The Agassiz Association is peren- 
nially young, ever going on in enthusi- 
astic endeavors to portray nature more 
entertainingly, more upliftingly and 
more educationally. Hardly a day goes 
by that we here at headquarters do not 
feel the great need of broader and more 
effective work. Here is an association 
forty-five years young this summer. It 
cannot be said to grow old, for never 
in its history has it been so enthusias- 
tically engaged with plans for the fu- 
ture and for effective work for broadly 
disseminating its teaching. 
Nature study, commonly thought of 
as especially for youth, is equally 
needed by the adult. From actual ex- 
perience we know that old age finds it 
a resource no less than does youth. 
Many of our members are beyond 
threescore and ten. When one con- 
siders an organization so long estab- 
lished as this , reaching so wide a range 
of humanity, it is indeed pitiful to note 
the meager financial support that it has 
had. There is only one consolation. 
Every dollar we have ever received has 
yielded a higher per cent for education 
and humanity than has any other dol- 
lar that has gone into other organiza- 
tions. We have done the most with 
the least money of any other organiza- 
tion. Does not that appeal to the care- 
ful investor in philanthropy and edu- 
cation? Thousands and thousands of 
children everywhere do not wish to 
specialize along the lines of specialized 
organizations. They do not want to 
restrict their attention to birds nor to 
kindness to a cat or a dog nor do they 
feel satisfied in the humanized work of 
the costumed organizations for young 
people. All those organizations and 
many others are good but The Agassiz 
Association is the broadest and best of 
all. It reaches all ages under all con- 
ditions and hampers no one with rules 
and regulations. Its work emanates 
from the individual. Co-operation is, 
as it has been for almost a half cen- 
tury, its central thought and basic prin- 
ciple of work. We issue no handbook 
or instructions. We prescribe no cos- 
tumes, no rules and regulations. We 
believe in the democracy of the indi- 
vidual and the Chapter. Singly or in 
groups our Members of all ages take 
their delight in whatever they wish to 
do and they do it in their own way 
with a confident feeling that, if their 
students write, all the rest of the or- 
ganization through the Home Office is 
ready to render aid when it is needed. 
The most astonishing phase of The 
AA is that it has not millions of dol- 
lars at its disposal to carry on effective- 
ly such a great, grand, broad reaching 
and effective work. In school and home, 
in camp and church the principles of 
The AA are broadly applicable and 
have been found by its loyal followers 
to be the very best of any organization 
that has ever existed in the study of 
nature. With broad sympathy for 
every other organization this grand old 
Agassiz Association has just entered 
upon the last five years of its first half 
century. We are sure that our friends, 
our students, our members, our hard 
workers will make this half decade the 
best that it has ever had. Oh, what a 
grand celebration, what a feeling of 
