MEMOIR. XXIX 



setts Geological Report. In the condition of American sci- 

 ence at that day, it was a work of inestimable value, though 

 his only material compensation was one copy of the Report, 

 and several copies of the Appendix. At a later period he 

 was appointed by the State as one of a scientific commis- 

 sion for a more thorough geological and botanical survey. 

 In this capacity he prepared his " Report on Insects Injuri- 

 ous to Vegetation," first published in 1841, reprinted by 

 himself under the name of " Treatise," instead of " Report," 

 in 1842, and again in a revised form in 1852. The whole 

 sum received by him, from the State, for this labor, was 

 $175. After his death, the book was reprinted by the 

 State, in an admirable form, with engravings, and it is upon 

 it that his scientific reputation will mainly rest. 



It is admitted by all who read this treatise that it is 

 almost a model combination of the strictly scientific spirit 

 with the clearest popular statement. In the words of a 

 younger entomologist, writing of Dr. Harris : 



" He was remarkably exact in bis observations, careful in his statements, 

 and painstaking in a high degree. His generalizations have stood well the 

 tests of subsequent research, and a more extended array of facts. He 

 never lost sight of the end at which he aimed ; never allowed undue weight 

 to any set of observations, even when they were his own, and never left any 

 thing to conjecture. His insight into nature and relations of affinity, al- 

 though they might be based upon a meagre series of natural objects, was 

 truly enviable. Conservative in his methods and tendencies, he was never- 

 theless quite independent, and had a clear, well-balanced and penetrating 

 mind. His acquaintance with American entomology was broader and more 

 exact than that of any one before or since his day, and yet in nothing that 

 he has written do'we find him proclaiming his own discoveries." 



