ALEXANDER AGASSIZ- — MAYER. 471 



life is most clearly described by Henry B. Bigelow in his acconnt of 

 the medusae of this expedition. 



This was Alexander Agassiz's last great scientific expedition, al- 

 though in 1908 he made a brief visit to the Florida Reef, and from 

 February until March, 1907, he cruised through the West Indies from 

 Porto Rico to Grenada in the chartered yacht Vii^ginia. Dr. Henry 

 B. Bigelow was his scientific assistant, and many pelagic hauls were 

 made, but the region was found to be almost barren of floating life. 

 This is an extraordinary fact, and it applies at present to the whole 

 vast region of the West Indies, thus from 1877 until 1898 the region 

 of the Tortugas, Fla., was noted for the variety and richness of its 

 floating life, but since that time the pelagic animals have become 

 rarer year by year until at present the region is almost a desert sea. 



In August, 1907, he presided over the meeting of the Seventh Inter- 

 national Zoological Congress at Boston, and his presidential address 

 is an account of the publications which had resulted from his many 

 expeditions, and the reports of those to whom he had sent collections. 

 These include the most noted specialists in all of the highly civilized 

 countries of the world. 



In the winter and early spring of 1908 he visited the equatorial lake 

 regions of Central Africa, the expedition being mainly a pleasure 

 trip. 



Between 1907 and 1909 he published five papers upon Pacific echini 

 with Dr. Hubert Lyman Clark as joint author, and other papers of 

 this series are still to appear. 



In common with all students of pure science in our country, Alex- 

 ander Agassiz was far more highly appreciated abroad than he was at 

 home, for in our country practical applications and the invention of 

 mechanical devices compass nearly all that the general public cares 

 for science, and indeed our Republic is without means to confer hon- 

 ors upon its scientific men. Thus while he was an honorary member 

 of all of the great scientific societies of Europe and had been recog- 

 ized officially by the Republic of France and the German Emperor, 

 only one American university (his alma mater) conferred upon him 

 an honorary degree. 



In 1898 he was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor of France 

 and in 1902 a Knight of the Order of Merit of Prussia. He was a 

 foreign associate of the Academy of Science of the Institute of 

 France, the only American associates of that time being Agassiz and 

 Newcomb. He was foreign honorary fellow of the Royal Society of 

 Edinburgh, foreign member of the Royal, Linnean, and Zoological 

 Societies of London, honorary member of the Royal Microscopical 

 Society of London, and honorary member of the academies of Berlin, 

 Prague, Gottingen, Leipzig, Munich, Manchester, Vienna, Upsala, 

 Stockholm, Copenhagen, Liege, Moscow, Rome, Bologna, Geneva, 

 Mexico, etc. 



