CORAL REEFS 273 



1891. The study of this species of a new genus of 

 stalked crinoids was of especial interest, as it bore a 

 close relation to extinct fossil forms of past geological 

 ages, having a striking resemblance to a large group of 

 fossil crinoids of Mesozoic time. 



For many years he had occupied his summers chiefly 

 in the study of the development of young fishes and the 

 life history of jelly-fish, with an occasional experiment 

 in the protective coloration of fish and Crustacea. But 

 after this period his research work at Newport was 

 much curtailed by the time required to write up the 

 reports of his previous expeditions, and by the care of 

 the correspondence involved in the distribution of his 

 various collections and the publication of reports of the 

 specialists to whom they were allotted. Since there were 

 over ninety of these gentlemen, and as Agassiz always 

 wrote his letters with his own hand, one may gather 

 some idea of the labor involved in keeping in touch 

 with them. 



The year 1892 marks the close of a distinct period in 

 Agassiz's life. Until then he had devoted himself chiefly 

 to marine zoology. The main scientific interest of his 

 later life was, however, the study of coral islands and 

 reefs, and the method of their formation. This question 

 has a broader interest than is at first apparent, for it 

 leads directly to a consideration of the forces which, in 

 recent geological times, have made the surface of this 

 planet what we find it to-day. 



Many of us remember, in the physical geographies of 

 our youth, an illustration of a coral atoll. It captivated 

 our fancy, being so different from anything that had 

 come within our own personal experience, for we had 



