JVotices of Eminent Men deceased in Great Britain. 303 



ler's work, was in the highest degree vague and indeterminate. His 

 researches, however, have established in the most complete manner, 

 and have placed in every respect in the fullest and clearest light, 

 the whole history and relations of this curious family. He has de- 

 monstrated its arrangement into four divisions, including nine genera, 

 and more than twenty species. Of each species he has developed 

 the whole anatomy with the same exactness as if they had been re- 

 cent objects easily preserved, overcoming the many and great obsta- 

 cles which, as it has been always noticed, the fossilized state presents 

 to such inquiries. Persons who are at all aware of the complicated 

 structure of the Crinoidea, and the numerous articulations which 

 enter into the composition of each individual, must feel all the ar- 

 duousness of such a task ; but those only can fully appreciate the 

 extreme care with which it has been performed, who have had an 

 opportunity of examining Mr. Miller's collection of original speci- 

 mens now deposited in the Museum of the Bristol Institution, and 

 of comparing these with the illustrations published in his work. 



The great merit of this treatise secured its immediate reception as 

 the standard work on the subject, by all the scientific writers inter- 

 ested in similar pursuits on the continent as well as in this country ; 

 and reference is now uniformly made to it as such. The author had 

 intended to follow tip this work, as before mentioned, by a similar 

 examination of our coralline remains; but it is feared that he has 

 left no papers on this branch at all prepared, for publication. A pa- 

 per of his, published in the Transactions of the Geological Society, 

 contains very valuable contributions towards the history of our fossil 

 belemnites, and has been most favorably referred to by the French 

 author who has subsequently published the standard monography of 

 that department. 



Mr. Miller's talents have been highly estimated by the ablest of 

 our naturalists and geological writers. Professor Elumenbach, Ba- 

 ron Cuvier, MM. Latreille and D'Aubigne, have expressed in letters 

 to him high commendation of his works. Professor Bucklatid ob- 

 tained his assistance in arranging the valuable collection of organic 

 remains belonging to the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. The same 

 Professor, in his very interesting paper on the recent discovery in 

 this country of fossil remains belonging to the flying reptile the Pier- 

 odactylus, mentions that Mr. Miller first suggested to him the possi- 

 bility, thus confirmed, that the fossil bones commonly supposed to 

 belong to birds really appertained to that animal. And Mr. Cony- 



