to the appeal with promptitude, and always aftbrded the 

 most useful information. 



M. F. Cuvier took an active part in the Scientific busi- 

 ness of the Society ; and his last and one of his most valua- 

 ble contributions to Mammalogy graces the pages of our 

 Transactions. 



His other writings have advanced not only the descrip- 

 tive, or purely zoological, but also the physiological and 

 psychological departments of Natural History. Of the 

 depth of his observation, and acuteness of discrimination in 

 establishing new species, or improving our knowledge of 

 the external characters of known animals, M. F. Cuvier has 

 left imperishable evidences in the great * Histoire des Mam- 

 miferes,' and in several Monographies, of which the ' Me- 

 moir on the Jerboas and Gerbilles,' already alluded to, me- 

 rits especial notice and commendation. His elaborate and 

 comprehensive work, ' Sur les Dentes de Mammiferes con- 

 siderees comme Caracteres Zoologiques,' is less characte- 

 rized by the novelty and originality of the views and ob- 

 servations which it contains, than by the vast number and 

 useful arrangement of the facts, and their accurate icono- 

 graphical illustrations : it is essential to the student df 

 Mammalogy, and has already taken its station as a classical 

 work in Zoological Literature. 



In the Memoirs on the Structure and Development of 

 Spines, Quills, Feathers, and other Tegumentary Produc- 

 tions, M. Cuvier has established for himself the character 

 of a most minute and accurate observer, as well as of a lo- 

 gical appreciator of the degree of resemblance and analogy 

 subsisting between productions of a similar class. 



But the most original and pleasing productions of the pen 

 of our esteemed late fellow-member are the Memoirs on the 

 Instincts and Habits of Animals, pubhshed in the ' Annales 

 du Museum d' Histoire Naturelle'. They are replete with 

 facts and reflections of great novelty and interest, and are 

 highly characteristic of the peculiar modes of thought and 

 tone of mind of their accomplished author. 



At the period of his decease, M. F. Cuvier filled the 

 offices of Professor of Animal Physiology to the Museum of 

 Natural History at Paris, and of Inspector General of the 



