INTRODUCTION. VII 



tinued the publication of preliminary descriptions, it being our hope toprinl a final memoir 

 upon them without much delay. It was not until 1891, however, that we were able to 



complete our studies, the illness and death of Prof. Baird having interrupted the work 

 and thrown upon each of us new responsibilities w hich left little time at our command. 



We had. however, prepared for Mr. Agassiz preliminary reports u] the deep sea fishes 



of the Blake, taken in 1880 (published in L883), and upon those taken in 1878 and l.sT'.i (pub- 

 lished in issili, and had also furnished the notes upon the fishes for his general work. Three 

 < 'raises of the Blake. Besides the Blake fishes of 1878-'79-'80, we eon tinned to receive those 

 from the Albatross until that vessel passed into the Pacific in 1888. Her more recent collec- 

 tions are being worked up by Prof. C. 11. Gilbert and by Dr. Bean, who is studying those 

 of the Alaskan seas, and by Mr. < larman, who is reporting upon thoseobtained off the west 

 coast of Central America, partly made under the direction of Mr. Agassiz in 1891. 



The \\ ork, as it now appears, is in many respects very unsatisfactory to its authors. It 

 has been written at odd hours snatched from administrative duties, too often in the very 

 midst of them — always under the pressure of haste, and always with the feeling of impa- 

 tience that more exhaustive studies could not be made. Later, serious illness delayed its 

 printing. 



As first planned it was to include only the oceanic fishes of the east coast of North 

 America, but it, gradually expanded to embrace all those species of the Atlantic Basin and 

 all the oceanic genera of the world. 



It was first ready for the press in 1885, then revised and rewritten in 1888, then again 

 in 1891, and again in 18'J1 as it was going through the press. 



The appearance of Giinther's final reports upon the Challenger fishes, 1SS7. of Yaillant's 

 upon those of the Travailleur in 1888, of Alcoek's Investigator papers in 1889-1892, of Col- 

 lett's Hirondelle notes in 1889, have each, in their turn, caused much revision and rewrit- 

 ing, and the appearance of Liitken's Spolia Atlantiea, Part II, printed in 1892, has made it 

 necessary to reset a number of pages. 



In its present form it stands as a compendium and summary of existing knowledge in 

 regard to Oceanic Ichthyology. No one knows when there will be opportunity for its 

 further study. There are no expeditions and there seems to be no prospect for new ones. 

 Even the A Ibatross, built by the United States expressly for this servicers diverted to 

 police duty about the Seal Islands. 



Public interest is sated by the crude preliminary results already obtained. The scien- 

 tific world knows that the knowledge of to-day, in all branches of thalassographic work, is 

 incomplete and rudimentary in the extreme, and that, with the experience now acquired, 

 the results of future exploration will be immensely greater. We can only hope for a 

 renaissance in this field. 



In making acknowledgments to those who have aided in this work, we think first of 

 our dear friend, the late Prof. Baird, of the pains with which he provided every facility, 

 and of the interest with which, twice a day, when studies were in progress, he came to the 

 laboratory to talk over the discoveries and discuss them. To his successor as Commissioner 

 of Fisheries, Col. McDonald, we owe the granting of every request we have made, and our 

 requests have been many. To Mr. Alexander Agassiz we are likewise indebted for coin 

 tesies many and great, not the least of which is the patience with which lie has waited 

 ten years for a report which was promised in three. To Prof. Theodore Gill we offer our 

 thanks for counsel and information, lavishly and ungrudgingly bestowed, out of the fullness 

 of his ichthyological wisdom. To Commander Z. L. Tanner, U. S. N., in command of the 

 Albatross, and Mr. J. E. Benedict, naturalist of the ship, much is due for the manner in 

 which the collections were gathered and preserved. To Dr. Giinther we owe inspiration 

 and kindly advice; to Dr. Sauvage, of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, to Dr. 

 Liitken, to Prof. Collett and to Dr. Alcock, to Dr. Bilgendorf, President Jordan, and 

 Mr. Carman, frequent letters and the use of specimens; to Prof. Giglioli, the use of his 

 matchless collection of Italian vertebrates, among which were the fishes collected by 

 the steamer Washington in the Mediterranean. Capt. H. T. Brian, of the Government 



