154 THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY 



probably more than he knows to help those who make these 

 pursuits the serious business of their lives." 



Dallinger and Drysdale's patient work on the Infusoria 

 is commended as a pattern, his own researches on the 

 Crayfish are alluded to, and a tribute paid to Lyonet 

 who, 



" spent many years over his caterpillar, and the result was a 

 monograph that will last for all time." 



In 1868 he had described certain jelly-like masses, 

 found in deep-sea soundings, as a primitive animal, on 

 which the name of " Bathybius Haeckelii " was conferred. 

 The researches of the Challenger subsequently proved the 

 supposed organism to be a chemical precipitate due to 

 the action of the alcohol used as a preservative. At the 

 British Association, held this year at Sheffield, Huxley 

 publicly admitted his error in the course of a humorous 

 speech. And when, in his regular course of lectures 

 the following winter, this pseudo-organism was spoken 

 about, he added : — 



*' And I can say, gentlemen, without petulance, that I heartily 

 wish Bathybius were at the bottom of the sea." 



A particularly interesting book was published in 1879 

 under the title of The Crayfish : An Introduction to the 

 Study of Zoology. This was part of the result of much 

 time devoted to the study of Crustaceans, and is a 

 masterpiece of lucid exposition. The structure, func- 

 tions, development, etc. of the crayfish are described in a 

 luminous fashion, and employed as a basis for illustrating 

 the more important general principles of zoology. The 

 work has proved of the greatest value to many successive 

 generations of students, and will always be regarded as a 

 classic. 



