688 HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN 
last illness; also the publication of his papers on Edaphosaurus, on 
the atlas-axis complex of reptiles, and, equally important, his brief 
paper on the “Phylogeny and Classification of Reptiles,” previously 
mentioned. During the last two years of his life he was also pre- 
paring a paper on new Permian reptiles. 
In summing up his life-work, “I like,” says Doctor Gregory’, “to 
emphasize the general features in which Williston was really pre- 
eminent, namely: (1) discovery of new material, Cretaceous 
Reptilia, Permian Tetrapoda, and Diptera; (2) conscientious and 
precise description of these; (3) eminently conservative synthesis 
of facts so as to work out a great and enduring record of Cretaceous 
and Permian reptiles; (4) intensive and successful specialization in 
several distinct lines of research and teaching. 
It isa matter of the deepest regret to all of Williston’s colleagues 
in paleontology that he did not live to complete his great compara- 
tive work on the Reptilia, which would have summed up all his 
researches and observations and the facts stored in his mind which 
have never found their way into print. As an investigator he com- 
bined in an exceptional degree anatomic accuracy in detail with 
breadth of vision and power of analysis. His associates in the 
special field of Permian research considered his opinion as a homolo- 
gist weighty. A committee was formed, chiefly composed of 
Americans, of which Williston was senior, to endeavor to establish 
the difficult and intricate questions of homology and to base upon 
this an enduring terminology to replace the confusing whirlpool of 
names for certain skull bones which have accumulated since the 
time of Cuvier. 
A few of the more general features of Williston’s life-work and 
character are as follows: He strove arduously through forty years 
of investigation to discover new material in the field and to widen 
our basis of facts in several distinct lines of investigation; he pre- 
ferred to discover new facts rather than to reinterpret older ones 
or to adjust the interrelations of facts; in general, his material was 
notably of his own finding. Nevertheless, especially in his late 
years, he labored very successfully to classify and synthetize his 
material, and with it that which had been treated by other workers. 
™See footnote, p. 683. 
