224 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Aug., 



Larcoidea, yet 16 of the 27 families of this legion are represented, 

 and these 16 families include no less than 226 of the 297 genera 

 belonging to this legion. Again, in the legion Nassellaria, all 

 of the 4 families of Stephoidea are represented, 3 of the 4 fami- 

 lies of Spyroidea, all of the 3 families of Botryodea, and all of 

 the 9 families of Cyrtoidea. Of the 20 families of this legion, 

 therefore, no less than 19 are represented and these 19 families 

 include 250 of the 274 genera of Nassellaria. One-third of all 

 the genera and 35 of the 47 families, of both legions, under 

 which are included 476 of the 571 genera. What more could 

 any student ask than that? Is there another deposit in the 

 world of any kind so rich as that ? Instead of having to secure 

 material from a score of localities, all one needs to do is to get 

 some of this Barbadoes earth in order to gain a very compre- 

 hensive idea of the fossil forms of this magnificent class, " the 

 very nicest of all the Protozoa," as Haeckel himself wrote not 

 long since. Add to this the ease of manipulation, for that earth 

 is just the nicest sort of material to clean — and, finally, consider 

 that the classification of these forms has been worked out and 

 the whole subject brought well up to date (1887), and I think 

 all will agree with me that there could hardly be a more satis- 

 factory study for an amateur to settle upon. It seems almost 

 too bad that the discovery, description, and classification of 

 these forms of Barbadoes, which belong to the New World, 

 should have been left to naturalists of the Old World. Not 

 that we grudge them one iota of the honor but that we ought 

 not to have left it to them to tell us about our own treasures. 

 But now that they have brought them to our notice, it will be 

 little less than a cr^dng shame if we neglect them in the future, 

 as they have been neglected in the past in this country. Nearly 

 half a century ago, Robert Schomburg discovered this " richest 

 of all the important Radiolarian deposits." As far back as 1847, 

 Ehrenberg described no less than 282 species from it, and, in 

 1854 published figures of some 33 species. In 1860 and 1861, 

 Mrs. Bury discovered no less than 141 species more, which had 

 been entirely overlooked by Ehrenberg, and took the pains to 

 draw them herself; and, in 1862 these forms were photographed 

 from the original drawings by Messrs. Negretti and Zambra, 

 and the atlas given to the world. In 1873, Ehrenberg published 

 descriptions of 265 species, and in 1875, he put forth a work 



