A CUBAN FISHERMAN. 1 65 



comes from the study of more than one fauna. 

 On the other hand, Professor Poey enjoyed the 

 great advantage of having an almost exhaustless 

 supply of material ; for there are few ports where 

 fishes are brought in in such quantities, or in such 

 variety, as in the markets of Havana. 



It is the fashion in some quarters to decry the 

 work of the describer of new forms. This is unjust 

 as well as absurd. All honest study has its place ; 

 and till the pioneer work of exact determination of 

 species is performed, there is little opportunity for 

 fruitful work on the part of the embryologist or 

 the anatomist. It is of little use to record the 

 structure or the development of an animal, while 

 the animal itself is unknown. 



The " Memorias " were at once recognized as 

 the most important work on the fishes of Cuba; 

 and as was said long ago by Professor Cope, this 

 Avork is a sine qtia nort in the study of the ichthy- 

 ology of tropical America. 



The nomenclature and grouping of the species 

 in the "Conspectus Piscium Cubensium," contained 

 in the ''Memorias," was in 1862 the subject of a 

 critical paper by Dr. Theodore Gill.^ This article, 

 and subsequent ones by the same author, exerted 

 much influence on Poey's work. He was always 

 ready to profit by the suggestions and advice of 

 other writers, especially of those more favorably 

 situated than he in regard to libraries and muse- 

 ums ; from Professor Gill's papers he gained clearer 



1 " Remarks on the Genera and other Groups of Cuban Fishes," 

 Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 

 1862, pp. 235 et seq. 



