342 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



SCIENTIFIC WOBK. 



Huxley's early papers do not appear to have in all cases at first re- 

 ceived the consideration they deserved. The only important one which 

 was published before his return was the one 'On the Anatomy and 

 Affinities of the Family of the Medusae.' 



After his return, however, there was a rapid succession of valuable 

 Memoirs, the most important, probably, being those on Salpa and 

 Pyrosoma, on Appendicularia and Doliolum and on the Morphology of 

 the Cephalus Mollusca. 



In recognition of the value of these Memoirs he was elected a Fellow 

 of the Eoyal Society in 1851, and received a Koyal Medal in 1852. Lord 

 Eosse, in presenting it, said: "In these papers you have for the first time 

 fully developed their (the Medusas) structure and laid the foundation 

 of a rational theory for their classification." "In your second paper, 

 'On the Anatomy of Salpa and Pyrosoma,' the phenomena, etc., have re- 

 ceived the most ingenious and elaborate elucidation, and have given rise 

 to a process of reasoning the results of which can scarcely yet be antici- 

 pated, but must bear, in a very important degree, upon some of the 

 most abstruse points of what may be called transcendental physiology." 



A very interesting result of his work on the Hydrozoa was the gen- 

 eralization that the two layers in the bodies of Hydrozoa (Polyps and 

 Sea Anemones), the Ectoderm and the Entoderm correspond with the 

 two primary germ layers of the higher animals. Again, though he did 

 not discover or first define protoplasm, he took no small share in making 

 its importance known, and in bringing naturalists to recognize it as the 

 physical basis of life, and in demonstrating the unity of animal and 

 plant protoplasm. 



Among other important memoirs may be mentioned those 'On the 

 Teeth and the Corpuscula Tactus,' 'On the Tegumentary Organs,' 'Re- 

 view of the Cell Theory,' 'On Aphis,' and many others. 



His paleontological work, for which he has told us that at first lie 

 did not care,' began in 1855. That 'On the Anatomy and Affinities of 

 the Genus Pterygotus' is still a classic; in another, 'On the Structure of 

 the Shields of Pteraspis,' and in one 'On Cephalaspis,' in 1858, he for 

 the first time clearly established their vertebrate character; his work 'On 

 Devonian Fishes' in 1861 threw quite a new light on their affinities; and 

 amongst other later papers may be mentioned that 'On Hyperodapedon;' 

 'On the Characters of the Pelvis,' 'On the Crayfish,' and one botanical 

 memoir, 'On the Gentians,' the outcome of one of his Swiss trips. 



One of the most striking results of his paleontological work was the 

 clear demonstration of the numerous and close affinities between reptiles 

 and birds, the result of which is that they are regarded by many as form- 

 ing together a separate group, the Sauropsida; while the Amphibia, long 

 regarded as reptiles, were separated from them and united with fishes 



