Obituary. 563 



About that time the writer remembers a remark that he made, 

 in conversation, to the effect that he proposed to devote the rest 

 of his life to the exploration and study of the coral-reefs and 

 islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In pursuance of this 

 idea he obtained from the U. S. Government the use of the 

 steamer " Albatross," of the U. S. Fish Commission, for several 

 long trips, both for deep-sea dredging and coral-reef work. How- 

 ever, he personally paid the "running expenses," such as for the 

 coal, oil, etc., and his scientific outfit and assistants. He told me 

 personally that these trips and those of the " Blake " were often 

 no pleasure trips for him, for they involved a great amount of 

 hard work and much sea-sickness at times. 



In 1891 he made his first cruise in the Albatross for deep-sea 

 explorations of the Pacific Ocean off S. America, Central America, 

 the Galapagos Islands, and Mexico ; in 189*7 he explored the 

 coral reefs of the Fiji Islands ; in 1899 and 1900 he made a very 

 extended exploration of the Pacific coral islands, including the 

 Marquesas, Paumotu, t Society, Fiji, Ellice, Gilbert, Marshall, 

 Caroline, Ladrone and other groups, and to Japan. In 1904 and 

 1905 he again explored the ocean depths off the west coasts of 

 North and South America, extending his cruise to Easter Island 

 and the Paumotus. 



In December, 1901, and January, 1902, he explored the great 

 Maldive Archipelago of coral islands in the chartered steamer 

 " Amra," steaming 1600 miles among the islands. The fully 

 illustrated report of this expedition by Mr. Agassiz is of great 

 interest and value. 



One of the most important results of his explorations of the 

 coral islands was the complete confirmation of the view, already 

 held by many geologists, that most coral reefs and islands, both 

 Atlantic and Pacific, are built upon eroded banks and shoals of 

 ancient rocks, and are not of such great thickness as had been 

 supposed, nor ordinarily due to gradual but extensive sinking of 

 the land, as Darwin and Dana believed. 



Mr. Agassiz was less known and appreciated popularly than 

 his illustrious father, but this was due partly to the fact that he 

 wrote few popular works and delivered very few public lectures. 

 Xor did he teach classes in the University. But his scientific 

 publications exceed those of his father. 



His specialties in Zoology were Hydrozoa and Echinoderms — 

 especially the Echini, in which he was the leading authority. In 

 Geology the structure and origin of coral islands and reefs were 

 his specialties. Among his earlier papers, however, there is one 

 on the embryology of annelids, one on the young stages of fishes, 

 and another on the larval development of JBalanoglossus. 



The following list, which includes most of his more important 

 publications, is by no means complete, but it will serve to give a 

 good idea of the variety and great extent of his published works. 

 He told the writer, a day or two before he started on his last 

 trip, that he had other reports in preparation, and that he 



