VI PREFACE. 



Polyps, those of Dana, Verrill, and Milne-Edwards. Great 

 prominence is purposely given to the Mammals and 

 Birds of this country, that all may have at least an 

 accessible catalogue of these two groups, in which every 

 one is interested ; the other groups, however, are not 

 neglected. 



The wood-cut illustrations have been designed mainly 

 from original papers, and from nature, and, with few 

 exceptions, have not before appeared in hand-books of 

 natural history. The cuts of the Mammals are mainly 

 from Schinz, Audubon & Bachman, and Richardson ; of 

 the Birds, mainly from Audubon and Wilson ; of the 

 Reptiles and Batrachians, from Holbrook ; of the Fishes, 

 from Storer, Holbrook, DeKay, and from nature ; of the 

 Insects, mainly from Harris, Say, Sanborn, and from 

 nature ; of the Crustaceans, mainly from nature and Re- 

 ports ; of the Mollusks, from Binney, Woodward, Gould, 

 Lea, Conrad, and from nature; of the Echinoderms, 

 from nature, Agassiz, and Miiller ; of the Acalephs, from 

 Agassiz ; of the Polyps, from Dana, Milne-Edwards, and 

 Verrill ; of the Protozoa, mainly from Ehrenberg and 

 Huxley. 



The drawings were made with great skill and faith- 

 fulness by Mr. Edward S. Morse, well known as a natural- 

 ist, Mr. N. Brown, Mr. E. Burrill, and Mrs. J. W. Dickin- 

 son. The engraving was done by Messrs. Henry Marsh, 

 N. Brown, and J. F. Richardson. It is sufficient praise 

 for Mr. Morse to say, that the Grizzly Bear, Prong- 

 horn, nearly all of the Mollusks, the Echinoderms, and 

 many others, were drawn by him ; for Messrs. Burrill 



