240 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. x. 



genera, but Agassiz answered him successfully in his 

 " Introduction," maintaining the value of such genera 

 as Goniomya, Ceromya, Arcomya, Mactromya, Pleuromya, 

 Gresslya, Cardinia, etc., and in a letter to Pictet, dated 

 Aug. 15, 1845, he says: " Je crois que vous avez 

 accorde un peu trop d'importance aux critiques que 

 d'Orbigny a faites de quelques uns de mes genres des 

 Myacees. Dans ma 4^ me livraison j'ai refute ce qui 

 me paraissait exagere ; il y a des remarques justes, 

 mais il y en a quelques unes qui sont completement 

 erronees." 



The manuscript of another work of great impor- 

 tance, of "which the first part was issued in 1842, the 

 " Nomenclator Zoologicus," was pushed forward with 

 that strong will which was now and then characteristic 

 of Agassiz. As he says, the work embraces the sources 

 of critical zoology: " C'est un travail de patience qui 

 a exige des recherches bien longues et bien penibles. 

 J'en avais conc^u le plan des les premieres annees de 

 mes etudes et des lors je n'ai jamais perdu de vue ce 

 projet. J'ose croire que ce sera une digue contre la con- 

 fusion babylonique qui tend a envahir le domaine de la 

 synonymie en Zoologie " (Letter to M. de Chambrier, 

 President of the State Council of Neuchatel, April, 

 1842). 



The publication, which is in Latin, is a large quarto, 

 issued in eleven fasciculi ; the last one, which treats of 

 the Colcoptcra, having been published at Soloduri, in 

 1846; while the " Pref atio indicis universalis " is dated 

 Neocomi, Mense, Decembri, 1845. The " Index" alone 

 comprises 393 quarto pages; a duodecimo edition was 



