THE MODERN CRINOID. 705 



tion, though there is no stiffness in its bear- 

 ing. When disturbed, the pinnules of the 

 arms first contract, the arms straighten them- 

 selves out, and the whole gradually and 

 slowly closes up. It was a very impressive 

 sight for me to watch the movements of the 

 creature, for it not only told of its own ways, 

 but at the same time afforded a glimpse into 

 the countless ages of the past, when these 

 crinoids, so rare and so rarely seen nowadays, 

 formed a prominent feature of the animal 

 kingdom. I could see, without great effort of 

 the imagination, the shoal of Lockport teem- 

 ing with the many genera of crinoids which 

 the geologists of New York have rescued from 

 that prolific Silurian deposit, or recall the for- 

 mations of my native country, in the hill-sides 

 of which also, among fossils indicating shoal 

 water deposits, other crinoids abound, resem- 

 bHng still more closely those we find in these 

 waters. The close affinities of Rhizocrinus 

 with Apiocrinoids are further exemplified by 

 the fact that when the animal dies, it casts off 

 its arms, like Apiocrinus, the head of which is 

 generally found without arms. And now the 

 question may be asked, what is the meaning 

 of the occurrence of these animals in deep 



waters at the present day, when, in former 

 VOL. n. 20 



