ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 215 



miocene strata, and the continental miocene Mastodon has been 

 satisfactorily determined as a fossil of our older pliocene (Norwich 

 Crag). But M. Agassiz is peculiarly unfortunate in citing Dr. Fal- 

 coner and Major Cautley (p. xi) as supporting, by their dis;coveries 

 of fossil animals in the Sub-Himalajan Mountains, his views as to 

 marked distinctions of the tertiary fauna, since they have done more 

 than any other palaeontologists to prove the progressive and undi- 

 stinguishable blending of eocene into miocene, and this into pliocene, 

 by the mammalian fossils, and have shown that some species of 

 reptiles actually exist at the present day which were coeval with the 

 Himalayan Anoplothere, Mastodon and Hippopotamus. 



The attention of several distinguished naturalists has lately been 

 directed to the investigation of the structure and classification of 

 Trilobites. A valuable work on these singular extinct Crustacea has 

 been lately given to the world by Professor Burmeister, who is now- 

 revising an English translation of it, to be published by the Ray 

 Society. In this work there is a systematic arrangement of all the 

 species known to the author, and there are dissertations of great 

 value on their organization. M.Emmerich has also published a very 

 important memoir on the structure of Trilobites, a translation of 

 which has lately appeared in Mr. Taylor's ' Scientific Memoirs.' In 

 Sweden, Professor Loven, a naturalist distinguished for his researches 

 among the invertebrate animals, has commenced the investigation of 

 the Trilobites of that country with great success. His papers may 

 be found in the Proceedings of the Swedish Academy for 1844 and 

 184'5. All the memoirs now enumerated are illustrated by excel- 

 lent plates. Lastly, in the * Geology of Russia' will be found an 

 interesting note on the affinities of Trilobites, by Professor Milne 

 Edwards. 



In what I have said of the accessions during the last year to our 

 knowledge of the Devonian rocks, I have referred to the Monograph 

 by M. Agassiz of the Fishes of the Old Red Sandstone, which those 

 most capable of appreciating its value consider as one of his most 

 important works ; and I have reason to know that he himself views 

 it in that light. I again refer to it in this place on account of some 

 peculiar views there developed which I do not find altogether as- 

 sented to by those whose judgements on this subject arc much looked 

 up to. 



M. Agassiz states, ]). xxx, " que les poissons de I'Old Red repre- 

 sentent, par lew structure toiite particulicre, I'age embryonicpie du 

 regn(; des poissons." A part of the ])eculiar structure which he 

 especially dvvciUs upon is, " le devcloppement extraordinaire (jue 

 presetite le systemc cutanc ;" but he acknowledges that " malheu- 

 retisement nous n'avons pas encore des tt^rmes de conjparaison av(>c 

 les poissons do. la creation actuelle assez uombreux pour n|)prLH'ier 

 la valeur de ces caracteres." Another feature of tlu; pecidiar struc- 

 ture which he points out is the continuity of the vertical fins. This 



