professors, and had to teach the subjects best known or chosen by them. Lamarck, as the last comer, had to take what the others left and would not undertake to teach. It was the professorship which related to the class of animals, called by Linnæus, worms and insects, and which had hitherto been almost overlooked, on account of the supposed unimportance of the subject. Until that time Lamarck had never studied animals, and of course knew nothing of the branch of zoology which was now entrusted to him. He had taken an interest in shells, and had made a small collection, but this was all. But he did not shrink from the task before him. He set to work with inexhaustible courage, availing himself of the advice of his friends, and applying to the new study all that sagacity and perseverance which had already been so invaluable to him in his botanical works. By his indefatigable zeal in this new sphere of inquiry Lamarck was soon enabled to discover and to demonstrate that the animals whose history had been left to him through contempt, were quite as interesting as others, if not more so, on account of their vast numbers, the important part they perform in nature, the infinite variety of their forms, and the wonders of their organization. His extraordinary labours in this department have contributed much more to his fame than his botanical writings, and are certainly more valuable. He seems to have exercised his abilities to the utmost in these researches; and if, since that time, it has been necessary in some instances to alter, to amend, or to extend the limits of his work, yet it remains a lasting memento of his talents, and it will be long ere any one will be found sufficiently profound in knowledge to undertake a general revision and alteration of his works.