My dear Sir,

I heard from M. Hoek about the Pycnogonida and your note has of course decided me to send them to him—¹ He will be rather surprised when he sees them for some are about 2 feet across!—

Might I ask you to take the trouble to write me a line whether you think I might also offer him the Cirripeds?—² Or perhaps you might suggest someone else for them—

I have a difficulty about the Crustacea— there are many very normal new species, and a good many abnormal and very interesting deep-sea things—but on the whole the description of them will be a dry and lengthy task. Prof: Claus will not undertake the drudgery of the ordinary Decapods and will restrict himself to the Schizopods and such closely allied things as Nebalia—and to larval forms. I wished of course to get G. O. Sars but he is too much engaged at home.³ The British Museum people urge me to send the whole to M^r. Miers but I fear I should only get something in the style of a Brit: Mus: catalogue

The catalogue of the Crustacea of New Zealand seems to me to be excessively meagre and bald—⁴ Perhaps you would kindly give me your advice— It is possible that A. Milne Edwards might undertake them or Buchholz who did the German arctic forms but I would rather not send them abroad if I could help it.⁵

Thank you and my other friends very heartily for your kind defence in ‘Nature’.⁶

Believe me | yours very truly | C. Wyville Thomson