1875.] President's Address. 85 



meadows of the southern ocean ; but in such cases it is shelter, not food, 

 that has localized the assemblages. But this reminds me that I am 

 becoming discursive ; and I will conclude my digression by referring to 

 the rarity of its phytophagous animals, as being to me one of the most 

 wonderful and inexplicable phenomena of oceanic life ; for with the 

 exception of those that live upon the ubiquitous pelagic Diatomacege, 

 there are very few marine animals of general distribution or of any size 

 that feed on marine plants. 



While these words were being penned the sad tidings have reached us 

 of the premature death of one of the brightest intellects and most culti- 

 vated members of the ' Challenger' Scientific Staff, R. von Willemoes-Siihm, 

 whose beautiful paper, " On a new Genus of Amphipod Crustaceans," 

 appeared in our ' Transactions.' This admirable piece of work will soon 

 be followed by a second from his pen on Cirripedes, illustrated by six 

 plates, and a third on the development of certain pelagic Decapod Crus- 

 taceans. His loss, which occurred on board off Tahiti, and was due to 

 erysipelas, is, indeed, an irreparable one, and cannot but cloud the last 

 year of the ' Challenger ' voyage. 



The protracted absence of H.M.S. ' Challenger,' and the great im- 

 portance in the interest of science that the Director of its Scientific Staff, 

 Professor "Wyville Thomson, should not leave the Expedition, has, by de- 

 taching that gentleman from his duties in the Natural-History Chair of the 

 Edinburgh University for so much longer a period than was anticipated, 

 placed that University in a very difficult position, and obliged its Court to 

 appeal to the Society. It was originally arranged that the duties of the 

 Chair should, for the first two years of Professor Thomson's absence, be 

 undertaken by Professor Carus, of Leipsic ; on the third, Professor Carus 

 being compelled to return to Germany, the University Court represented 

 to the Lords of the Council that, having regard to the fact that Professor 

 Thomson was withdrawn from his professorial duties by Her Majesty's 

 Government, and in accordance with the strong recommendation of the 

 Eoyal Society, it was not unreasonable to hope that both the Government 

 and the Society would come to their aid by permitting Professor Huxley to 

 deliver the University course of Lectures. The Lords of the Council 

 having granted the permission, your Council did not hesitate to make 

 such arrangements as enabled Professor Huxley to absent himself from 

 the Society for the purpose required. The result has in no way inconveni- 

 enced the Society; Professor Huxley managed to attend the Council- 

 Meetings, he conducted at a distance the editorial work that belonged to 

 him, and such of his duties as could be performed only on the spot were 

 kindly undertaken by Professor Stokes. 



I have only to add that Professor Thomson's return being further delayed 

 till July 1876, Professor Huxley's services have again been applied for 

 by the University Court ; and, having been granted by the Lords of the 

 Council, similar arrangements for his absence to those which ottaiued 



