72 Miscellaneous. 



which he filled up to the time of his lamented death with great 

 honour to his country, and to the satisfaction of the whole world of 

 science. His celebrity as a zoologist, as well as a palaeontologist, was 

 fully recognized by all naturahsts and geologists, and he was elected 

 a member of several foreign scientific societies. Our own distinguished 

 countryman, the late Edward Forbes, individually showed his ap- 

 preciation of Sars's labours in eloquent pages (66 and 67) of his own 

 posthumous work, ' The Natural History of the European Seas,' 

 when he said, "More complete or more valuable zoological researches 

 than those of Sars have rarely been contributed to the science of 

 Natural History; and the success with which he has prosecuted in- 

 vestigations claiming not only a high systematic value, but also a 

 deep physiological import, is a wonderful evidence of the abundance 

 of intellectual resources which genius can develope, however se- 

 cluded and wherever its lot be cast ; " and he added that the name 

 of tliis Norwegian priest, " who reaped rei)utation when seeking no 

 more than knowledge, familiar to every naturalist in Europe and 

 America, in Asia, and at the Antipodes — for there are great natura- 

 lists settled far in the south, and many in the far cast — is a sufficient 

 proof that able work brings the rewards of applause and venera- 

 tion, even when they be unasked for." By the observations of Sars 

 on the development of the Medusae he greatly advanced our know- 

 ledge of that remarkable physiological phenomenon known as the 

 alternation of generations, which Chamisso had first indicated in 

 the Salpae. His last publication, ' Memoire pour servir a la con- 

 naissance des CrinoVdcs vivants,' excited especial interest, by show- 

 ing that a race of animals, supposed to have been extinct for a period 

 so long as only to be measured by the duration of several past geolo- 

 gical epochs, occurred iu a living state in the abysses of the Norwe- 

 gian seas. This discovery mainly induced the recent exploration of 

 our own seas at great depths, which has produced such wonderful 

 results; and the living Crinoid, or "stone lily" (EJiizocnnus Lofo- 

 tensis), has now been ascertained to inhabit many parts of the 

 Atlantic from the Loffoden Isles to the Gulf of Mexico. The published 

 works of Sars are seventy-four, and they are not less sound and 

 valuable than numerous. One of his sons, Dr. George Ossian Sars, 

 inherits the zoological inclinations and talent of the late Professor, 

 and is second to none in the knowledge of the Sessile-eyed Crus- 

 tacea. 



It is exceedingly to be regretted that, in spite of the most rigid 

 economy, the large family of Professor Sars is left in very im- 

 poverished circumstances, six of his children being wholly unpro- 

 vided for. May I hope that naturalists and lovers of science will 

 assist me in making a subscription for the temporary relief of this 

 distressed family, and that they will by such tribute to his memory 

 express their admiration of his career and services ? I shall be 

 very glad to receive any contributions. 



J. GWYN jKFyilEYS. 

 25 Dcvonsliire Place, Portland Place, London, 

 21 December, 1869. 



