1846.] CATALOGUE RAISONNE, ETC. 271 



of Desor. I had to correct the proofs of sheets 9, 10, 

 and u, and besides to write not only the "Addenda," 

 but also the entire " Distribution geologique des echi- 

 nides fossiles," with many notes and corrections. The 

 memoir was not issued in separate form until January, 

 1848, and it was I who delivered it to Agassiz at 

 Cambridge, in May, 1848. I remember perfectly the 

 amazement with which Agassiz saw the name of Desor 

 on the cover as one of the authors, and as Agassiz 

 knew the part I also had taken in the memoir, he said : 

 " But you have more right than Desor to put also your 

 name as one of the authors, for you did it entirely with- 

 out compensation of any sort, only in kindness and 

 friendship." On the whole, it was very presumptuous 

 in Desor, who had assumed the position of Maire du 

 Palais, ruling at his will, not only Agassiz's household, 

 but also distributing scientific authorship according to 

 his fancy or private interest. The part taken by him 

 was simply that of a subordinate. Entirely in the pay 

 of Agassiz, he simply wrote, mainly under Agassiz's 

 dictation, the characteristics; added the description of 

 about one hundred species more or less and three 

 or four new genera, and also corrected a few errors, 

 which was all a part of his duty as secretary. Agassiz 

 had begun his studies and publications on the echino- 

 derms five or six years before Desor came to Neuchatel, 

 and when he became Agassiz's secretary he knew abso- 

 lutely nothing of echinoderms, or even of zoology. 



The " Catalogue raisonne," etc., notwithstanding its 

 many imperfections, marked great progress when it was 

 published ; and has, ever since, served as the basis 



