MURRAY: ALEXANDER AGASSIZ. 



145 



Agassiz throughout his active scientific life was a constant student 

 of Echinoderms. He worked on Starfishes and Crinoids, but the 

 principal object of his interest was the recent Echini. His first pub- 

 lication on this fascinating group of animals was in 1863, and his last 

 in 1909. covering a term of forty-six years, a long period of sustained 

 interest and work. He described a considerable part of the deep-sea 

 species and genera known to science in his Monographs on the Deep- 

 Sea Echini collected by the "Challenger," "Blake," and "Albatross" 

 Expeditions. He described as new, about one-third of the known 

 recent Echini, of which there are some 450 species. 



In addition to systematic work, he published on the development 



and morphology of Echini as well as on their geographical and bathy- 



metrical distribution. His work was almost wholly on recent forms, 



but in several of his works, especially the Revision, and "Challenger" 



Report, there is discussion of, and some observations on, fossil Echini. 



The three years immediately succeeding his return from Europe in 



December, 1870 were the most active, fruitful, and enjoyable of his 



whole life. His financial position had greatly improved and his mind 



was crowded with new schemes and new ideas with reference to the 



study of the ocean. He visited the "Challenger" Expedition when 



the ship reached Halifax in May, 1873. He was enthusiastic about 



our captures, and he could teach us much we did not know, especially 



about Echinoderm and Annelid larvae. I remember he showed us 



how he had proved that Tornaria was the larva of Balanoglossus. All 



the younger men of the Expedition were pronounced evolutionists 



or Darwinists, and the name of Agassiz conjured up opposition to such 



views, but the impression made by Alexander Agassiz was excellent 



in every direction, the general judgment being that the younger 



Agassiz was a very different man from his distinguished father. It 



was freely prophesied that he would have a very brilliant scientific 



future. He was buoyant, cheerful, confident, and possessed a fund 



of dry humour. He was rather above medium height, with brown 



eyes and dark complexion. He had a fine presence, dignified beaiing, 



and gracious manners. The following note received on board the 



" Challenger" some months after his visits indicates conscious capacity 



and the overflowing joy of life: — "We are all flourishing here after a 



very successful summer at Penikese, about which you must have 



seen plenty in the papers. The Museum is getting fuller than an egg, 



and I don't know what we shall do for room. We have just secured 



the collection of Wachsmuth — the finest collection of Crinoids 



there is from the West, and with what we have, our collection is now 



