6 Memoir of the late J. S. Miller, A.L.S. 



ness of mind which readily seized on general relations, he 

 joined the most indefatigable patience ot laborious investiga- 

 tion, a quality particularly requisite in the branch to which 

 he especially directed his attention ; viz. the elucidation of the 

 history of the organic remains which are preserved in our 

 strata in a fossilized state. In this state individual specimens 

 generally occur in a more or less imperfect condition, so that 

 the real type of the organization can seldom be ascertained 

 without the most careful comparison of many particular re- 

 lics. They are likewise in many instances so imbedded in 

 the solid rock, that the most essential parts are concealed, and 

 cannot be detected without the nicest dexterity of manual 

 operation. When these circumstances are taken into the 

 account, we may fairly appreciate the labour and talent ne- 

 cessary to produce such a work as Mr. Miller's account of 

 the fossil Crinoidea. This family of organic bodies, from the 

 delicate beauty and interesting character of many of its spe- 

 cimens, had long excited the attention of naturalists ; but still 

 our whole knowledge on the subject, previously to the ap- 

 pearance of Mr. Miller's work, was in the highest degree 

 vague and indeterminate. His researches, however, have 

 established in the most complete manner, and have placed 

 in every respect in the fullest and clearest light, the whole 

 history and relations of this curious family. He has de- 

 monstrated its arrangement into four divisions, including nine 

 genera, and more than twenty species. Of each species he 

 has developed the whole anatomy with the same exactness 

 as if they had been recent objects easily preserved, overcom- 

 ing the many and great obstacles which, as it has been al- 

 ready noticed, the fossilized state presents to such inquiries. 

 Persons who are at all aware of the complicated structure of 

 the Crinoidea^ and the numerous articulations which enter into 

 the composition of each individual, must feel all the arduous- 

 ness of such a task ; but those only can fully appreciate the 

 extreme care with which it has been performed, who have had 

 an opportunity of examining Mr. Miller's collection of ori- 



final specimens now deposited in the Museum of the Bristol 

 nstitution, and of comparing these with the illustrations 

 published in his work. 



The great merit of this treatise secured its immediate re- 

 ception as the standard work on the subject, by all the scien- 

 tific writers interested in similar pursuits on the continent as 

 well as in this country ; and reference is now uniformly made 

 to it as such. The author had intended to follow up this 

 work, as before mentioned, by a similar examination of our 

 Coralline remains ; but it is feared that he has left no papers 



on 



