6 COOKE : IN MEMORIAM : M. H. CROSSE. 



Madagascar (1889), but this work does not appear to have been 

 completed. 



He was especially fond of cataloguing the MoUuscan fauna of 

 islands. Some of his lists, thus compiled, are invaluable to the 

 student of geographical distribution, remarks upon which generally 

 accompanied the lists. Among the islands thus treated are Rodriguez, 

 Kerguelin, Socotra, Prince's and St. Thomas Is. (W. Africa), Nossi-Be 

 and Nossi-Comba, Trinidad, Cuba (177 pp.), San Domingo (143 pp.), 

 Porto Rico, and New Caledonia (315 pp.). His sympathy with 

 problems of geographical distribution is further shown by such articles 

 as the following : Distribtition geographiqi/e et $ynony?iiie des Bidimes 

 auriculiformes de r Archipel Viti ; Catalogue des Mollusques qui vivent 

 daus le Detroit de Behring et dans les parties voisiiies de rOccati 

 Arctique ; Famine inalacologique du Lac Tanganyika, die Lac Baikal. 



Another marked feature of his writings is the cataloguing of all 

 the known species of certain genera, often wich synonymy and geo- 

 graphical distribution appended. Among the genera thus treated are 

 Caricellaria, Conns, Holospira, Hybocystis, Lyria, Meroe, Opisthostoma, 

 Parmacella, Firena, Flacobranckus, Fleuroto)naria, Foviatias, Rapa, 

 Rhode a, Risetla, and Voluta. 



It naturally befel one who had the handling of vast masses of 

 materia], to found new genera, as well as innumerable new species. 

 Yet he was no sympathiser with the "splitting" school, and dis- 

 countenanced, rather by example than by rebuke, the folly of those 

 who reduce the science to confusion by manufacturing a new species 

 for every second specimen. To Crosse are due, either singly or in 

 conjunction with P. Fischer, the following amongst other genera : — 

 Acroptychia, Berendtia, Diplomphalus, Eucalodiufn, Geostilbia, Gues- 

 tieria, Fereiraea, Strebelia, and Xanthonyx. 



I believe Crosse possessed a special sympathy for England and 

 English workers. Certainly his encouragement of young contributors 

 was charming, and his courtesy never failed. His knowledge of 

 English was remarkable, and he was capable of translating articles 

 from that language into French without missing the smallest point or 

 losing the most delicate shade of meaning. Besides possessing 

 numerous other titles of honour, he was a Corresponding Member of 

 the Zoological Society of London, and a Member of the Malacological 

 Society of London. All English Malacologists will unite in a re- 

 spectful testimony to his great distinctions. And perhaps no better 

 epilogue could be framed for him than the words with which he 

 closed his own exhaustive treatise on the Mollusca of New Caledonia, 

 words of characteristic modesty : — " Nous terminons ici notre travail, 



