1856-58.] ESSAY ON CLASSIFICATION. 65 



His expectation proved a Utopian dream ; for, except 

 Part I., "Essay on Classification," all the other memoirs, 

 -on the "Turtles," on the "Acalephs," on the "Radi- 

 ata," -are so special, that only very few persons were 

 able to read them with anything approaching a general 

 understanding, and fewer still, to follow the minute 

 descriptions. It is no exaggeration to say that the 

 number of persons in America who read this great 

 work, except the " Essay on Classification," was limited 

 to less than one hundred ; and that the specialists in 

 Europe interested in the subjects treated numbered 

 only a few dozens. However, it should be said that 

 these memoirs are worthy of Agassiz's great reputation 

 as a naturalist, and have added many new facts in 

 regard to the Testudinata and Acalephs. The figures 

 on the plates are all excellent, and show beyond ques- 

 tion that natural history specimens and details of the 

 most delicate anatomical structures were treated in a 

 style which was never surpassed and rarely equalled in 

 Europe. 



Part I., " Essay on Classification," was read by many. 

 To say that it was understood, in all its meaning and 

 far-reaching generalities, would be wide of the mark. 

 It requires a profound and vast knowledge of natural 

 history enjoyed by few naturalists to understand such 

 a philosophical work, which is in fact a resume of the 

 discoveries of all observers since Linnaeus and Cuvier. 



A special octavo edition of the " Essay " was re- 

 printed in England, and a French translation in Paris. 

 It is the work of the mature age of Cuvier's best pupil, 

 and is by far the most important contribution of Agas- 



VOI.. II. F 



