266 THE REV. THOMAS HINCKS, F.R.S. 



Hydroids or Polyzoa is in a more fortunate position, the 

 labours of Mr. Hincks having put it in his power to 

 ascertain the species which he wishes to investigate with- 

 out having recourse to a literature scattered through the 

 scientific journals of many countries. Mr. Hincks' treatises 

 are not merely a compilation from the works of others, 

 but they give evidence throughout of independent investi- 

 gation of the objects described. Our admiration is excited 

 equally by the exactness of the original observations of 

 the author and by the care which has been taken in 

 collecting and incorporating the labours of others. The 

 work is that of a master in his subject, and every page 

 bears the impress of accuracy and sound judgment. Work 

 of this character is of inestimable value, not only to the 

 systematist, but also to other zoologists who approach 

 the subject from different standpoints. 



Mr. Hincks' investigations have by no means been con- 

 fined to the British Fauna, but his activity in the study 

 of foreign species has shown itself in a long series of 

 papers contributed to' the Annals and Magazine of Natural 

 History and other journals, at frequent intervals from 

 about 1850 till quite recently. The earlier papers of this 

 series are devoted almost equally to Hydroids and Polyzoa ; 

 but latterly Mr. Hincks has turned his attention more 

 and more exclusively to the Polyzoa, on which he is ad- 

 mittedly the first authority of the present day. The series 

 of papers entitled Contributions toicards a General His- 

 tory of the Marine Polyzoa were recently republished 

 in a collected form, and a glance at the index of this 

 most valuable collection is enough to show how many 

 species have received their first description at the hands 

 of Mr. Hincks. The diagnoses which are given are models 

 of accuracy, and usually enable the species to be recognised 



