1885.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 49 



Tlie influence on tlie s])ceies of cliango suul environment is a 

 condition advocated bv La,niMrck and St. Hilaire. The tendency 

 to variation by natural selection is tlic favorite view of Darwin. 

 The influence of such minds as Cuvier and Agassiz was sufficient 

 to extinguish any rising popularity of Lamarck's views; but 

 while Agassiz stoutly maintained his antagonism to tlie heresy 

 (as ho viewed it) of Darwin, the docti'ine of evolution has boldly 

 advanced, and well-nigh threatens the foundations of the hitherto 

 ])revailing zoological orthodoxy. Lamarck noticed tlie varia- 

 tion of species, both in animals and in ])lants. He divided the 

 animal kingdom into vertebrates and invertebrates; he founded 

 the Classes Infusoria and Arachnida; he separated the cirrhipeds 

 from the mollusca, and he was the first to construct aphylogeny, 

 or genealogical tree of animals. 



Wagner, Martins, and Plateau succeeded Lamarck. Kolliker, 

 in Germany, is notably connected with questions of morphology 

 and develojiment. 



In 1803, Russia sent out expeditions accompanied by Tilesius, 

 Langsdorff, Chamisso, Eschscholtz, and Brandt, German 

 naturalists by birth. The United States, in 1838-1842, sent an 

 expedition around the world under Commodore Wilkes, with 

 whom Dana, Conthony, and Pcale sailed as scientists. 



The rich results in the several branches of invertchraia were 

 due to the distinguished services of those naturalists. Dana's 

 magnificent atlas on corals, and his reports on Crustacea, through 

 Stimpson, are well known. 



The later United States expedition, under Commodore Eing- 

 gold, Avherein Stim])son acted as chief naturalist, was 

 fraught with great benefit to the various departments of 

 of invertebrate zoology, though sadly enough the collections 

 were destroyed by fire. The specimens were in the hands of 

 Stimpson, then Secretary of the Chicago Academy of Sciences. 

 This and several other circumstances connected with that disas- 

 trous fire proved most discouraging to Stimi)Son; his health be- 

 ing broken, he did not long survive. 



Sars is a name familiar to all students of marine zoology, es- 

 pecially in connection with that of northern Europe. ILs death, 

 lately announced, is a cause of sincere regret. 



Of the literature of this theme, there were extant, in the first 

 half of this century, R. E. Grant's "Lectures on Comparative 

 Anatomy," 1833-4; Wagner's, 1834-5; Owen's " Lectures Comp. 

 Anat. of Livertebrates," 1843-55; Siebold, " Invertebrates," 1845; 

 RoUeston, "'Forms of Animal Life," 1870; Huxley's "Inverte- 

 brates,'^ 1877; and Gegenbaui-'s, 1874, are among the most modern. 

 The latter is written in the interest of evolution. In 1859, Dar- 

 win's "Origin of Species " made its appearance. 



