Obituary — Professor Karl A. von Zittel. 9^ 



" Handbuch " appeared in five volumes, four of which include the- 

 whole range of palceozoology, while the fifth volume, comprising 

 palseobotany, was contributed by Schimper and Schenk. The 

 publication of this work was the greatest service rendered by it;* 

 author, and the famous "Handbuch" still remains the most coni- 

 preheiisive and trustworthy treatise of reference on the subject 

 with which it deals. It was translated into French by Professor 

 Charles Barrois. 



Prompted, no doubt, by his own requirements as a lecturer, the^ 

 Professor directed the publication of an extensive series of palasonto- 

 logical wall-diagrams to illustrate generic characters (1879-1891), 

 which have been very widely appreciated by teachers. To meet 

 a long-felt want, he published in 1895 the " Grundziige der 

 Palaeontologie," a volume most admirably adapted to the require- 

 ments of students, which embodies, though with some revision, the 

 principal outlines of the author's larger treatise on palceozoology. 

 The translation of this work into the English language was under- 

 taken, with the collaboration of several specialists, by Dr. C R. 

 Eastman, and thus under American auspices the first part of it, 

 comprising the Invertebrata, was published separately, though witb 

 such fai'-reachiiig modifications as to render the volume for practical 

 purposes an almost entirely new work. Professor von Zittel himself 

 only lived to superintend the issue of that part of the second German 

 edition which deals with the Invertebrata, but in order to preserve 

 those features whereby, according to his belief, the work would best 

 retain its utility as a student's manual, he adhered to the scheme 

 employed in the first edition. 



A little book adapted to supply the needs of a wider circle of 

 readers had been many years previously published by the Professor, 

 under the title " Aus der Urzeit," and in this the author attractively 

 described and illustrated the progress of development in the organic 

 world from the earliest times onwards. This work became much 

 in request, and, having passed through a second edition, has for 

 some time been out of print. One other work from the pen of 

 von Zittel calls for special mention. This is his well-known and 

 valued History of Geology and Paleeontology, in itself a striking 

 monument of conscientious toil, which demanded several years of 

 steady application in its compilation. The preparation of this 

 volume was a labour of love with the author, whose wide literary 

 knowledge, proficiency as a linguist, and keen interest in tracing- 

 out the course of development in the studj' of these sciences, specially 

 qualified him for such a task. This reliable, comprehensive, and 

 well- written work has been translated into English by Mrs. M. 

 Ogilvie Gordon, and issued in somewhat abridged form. It has 

 with some justification been maintained that in this book, as in 

 so much of von Zittel's puiely scientific writings, the character of 

 tlie work suffered in a certain degree from the author's too strictly 

 objective method of treatment ; it was not that he lacked the critical 

 or imaginative faculties, but we must rather suppose that the 

 exercise of these was ol'ten purposely held in check in the endeavour 

 to ensure an entirely truthful and precise presentation of facts. 



