REPORT. 



To THE President and Fellows of Harvard College: — 



The Trustees of the Museum having, in accordance with the 

 Acts of the Legislature (referred to in their last Report for 

 1876), transferred the property under their charge to tlie Presi- 

 dent and Fellows of Harvard College, the Legislature in Janu- 

 ary, 1877, passed an Act dissolving the Board of Trustees of 

 the Museum (see Appendix A.) ; this is therefore the first 

 Report I have the pleasure of presenting to the President and 

 Fellows of Harvard College. The last Report submitted to the 

 Trustees extended to the close of the year 1876. The present 

 Report not only covers the year 1877, but the latter part of the 

 academic year (1877-78), to September 1. 



Only during the past eighteen months has the Museum enjoyed 

 the income from the whole of the Agassiz Memorial Fund. The 

 means thus placed at my disposal, in addition to assistance from 

 other sources, has enabled me not only to push on the arrange- 

 ment of the Museum very rapidly, but to lay up a building 

 fund large enough to warrant a considerable addition to the 

 present wing of the Museum building during the past sum- 

 mer. The Trustees of the Peabody Museum having decided 

 that their building should form a part of the plan laid out by 

 Professor Agassiz, it was made to harmonize as far as practi- 

 cable with the existing wing of the Museum. A few changes, 

 however, were suggested in the architecture of the roof and the 

 proportions of the gallery windows, which changes have been 

 carried out also in the new piece of the wing now in the course 

 of erection ; and it is hoped to modify the rest of the old 

 building, so as to bring it into uniformit}^ with the new work. 



