THE COASTS OF SICILY. 69 



Is there not something almost marvellous in this 

 accordance ? M. Agassiz * in his great work on 

 the Fossil Fishes and Echinoderms, has especially in- 

 fer a long time misunderstood, and Cuvier placed them amongst the 

 intestinal worms. 



* M. Agassiz, a corresponding member of the Institute, is a 

 native of Switzerland. This naturalist has followed, with the 

 greatest ardour, the paths of inquiry first opened by Cuvier, and it 

 may be said that he has done for Fossil Fishes what the founder of 

 Palaeontology had done for the Mammalia, and hence his work on this 

 subject will always be regarded as a standard authority in this 

 department of science. M. Agassiz has, moreover, not limited 

 himself to extinct species, but he has undertaken a great work on 

 the Fishes of Europe, in which their anatomy and embryology 

 occupy a considerable place. His palseontological studies have 

 extended to the Echinodermata, and he has published, in relation 

 to this subject, the extremely important memoir to which I have 

 alluded in the text, Resume d'un Travail d' ensemble sur F Organisa- 

 tion, la Classification, et le Developpement propressif des Echino- 

 dcrmes dans la Serie des Terrains. 



Led by the direction of his zoological studies to devote his 

 attention to geology, M. Agassiz has advanced certain views in 

 relation to the former extension of the glaciers, and the actions 

 which they have exerted on the earth's crust; and these views, which 

 were at first much opposed, now find many supporters. In order to 

 confirm these statements by prolonged observations, M. Agassiz 

 spent several successive summers on the most elevated parts of the 

 Swiss Alps. With a view of completing these great works, M. 

 Agassiz collected around him a band of eminent collaborateurs ; 

 amongst whom we may instance Professor Vogt, who contributed 

 th^ einbryological details in relation to the salmon in the volume ou 

 the Salmonidse ; Valentin, to whom we owe a very detailed ana- 

 tomical monograph on the genus Echinus ; and M. Desor, who has 

 published a volume on the History of the Glaciers. M. Agassiz, 

 who has been residing for several years in the United States, appears 

 recently to have given a somewhat different direction to his studies ; 

 for he now devotes himself more especially to the study of the 

 inferior animals, and in his anatomical researches on the Medusae, 

 he has discovered some very curious and highly important facts. 



F 3 



