THE REVISION OF THE ECHINI 93 



somewhere and gather the broken threads of my draw- 

 ings. In meanwhile, if you have anything interesting 

 in way of Echini, I wish you would send it to me. The 

 Museum will soon publish a most valuable Palseonto- 

 geological contribution in the next Illustrated Number 

 of the catalogue, viz. : " The Deep Sea Fauna of the 

 Gulf Stream between Florida and Cuba." Professor 

 Peirce, the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, deputed 

 last year one of his assistants, Pourtales, to make dredg- 

 ings there. His first results, of which you have un- 

 doubtedly received a copy, No. 6 Bull., M. C. Z., were 

 so important that it was decided to send Pourtales again 

 this winter, and he goes again in a couple of weeks bet- 

 ter equipped, and with the experience he has gained 

 last year we may hope to obtain grand results. The 

 Fauna living to a depth of 500 fathoms — 3000 feet — 

 100 atmospheres ! is wonderfully rich in every- 

 thing — Echinoderms, Corals, Ophiurans, Starfishes, 

 Annelids, Crustacea, Mollusca, etc. ; and as soon as he 

 returns we will all set to work to work up his material, 

 which cannot fail to be of the greatest importance. 

 There is, among other things, a new family of Pen- 

 tacrinoida ! a most charming thing, and which, with 

 the embryology of Antedon by Carpenter, will teach us 

 much about Crinoids. 



Since my return, the Museum has had a large acces- 

 sion to its means, given partly by, the State and partly 

 by private persons, of a sum no less than 150,000 dollars, 

 which will enable us to double our room by building, 

 and give us a chance to make our collections available 

 for study. As far as I am concerned personally, the 

 Museum is of very little use to me, as I believe in study 

 ex natura, and have but little fancy for closet invest! 



