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Count Eugene Keyserling. 



By the death of Count Eugene Keyserling of Germany, Natural 

 Science lost one of its prominent and most ardent workers, Arachnology 

 one of its masters. 



His loss is not only felt and deeply deplored in his Fatherland, it 

 is on this side of the Atlantic more keenly ap[)reciated ihan that of any 

 other naturalist of his rank. For the last twenty-five years Count 

 Keyserling has contributed more to the knowledge of that difficult and 

 long neglected chapter, American Arachnolog}', than an}- other naturalist 

 in this country or in Europe. 



Besides his many descriptive pamphlets on that subject Keyserling 

 has left to us two works by which he set for himself a monument on 

 this hemisphere : the Monographs on the Avierican Laterigradce and 

 T/ien'diidcB. He commenced a third monograph on the Epeiriidce, but 

 unfortunately postponed it, taking in hand the continuation of Dr. L. 

 Koch's great work "Die Arachniden Australiens," Dr. Koch himself 

 being compelled to retire on account of impaired eye sight. 



Count Eugene Keyserling, born on the 4th of April 1833, died, 

 exactly 56 years old, on the 4th of April of this year, ol lubercuiosis of 

 the brain. He was born in Pockroy in the Russian Baltic Province 

 Curland and entered the university of Dorpat, in 1851, to study Natural 

 Sciences. From 1856 to 1858 he visited different parts of the Russian 

 Empire and in 1859 he participated in a Government Expedition to the 

 Kaukasus, Armenia and Persia. In i860 he went to England and then 

 to Africa ; but was, in Algeria, attacked by a fever, which compelled 

 him to return to Europe. In 1864, after having spent some time in 

 France, he intended to visit South America. Previous to his departure 

 however, he visited Switzerland, where he made the acquaintance of a 

 lady, whose attractions caused him to abandon his projected trip to this 

 continent, and he married and settled down as a practical agriculturist, 

 having bought a large estate in Silesia. Here he worked undisturbed 

 and diligently on the Spider fauna of North and South America, re- 

 ceiving specimens from his many friends on this side of the At- 

 lantic. 



All American naturalists who had occasion to correspond with 

 Count Keyserling are unanimous in their praise of his amiability, 

 gentleness and liberality, and his untimely departure awoke in many 

 hearts on this continent a deep sorrow and regret at having lost a good 

 friend. 



