CHAPTER XV.

_DISCOVERIES AMONG THE CRUSTACEA._

THE reader will find this chapter, as well as the next, rather uninteresting. But it is necessary that the chapters should be written, in order to show the contributions which Edward made to the scientific discoveries of his day.

[Sidenote: _CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. BATE._]

Mr. C. Spence Bate of Plymouth, the well-known zoologist, entered into correspondence with Edward in 1856, while the latter was engaged in collecting marine objects along the sea-coast of Banff. It appears that Mr. Bate had sent to Edward some publications on Natural History, and that Edward requested Mr. Bate to name the various Crustaceans which he sent him. To this Mr. Bate willingly assented, and a correspondence began between them, which continued for many years. Most of the letters have been lost, and those which have been preserved “in the box in the lumber garret” are not of very great interest.

Edward seems to have been particularly busy between the years 1861 and 1865. Multitudes of bottles were sent, during that interval, from Banff to Plymouth. The bottles were often smashed in passing through the post. Sometimes there was only a mass of debris to examine. In one batch there was a new species of Leucothoe; in another, part of an Eusirus—“the _first_ British specimen.”

In one of his letters, Mr. Bate says: “There are two minute specimens of a prawn which I do not recognise. They are too much damaged for examination; but if you can find any perfect ones like these, I should like you to send them to me. I will send you shortly a paper that I have recently published in the _Annals of Natural History_ on the “Nest-Building Crustacea.” If you know or meet with any anecdotes relative to these animals, I should be glad if you would communicate them to me, as I am endeavouring to collect all of that kind that I can. I assure you that your letters are always welcome, and much valued.”

In the midst of Edward’s explorations, he discovered a new Isopod, which he forwarded to Mr. Bate. It was specifically named, in honour of the discoverer, _Praniza Edwardii_.[47] On subsequent examination, and after comparing it with the Anceus, Messrs. Bate and Westwood changed the name into _Anceus Edwardii_.[48]

[Sidenote: _THE ANCEUS._]

The Anceus is only about a sixth of an inch in length. But, in Natural History, size goes for nothing. The minutest animal is equal to the largest, in point of value and interest. The Anceus creeps on the bottom of the sea; but it swims with great rapidity,—propelling itself forward by the quick motions of a series of ciliated fins placed beneath the tail. The Anceus, in its young state, is parasitical, and is furnished with a sharp process at the apex of the anterior lip, to form a strong lanceolate organ, with which the animal cuts its way through the skin of the fish on which it preys. It was at first thought that _Praniza Edwardii_ was a female, and that the male had not yet been discovered. On seeing this stated in the number of the _Sessile-eyed Crustacea_ in which the Praniza was noticed, Edward wrote the following letter to Mr. Spence Bate:—

[Sidenote: _PRANIZA EDWARDII._]

“My dear Sir—Some considerable time ago I sent you amongst other things, what I believed to be two distinct species of Anceus,—the one being considerably smaller than the other. Of the lesser, there were several specimens; but of the larger, only two. The answer which you gave me was, that they were _Anceus maxillaris_. At this I was somewhat disappointed. I admit that the larger were of that species, but not the smaller. And since I received your last number, which treats on this subject, I am now more than ever convinced that they are distinct. I consider the smaller specimen to be the male of the _Praniza Edwardii_. I may be wrong, but that is my conviction. I need not, of course, attempt to point out the distinctions to you; but perhaps you will allow me to state a few words on the subject, and what makes me think that he is the male of _Praniza Edwardii_.

“In the first place, I would say that this little fellow is decidedly a deep-sea species,—that is, so far as my experience goes. I have never found him but on the old shells and stones brought up by the fishermen’s lines. There he seems to prowl about seeking what he may devour,—prying into every crevice and corner in search of food, and also into the tenantless worm-cases with which these old shells and stones are generally encrusted. Now these are exactly the habitats and manners of the _Praniza Edwardii_ when adult. Where I find the one, I am almost sure to find the other. I have found them together, and taken them out of the same worm-tube. But though this does not amount to an entire proof, still it helps to strengthen my conjecture that they are male and female.

“In the second place, besides the striking disparity in size, the mandibles in this species appear to me to differ considerably from the same organs in the _Anceus maxillaris_. Here I have never seen them to overlap each other as they do in the one just named. And, having frequently kept them alive, I have seen their mandibles open and shut times without number; and, so far as I could make out, they never crossed each other in the least. Indeed, I do not think they could have done so, from their construction. They seem to me, when they do shut, to go together in the fashion of a rat-trap when closed. And besides several other distinctions which I have been able to discern, there are two or three small bunches of stiff hairs or spines projecting from the front of the head which I do not see in _Anceus maxillaris_ and the others which you describe. I would also point out that there is a most remarkable similarity in the tail or hind-part of this species and the same portion of the _Praniza Edwardii_.”

In support of his views, Edward forwarded some further specimens of the supposed male to Mr. Bate, for his inspection. We have not been able to find Mr. Bate’s answer. It has doubtless been lost, like many of the missing letters. But we gather from a future letter of Edward, that Mr. Bate considered the specimens to be _Anceus rapax_. “Never having seen a description or plate of that species,” said Edward, “I can say nothing as to that matter. . . . But, call him what you like, I am more than ever persuaded that he is the tight little husband of _Praniza Edwardii_; and, as such, I now intend to place them together, and to name them accordingly.”

[Sidenote: _THE CRUSTACEA._]

Many of the Crustacea which Edward collected, did not belong to the Sessile-eyed order, which Mr. Bate was studying and classifying. These Crustaceans he sent to other observers. For instance, when Mr. Bate was about to set out for Paris to examine Milne-Edward’s typical Crustacea, he received from Edward a letter containing some Entomostraca which had been collected from the stomach of a mackerel. “I do not,” replied Mr. Bate, “study the Entomostraceous Crustacea myself; so I gave some of those you sent me to Mr. Lubbock, and some to Dr. Baird of the British Museum, from both of whom I hope you will hear.”

[Sidenote: _SHORT SUN FISH PARASITES._]

In a future letter, Edward sent Mr. Bate some worm-like parasites found on a Short Sun Fish taken near Banff. “The genus,” said Edward, “is very little known in this country. It has hitherto been found only on the Flying Fish. It seems, however, to frequent the Sun Fish. This was not previously known. When once these creatures take a firm hold, it is impossible to shake them off or get rid of them,—they sink so deep into the animal’s body. There are from two to three longish barbs which protrude from the neck, close to the head, and which appear to serve exactly the same purpose as the barb does on the hook. One which I cut out—and no easy matter it was—had its head sunk at least an inch and a half into the fatty ridge of the fish. In the _Illustrated London News_ of July 10th, 1858, there is an illustration given of a Flying Fish with a parasite attached to its back, and having a lot of barnacles adhering to it. The fish here figured is said to have leapt from the sea into the mizen chains of the East Indiaman _Monarch_, whilst on her homeward voyage from Calcutta. The parasite in that case was quite different from the one I obtained from the Sun Fish. It was there called _Pennella Blanvillii_.”

[Sidenote: _THE MICROSCOPE._]

In one of his communications, Edward sent Mr. Bate some parasites which he had taken from the gills of a Crab. Many of the Crustaceans found by him were so minute that they could scarcely be examined in detail with the naked eye. Mr. Bate accordingly, with great kindness, made Edward a present of a microscope to enable him to carry on his minute investigations. “It is,” said Mr. Bate, in his letter announcing the departure of the parcel, “what we call a simple microscope, and I think you will find it adapted for examining things out of or in doors. It is made portable, and can be used upon the rocks as well as in a parlour. It is similar to one which I use myself for everything, excepting when I examine into structural anatomy. I was not able,” added Mr. Bate, “to have it prepaid farther than Bristol; so I beg to enclose a few stamps, which I hope will cover it for the remainder of the way.”

Edward at first found a difficulty in managing the microscope, on which Mr. Bate sent him a long letter illustrated by diagrams, informing him how he was to use it. “I am sure,” he said, “you are too sharp a fellow not to understand it thoroughly after these few hints have been given you. . . . I will also send you a pocket lens, which you will find very useful. . . . You will find it convenient during this cold weather (24th November) to bring home anything, and then look at it at your leisure, rather than study it upon the sea-shore.”

[Sidenote: _A POSSIBLE SUB-CURATORSHIP._]

Mr. Bate must have been a thoroughly kind and good-hearted man. He may possibly have heard something of the circumstances of Edward, and he was now on the look-out for some higher vocation for the Naturalist than that of “ladies’ shoemaker.” The Rev. George Gordon, also a zoologist, who was in constant communication with Mr. Bate, may have probably informed him of Edward’s ambition, which was, to be appointed curator or sub-curator of some important museum. Hence Mr. Bate’s letter to Edward. After informing him that Mr. Lubbock would shortly ask him to make a collection of Crustacea, and advising him to send certain fishes in proof spirit to the British Museum, he proceeded,—

“I have one thing more to say; but I write in ignorance of your circumstances, and therefore, if I tread upon a _corn_, pray forgive me. I have been asked if I can recommend a person to the College of Surgeons, whose duty will be to attend upon the Curators and Professors, and make preparations, and do other work in Natural History. The salary is £1 : 10s. a week. If such a thing will suit you, let me know, and I will write to propose you. If the place is not filled up, I think it might be got.”

This letter raised a glimmer of hope in Edward’s breast. Was he really to be rewarded at last for his efforts in Natural History, by an appointment which would bring him into communication with scientific men? It may be mentioned, that Edward had already been appointed keeper of the Scientific Society’s museum at Banff, at a salary of £2 : 2s. per annum. This was of course merely a nominal remuneration, and the occupation did not tend to feed Edward’s thirst for further knowledge in Natural History. He was therefore most willing to accede to Mr. Bate’s proposition; and he sent in his application, accompanied by testimonials, to Professor Quekett of the Royal College of Surgeons.

[Sidenote: _EDWARD’S DISAPPOINTMENT._]

Unfortunately Mr. Bate had been misinformed as to the nature of the proposed appointment. “I am fearful,” said Professor Quekett, in his letter to Edward, “that some of your kind friends have misinformed you as to the nature of the appointment which is vacant. It is only that of fourth museum porter. The duties are: to keep the room clean, dust bottles, etc., at the wage of a guinea a week. Now, from what I learn of you through your testimonials, and from what I have heard of your reputation and high standing as a Naturalist, I think such an appointment is far beneath your notice.”

Edward’s hopes were once more blighted. Science could do nothing for him, and he returned once more to his cobbler’s stool. He had become accustomed to disappointment; nevertheless he continued to pursue his work as a Naturalist. In fact, he went on working harder than before. As Mr. Bate was only engaged with one branch of the Crustacea—the Sessile-eyed,—and as other Naturalists were engaged in investigating other branches of Marine Zoology, Edward was referred to these gentlemen,—more particularly to the Rev. A. Merle Norman of Sedgefield, Ferryhill, county of Durham; Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys of London; and Mr. Joshua Alder of Newcastle-on-Tyne,—all of whom were great sea-dredgers.

[Sidenote: _ZOOLOGISTS._]

Zoologists usually take up some special subject and work it up. They freely correspond with their fellow-zoologists in different parts of the country with the object of obtaining their help,—which is rarely or never withheld. There is a sort of freemasonry amongst Naturalists in this respect. Thus, when Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys opened his correspondence with Edward, he said, “No introduction can be necessary from one Naturalist to another.” While artists and literary men form themselves into cliques, and cut each other up in social circles and in newspapers, Naturalists, on the contrary, seem to be above such considerations of envy and uncharitableness.

[Sidenote: _REV. A. M. NORMAN._]

There is also a fellow-feeling amongst them, and they are ready to help each other in various other ways. Thus, when Edward was informed by Mr. Spence Bate that the Rev. Mr. Norman was working up the British Entomostracous Crustacea, including the Fish Parasites, Edward immediately began to scour the coast, and wade along the waves as the tide came in, plunging into the rock-pools, in order to procure the animals of which Mr. Norman was in search. He did this, regardless of his health, and also regardless of his pocket.

A long correspondence had already taken place between Edward and Mr. Norman; but, in the midst of it, Edward was again laid up by illness, which lasted for about six weeks. The correspondence dropped for a time; but it was afterwards renewed. Mr. Norman, in his letter of May 12th, 1862, observed, “I have been absent from home ever since I received your last note, or I should have answered it before. I am extremely sorry to hear of the cause, your serious illness, which prevented your answering my two last letters, and seemed to end a correspondence from which I had derived so much pleasure,—finding in yourself such a kindred, nature-loving spirit. I am rejoiced, however, that God has mercifully raised you up again after so much suffering, and that you are recovering the blessings of health and strength.

“Many thanks for the promise of your kind offices for me in procuring Fish Parasites. Our knowledge of them is at present but limited, and a large number of species new to our Fauna, may, I am satisfied, be found, if properly looked after. I trust, therefore, that you may extend your knowledge of the Crustacea of the Moray Firth to this branch of the subject.”

It would occupy too much space to detail the contents of the letters which Edward received from Mr. Norman and Mr. Spence Bate while their respective works were in process of publication. But there are several facts in them worthy of being noticed. There was one Crustacean about which some difficulty had arisen. It was the _Mysis spinifera_, which Edward had first found in the Moray Firth in the year 1858. He had sent it to one of his correspondents, in order that he might give it its name. But it remained unnoticed and unknown for a period of about four years, when it was re-discovered in Sweden by M. Goes, who at once published the fact. “Thus,” says Edward, “the first finder, as well as the country in which this Crustacean was first found, have both been ignored in the records of science.”

[Sidenote: _NEW SPECIES DISCOVERED._]

Edward discovered many new species, some of which had never been met with before, and others which had not been met with in Britain. Some were recognised and named, but others were not. “The number of specimens I collected,” says Edward, “was immense. It must have been so from the various methods I adopted to procure them, and from the fact that I never lost a single opportunity of obtaining even but one object when it could be got. Labour, time, cold, wet, privation, were nothing, so that I could but secure the specimen that I sought for. . . . There are still several new species which I discovered and sent to gentlemen years ago. All I knew about them, from letters I received in return, is that they were _new_; but whether they have ever received names, or whether the discoveries have been made public, I do not know.”

[Sidenote: _THE VIBILIA BOREALIS._]

Mr. Spence Bate did every justice to Edward in the discoveries which he made of _new species_, in connection with his branch of the Sessile-eyed Crustacea. In one case, Edward caught only the anterior moiety of a small Crustacean (_Protomedeia hirsutimana_), and yet Mr. Bate includes it in his list, and gives a drawing of it. Mr. Bate also did every justice to the accurate, description of the habits of the species which Edward forwarded to him. For instance, Edward discovered the _Vibilia borealis_, a new species, in the Moray Firth, on which Mr. Spence Bate observes—

“Hitherto the species of this genus have been taken only as pelagic, in tropical or sub-tropical latitudes. It is an interesting fact that this species should have been taken off the coast of Banff, from whence it was sent us by that very successful observer Mr. Edward, who, in writing, says: ‘I can say little as to its habits. I took eleven, and kept a few alive for a short time, but observed nothing in their manners beyond that which may be seen in the majority of species. I supplied them with plenty of sand, and also with a few marine plants, but they neither seemed to be burrowers nor climbers, as they never went into the one nor appeared to care for the other. They, however, swam a little. This they do somewhat after the manner of _Callisoma crenata_; in other words, they rise gradually from the bottom until they reach the top; then, putting on more power, they swim round and round the vessel. With close observation I observed that the superior antennæ were kept pretty well up, and very widely apart, whereas the inferior were always directed downwards. All the legs were kept doubled up. I never saw them stretched out. They would then sink once more to the sand at the bottom. There they would rest sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes longer, when they would again repeat their voluntary evolutions. They did not, however, always rise to the surface. The journey was sometimes performed to about mid-water. They are, when alive, a most beautiful coloured species, variegated not unlike _Urothroë elegans_, and rivalling that animal in brightness of tints. I took one, however, that was all over a most brilliant red. I have been told that this species has never been found outside the Medusa. However this may be, all mine were. And what appears to be most extraordinary is, that we have had no Medusæ here this season.” Edward found another species, new to Britain, _Themisto Crassicornis_, which exist in large quantities in July, August, and September. Mr. Bate says, “Mr. Edward informs us that he has seen specimens of these Crustaceans thrown on shore in extraordinarily large quantities. After a storm one night he saw them forming a band an inch and a half deep for thirty yards along the beach.”[49]

[Sidenote: _EDWARD’S CLOSE OBSERVATION._]

Mr. Bate so much admired Edward’s enthusiasm in the cause of Natural History, that he more than once urged him to publish his observations: “I received from you,” he says, “a few days since, a parcel of _Eurydice pulchra_, in sand, one of which only was alive. I have been much interested in watching its active habits, and the manner in which it buries itself in the sand. . . . I wish that you would write some papers on the habits of these creatures. Keep a few at home under as favourable conditions as possible. I am sure much is yet to be learnt about them. I know no one better fitted to work out the subject than yourself. For instance, get some of the _Podocerus capillatus_, and find out how it spins the web that makes the nest; and closely watch all their ways.”

[Sidenote: _EDWARD’S DIFFICULTIES._]

Edward might no doubt have written and published many papers in the scientific journals. He might have gained praise, fame, and honour. But what mattered these to him? The principal thing that he wanted was time—time not only for his investigations, but to earn money for the maintenance of his family. He had now a wife and eleven children to support. He earned nothing by science: he earned everything by his shoemaker’s awl. What could the _Podocerus capillatus_ do for his family? Nothing whatever! His entire labours were gratuitous. Properly speaking, Naturalists should be gentlemen of independent fortune. At all events, they should have some profession to live by; whilst Edward had nothing but his wretchedly-paid trade of shoemaking. The wonder is, that, with all his illnesses, arising for the most part from the results of exposure, he should have done so much, and continued his self-sacrificing investigations so long. But he seems to have been borne up throughout by his scientific enthusiasm, and by his invincible determination.

[Sidenote: _NEST-BUILDING CRUSTACEA._]

The _Podocerus capillatus_, to which Mr. Bate repeatedly directed Edward’s attention, is a very interesting Crustacean. It is about a quarter of an inch long. It is beautifully variegated, and builds its nests in a very bird-like manner in submarine forests. Edward found it in the rock-pools off Banff, where it built its nests on _Corallina officinalis_. The nest consists chiefly of a fine thread-like material woven and interlaced. The form of the nest is somewhat oval, the entrance being invariably at the top. “These nests,” says Mr. Bate, “are evidently used as a place of refuge and security, in which the parent protects and keeps her brood of young until they are old enough to be independent of the mother’s care.” The accompanying illustration is taken from Messrs. Bate and Westwood’s book. In this case, the nests were built in Plumularia, off Polperro, Cornwall.

A few extracts from Mr. Norman’s and Mr. Bate’s letters will serve to show the numerous new species which Edward continued to forward to these eminent zoologists.

Mr. Norman (September 24, 1862) writes: “The Mysis I referred to in my last letter is undescribed; and I propose to call it _Mysis longicornis_. Might I be allowed to keep the specimen? I retain it at any rate for the present, in order to draw up a description and figure.

[Sidenote: _NEW SPECIES FOUND._]

“I have made a most important discovery since I last wrote. On looking again at the specimens (of the Parasites taken by Edward from the Sun-fish) I find that I had confused two species together as _Læmargus muricatus_, and had passed by as the male of that species (looking at them only with the naked eye) a distinct species, which is _new_ to Britain, and which I am at present unable to name.”

[Sidenote: _SHRIMPS AND PARASITES._]

Mr. Norman wrote again (January 3, 1863): “Thanks for the Hyperia, which belongs to a different species to those you previously sent me. At present I cannot name them. The Annelid—a very curious fellow—I know nothing of. I will name the Sea-spider _Nymphon_. The treasure of the bottle was, however, the little white shrimp. It is _new_ to Britain, and possibly to science. We will call it, at any rate for the present, _Thysanopoda ensifera_, New Species. The genus is a very interesting one, and only one species, _Thysanopoda couchii_, was previously known in our seas.”

A few days later Mr. Norman wrote to Edward: “I gladly accept your suggestion that the Thysanopoda should be called _T. Batei_ (instead of _ensifera_), and I am as glad as you are to pay the compliment to Mr. Bate. . . . Your observations on the habits of the Thysanopoda are very interesting.”

Edward evidently supplied his correspondent with abundant examples, for, on the 27th of January 1863, Mr. Norman writes: “The parasite on the fin is _Anchorella rugosa_—not a common species. I hope you will procure more. The _Pagurus cuanensis_ bore on its back an example of a highly interesting genus of parasitic Crustacea, _Peltogaster_. The specimens do not belong to the species hitherto recognised in our seas; perhaps they are still undescribed.”

Mr. Bate also wrote to Edward during the same month of January: “I think that your last long-legged shrimp may be a new genus. If so, I propose calling it _Polledactylos_. . . . There are other things of much interest also. Do try what you can do in the way of collecting specimens of the young of crabs, etc. Your species of _Stenothoë clypeatus_ is new to Britain.”

[Sidenote: _MORE SPECIMENS WANTED._]

During the next few months Edward was in constant communication with Mr. Bate and Mr. Norman, who named for him an immense number of Crustacea. Many of them were new to Britain; some of them were new to science. On March 6th Mr. Bate writes: “The little fellow was a _Pettidium purpureum_. The long-legged Mysis are handsome chaps. The second is, I think, _Œdiceros sasignatus_: if so, it is _the first_ taken in Britain.” Again, shortly after, Mr. Bate asks, “Do you recollect a little fellow just like this? [giving a diagram]. I never saw the like of it before. Where did you get it? Do get me more! Is it a wood-borer? I am afraid that you will scold me when I tell you that I have not yet examined the green bottle which you sent me previously. I am just in the midst of describing a number of Crustacea put into my hands, belonging to the Boundary Commission between America and British Columbia. When I finish this work I will write to you again.”

A few days later Mr. Bate examines the green bottle, and writes a letter to Edward, in which he gives him the names of seventeen Crustacea which it contained. Mr. Bate was as voracious for further discoveries, as Edward himself was. In a letter of 10th December 1863, after giving an account of the various works on which he was engaged, he says: “Now, because I am working hard in the path that you love so well and labour so industriously in, and so adding to your own fame, do not say that I don’t deserve the results of your researches.”

Fame! that “imagined life in the breath of others”! What could fame do for poor Edward? What about his bread and cheese?

Curiously enough, the letter last mentioned did not at first reach Edward. It was re-posted by Mr. Bate, with the observation, “This has just come back to me as a returned letter, because Banff was unknown at the Post-office.”

[Sidenote: _PUZZLING SHRIMPS._]

Mr. Norman also continued to furnish Edward with the names of his various Crustacea, though he could not name some of them. For instance, on the 13th May 1863, he wrote to Edward: “The shrimps you have sent completely puzzle me. I must wait for a time until I can solve the mystery. I believe that they all belong to one species, yet there are three, if not four, distinct forms. The general characters are so much the same, that I cannot think there are two species. . . . But the curious thing is, that I have not yet seen a single specimen of the species carrying eggs. I hope that you will yet find some, as it will be most interesting to clear up not only the question of sex, but also to find out the manner in which the eggs are carried. These forms are amongst the most interesting things I have seen for a long time, because it would almost seem as though we had a Crustacean with three phases, just as the bee has—male, female, and worker.” After giving a number of names, Mr. Norman proceeds: “And lastly, the parasite from the Common Gurnard is a species _new_ to Britain.”

In his next letter Mr. Norman informs Edward that he is again going to Shetland on a dredging expedition with his friend Mr. Jeffreys. They are to go in a steamer, and “ought to do good work.” How Edward envied them—going dry-footed, well fed, well-clad, and in a steamer,—while he was working along shore, with no tools, but his hands and his bag-net.

[Sidenote: _ZOOLOGISTS IN ECSTASIES._]

Mr. Norman returned from Shetland in July, and immediately recommenced his correspondence with Edward. “One of your shrimps,” he said, “is _Caligus isonyx_, _new_ to our Fauna, and a very interesting one it is. The male is as yet unknown. I hope you may succeed in meeting with it.” Towards the end of the year Edward forwarded a number of species new to Britain,—amongst others _Eurycercus hamellatus_ (obtained from the stomach of the perch), _Chondracantha solex_, _Mysis mixta_, and others. In one bottle of Crustaceans _three new species_ were found. The zoologists were evidently in ecstasies. Mr. Norman exhibited the results of his researches at the next meeting of the British Association. In a letter, dated the 15th September 1863, he observed: “I enclose a list of _fifteen_ Moray Firth Amphipoda, which you have found, and which are unknown to me. If you now, or at any future time, should be able to favour me with specimens of any of them, I shall be extremely obliged.” The specimens were afterwards sent to Mr. Norman.

On the 6th of February 1864 Mr. Bate wrote to Edward: “You will be glad to learn that your little specimen is _Opis Essichtii_, and that it has not been found previously in Britain. I have reconsidered the little Hyperia, and think that you are right; your remarks convince me that my first opinion was the more correct. You will therefore call it _Hyperia Medusarum_.”

[Sidenote: _THE SESSILE-EYED CRUSTACEA._]

Mr. Bate was then publishing in parts his work on _The Sessile-eyed Crustacea_. He sent Edward the several parts as they appeared. About the beginning of 1855 Mr. Bate says: “You will soon get a new part of Crustacea, and then you will find that all my time and attention has been occupied with the Isopods. So _do_ try and look out for some of these, and leave the Amphipods alone for a little while.”

And again: “Please never apologise for writing to me about Natural History. We have now been such long correspondents, that unless I hear from you now and then, I begin to fancy myself forgotten. Your letters always give me pleasure. The crustacean that you speak of is a _Vibilia_, the _first_ taken in the British Islands. Please let me know its habitat, and as much of its habits as you can.”

In the meantime Mr. Norman was appealing to him for specimens of the Echinoderms, as he was about to prepare a paper on the subject. “I want your aid,” he said; “I know you will kindly give it me. The _Urothoes_ are extremely difficult, and I want specimens from as many parts of the coast as possible, of all varieties and sizes, and from all depths of water. Will you collect for me some from your neighbourhood, from young to the largest size of all you can meet with, keeping distinct those from the shore and those from the deep water? It is important that they should be well preserved. . . . Please get the specimens as soon as possible, and send them to me by rail.”

[Sidenote: _EDWARD’S INDUSTRY._]

Edward obeyed the behests of his several correspondents. He searched the rock pools, fished with his bag-net along the shore, and found various new specimens, which he sent to his friends. But he could not find the Echinodermata in deep water, for he had no means of reaching them. He had no boat, no dredging apparatus. Perhaps his correspondents forgot—perhaps they never knew—that he was a poor hard-working man, labouring at his trade during the day, with only a few hours in the early morning and a few hours at night, which he was able to employ in their service.

Not only did he work for his correspondents so industriously, but he also worked for others to whom they referred him. Thus Mr. Norman desired him to send his Sponges to Mr. Bowerbank, and his Ascidians to Mr. Alder of Newcastle, who were engaged in working up these subjects. The investigators did not know—for none of them ever saw him—that Edward had the greatest difficulty in earning money enough to maintain his large family. Sometimes, in fact, he was on the brink of starvation. And yet he worked for his naturalist friends as willingly and as hardly, perhaps more hardly, than if he had been a gentleman of independent fortune.

[Sidenote: _MR. BATE’S EULOGIUMS._]

When the _History of the Sessile-eyed Crustacea_ came out, the assistance which had been rendered by Edward to Mr. Bate was fully and generously acknowledged. Let any one look over the book, and he will find of how much service Edward was to Mr. Bate while he was preparing the work for publication. Mr. Bate frequently speaks of Edward as “our valued, able, and close observer.” In addition to the references to Edward already mentioned, we may subjoin the following. In speaking of the _Lysianassa longicornus_, Mr. Bate says that it “has been forwarded to him by that obliging and indefatigable naturalist, Mr. Edward of Banff;” that his only specimen of _Anonyx obesus_ has been sent to him by Mr. Edward; that the _Phoxus Holbelli_ has been sent to him from Banff “by that indefatigable lover of nature, Mr. Edward;” that the species of _Darwinia compressa_ was first taken by Mr. Edward at the entrance to the Moray Firth; that the first species of the _Calliope Ossiani_ had been received from Mr. Edward, “from which specimen the original description in the catalogue in the British Museum has been drawn up.” Mr. Bate also stated that he only knew of the genus Eurisus through an imperfect specimen which had been taken by Mr. Edward in the Moray Firth, “the first and only British representative of the genus that we have seen.” So too with the genus Protomedia, of which “only two specimens were collected at Banff by Mr. Edward.” A moiety was obtained of the first species, which was called _Protomedia hirsutimana_. In the second case, the entire Crustacean was obtained, of which Mr. Bate made a drawing and description, and he named it _Protomedia Whitei_, “in compliment to Mr. Adam White, author of a popular history of the British Crustacea.” Only a single specimen of the _Cratippus tenuipes_ was sent him by Mr. Edward, who knew nothing of its habits. Mr. Bate also stated that he “had only seen three specimens of the _Phoxus fusticaudatus_, which were discovered by his valued correspondent, Mr. Edward of Banff, attached to the brachiæ of the common Soldier Crab.”

[Sidenote: _EDWARD’S DISCOVERIES._]

Besides these discoveries, Edward found an immense variety of Crustaceans of other orders in the Moray Firth, which had never been found before. Some of these were new to Britain, some of them new to science. But we will not bewilder the reader by introducing the jaw-breaking names of the newly-discovered Crustaceans. We have thought it right, however, to mention a few of those introduced in Messrs. Bate and Westwood’s _History of the Sessile-eyed Crustacea_, for the purpose of confirming the statements which we have made as to the indefatigable enthusiasm of Edward in the pursuit of Natural History. It must also be mentioned that the Sessile-eyed Crustacea constitute only a single order, and that on the one side of them there are the Stalk-eyed Crustacea and on the other the Entomostraceous Crustacea.

[Sidenote: _THE FLOATING MEDUSA._]

There is one point, however, that must be referred to before we conclude this heavy chapter. The impression prevailed at one time that the Hyperiidæ were parasites of the Medusa or Jelly Fish. In 1862 Mr. Bate acknowledged the receipt of a Crustacean, which he denominated _Hyperia medusarum_. He said, “If I am correct, this is the first time that I have known it as British.” In a subsequent letter (23d December 1863), Mr. Bate said, “It is an interesting circumstance that you should have found the Hyperia and Lestrigonus free on the shore; inasmuch as they have previously only been known as inhabitants of the floating Medusa. I wish you would direct your attention further to the subject. . . . Hunt and be successful.”

The Rev. Mr. Norman also communicated with Edward about the same time, and informed him “that the Atylus is not a parasitical species, though there _are_ some Crustacea (Hyperia) which are parasitical upon Medusa.”

[Sidenote: _NEW CRUSTACEA FOUND._]

Upon further investigation, Edward came to the conclusion that the Hyperia is no more the parasite of the Medusa, because it is sometimes found upon it,—than a crow is the parasite of a tree because it sometimes lights upon it. As Edward’s name was now frequently quoted in matters of Zoology, he thought that it might be of some use to give the results of his observations to the world on the subject. Hence the appearance of his “Stray Notes on some of the Smaller Crustaceans,” which shortly after appeared in the Journal of the Linnean Society.[50]

It is probable that the facts in that paper, as stated by Edward, had some influence on the minds of Professor Westwood and Mr. Spence Bate; as _Hyperia medusarum_ does not appear in their list of Sessile-eyed Crustacea, the last part of which was published at the end of 1868.

To give an idea of the indefatigable industry of Edward in his researches among the Crustaceans, it may be mentioned, that of 294 found in the Moray Firth, not fewer than _twenty-six new species_ were added by Edward himself!

FOOTNOTES:

[47] _Annals of Natural History_, vol. ii.

[48] _History of the British Sessile-eyed Crustacea_, ii. 201.

[49] _History of the British Sessile-eyed Crustacea._ By C. Spence Bate and J. O. Westwood. Vol. ii. pp. 525-6.

[50] Linnean Society’s Journal (_Zoology_), vol. ix. pp. 143-7.