214 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



as to find large numbers of new and remarkable forms of 

 mammals, reptiles, birds, etc. Among these may be men- 

 tioned a deer, called after him Elaplvurus davidi, a new spe- 

 cies of Sieb old ia, or giant salamander, etc. He has now been 

 commissioned anew by the Museum of Natural History of 

 Paris, and has started for Thibet with the purpose of carry- 

 ing on scientific researches. 1 B,Jan., 1872, 239. 



FULFILLMENT OF THE PREDICTIONS OF PROFESSOR AGASSIZ. 



Some of our readers may remember the letter written by 

 Professor Agassiz to Professor Peirce in December, 1871, just 

 before starting upon the Sassier expedition, in which he an- 

 nounced beforehand the general nature of the discoveries 

 that he expected to make. His ability to make these pre- 

 dictions with any degree of certainty was much questioned 

 by those who were not familiar with the method of research 

 in natural history, and of the almost mathematical nature of 

 the inferences to be derived from certain given premises. 



We now have a second letter addressed to Professor Peirce, 

 written at Pernambuco on the 16th of January, giving an ac- 

 count of experiences up to that date, which go far toward 

 showing that the professor really knew of what he was speak- 

 ing in the first instance. Owing to various adverse in flu- 

 ences, among them the necessity of hastening with all possi- 

 ble dispatch to reach the Straits of Magellan at the earliest 

 possible date, only four hauls of the dredge were made in 

 water of any great depth, those being at depths of from 75 

 to 120 fathoms off Barbadoes. The results of these were in 

 the highest degree satisfactory, however, " the extent and va- 

 riety of material obtained being enough to occupy," in the 

 professor's words, " half a dozen competent zoologists for a 

 whole year, if the specimens could be kept fresh for that 

 length of time." 



As anticipated by the professor in the letter referred to, 

 the most interesting discoveries were certain forms of ani- 

 mals, the allies of which had previously been known in great- 

 er part or entirely as fossils of older formations. Among 

 these may be mentioned a remarkable sponge, a crinoid very 

 much like Rhizocrinus, a living Pleurotomaria, only three 

 having been previously known, although a great many are 

 described as fossil, etc. The crinoid, especially, is one of the 



