 



ALEXANDER AGASSIZ. 



