14 
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
the attention of eastern scientists. Prof. Louis Agassiz came to see it on 
his lecturing trip to the west, and Meek and Worthen asked the loan of 
specimens for description in the geological reports of Illinois, which were 
then being prepared. 
In 1865 Mr. Wachsmuth closed out his business and, accompanied by his 
wife, made a trip to Europe. On his way he visited Cambridge, upon invi- 
tation of Professor Agassiz, and saw the large collections in the Museum of 
Comparative Zoology. Until then he had seen very few crinoids aside from 
those found at Burlington. His delight knew no bounds as he studied in 
Cambridge the fossil crinoids from other localities, and a number of speci- 
mens of living types. In Europe all sorts of invertebrate fossils were 
collected and visits made to the principal museums. When England was 
reached it was a great surprise to find that the reputation of the Burlington 
collection had already preceded him. 
On returning to Burlington, after an absence of almost a year, Mr. 
Wachsmuth resolved to devote the rest of his life to scientific pursuits, and 
to direct his whole attention to crinoids. Living far from scientific centers, 
and not having access to literature, he had to depend for study largely upon 
his own specimens. This, however, proved afterwards an advantage, rather 
than a drawback, for independent thought and original research. 
It was in 1873 that Professor Agassiz, on his return from the Pacific 
coast, paid a second visit to Burlington. He was greatly surprised at the 
enormous growth of the collection since he had last seen it, and, struck by 
the beauty and perfection of the specimens, he intimated that he was 
anxious to procure the collection for Cambridge, at the same time express- 
ing a desire to have Mr. Wachsmuth go with it and take charge of all the 
crinoids in the museum. The negotiations were soon completed, and a few 
months later Mr. Wachsmuth was installed in the Museum of Comparative 
Zoology as an assistant. It was Professor Agassiz who induced the new 
assistant to publish the results of his observations under his own name, on 
the ground that he was doing a great injustice to himself by placing them 
in the hands of others. The position, which was held until the death of 
Professor Agassiz, gave ample opportunity for Mr. Wachsmuth to become 
fully acquainted with the literature on the crinoids, and it was here that 
the foundation of the later great work was laid. 
After the death of Agassiz a second trip to Europe and a visit to the 
Orient, was made. On returning in 1874 Mr. Wachsmuth had not a single 
specimen in his possession. However, it took only a few years to make up 
another collection that was larger and much superior to the first. A 
year or two later he made the acquaintance of Mr. Prank Springer, then a 
young lawyer of Burlington, and an enthusiastic student of the natural 
sciences; a warm friendship soon sprung up between them. They studied 
together, and from 1878 the results of their researches were published 
under joint authorship. In the following years the collections increased 
rapidly by extensive purchases. Prom a trip to Europe Mr. Springer 
brought home a fine selection of Dudley crinoids, embracing nearly all of 
the species of that locality, and a large assortment of the Carboniferous 
species of England and Ireland. Among his acquisitions were also rare 
forms from Belgium, a majority of the Eifel species, fine specimens from 
Russia and Bohemia, and a large amount of material from the Mesozoic 
and later formations. The collection was enlarged further by extensive 
