132 LIFE OF ALBANY HANCOCK, BY DE. EMBLETON. 



great part from his own investigations, and is supported by such 

 close reasoning and legitimate inference that it appears more like 

 a statement of facts than an hypothesis, and is one of his best 

 achievements. 



In 1870, in reply to some observations of M. Lacaze-Duthiers, 

 in the Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., July, 1870, and Comptes Ben- 

 dus, May 30, 1870, on the larva state of Molgula, Mr. Hancock 

 maintained that this Ascidian on emerging from the egg always 

 assumes the tadpole-larva form ; and in the same paper he took 

 the opportunity to describe about twenty new species of British 

 simple Ascidians, determined by Mr. Alder and himself. 



Of the principal work on the Tunicata Mr. Hancock had, up 

 to the autumn of 1873, completed about two-thirds and a portion 

 of the remainder. Ill health overtook him, and he deeply re- 

 gretted that he was compelled to abandon the valuable work 

 which he so much loved, and which he had so greatly illustrated, 

 when he was within two years of the time when he expected to 

 be able to bring it to a conclusion. 



Slowly increasing debility of frame, with dyspnoea and cough 

 on exertion, rendered application to his work too onerous to be 

 continued; even thought on the objects of his study could not 

 be long kept up. Change of air and rest at Sir "W. Gr. Arm- 

 strong's hospitable seat at Cragside benefited him from time to 

 time, but he declined more and more through the summer and 

 autumn, owing to dropsical symptoms supervening, and died 

 tranquilly on the 24th of October, 1873, deeply regretted by 

 all who knew his worth. 



Albany Hancock kept up a correspondence with most of the 

 leading Naturalists, as his numerous letters and presents of books 

 and pamphlets testify; with Darwin, Owen, Huxley, Hooker, 

 Sharpey, Forbes, Phillips, Allman, Busk, and several other dis- 

 tinguished Naturalists of Great Britain ; Cohen, of Breslau ; 

 Suess, of Vienna; Kelaart, of Ceylon; Agassiz, of U.S.A.; La- 

 caze-Duthiers, of Paris; Loven, of Stockholm; Bergh, of Copen- 

 hagen ; and others of the Continent of Europe. 



He was not without special honours in his own country or 

 from abroad. He was elected, in 1845, a corresponding member 



