VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 7 
We are now fairly in the tropics. "The trades v blow 
heavily, and yesterday was a dreary day for those unused to 
the ocean ; the beautiful blue water, of a peculiar metallic 
tint, as remarkable in color, it seemed to me, as the water 
of the Lake of Geneva, did not console us for the heavy 
moral and physical depression of sea-sick mortals. To-day 
the world looks brighter ; there is a good deal of motion, 
but we are more accustomed to it. This morning the lec- 
ture had, for the first time, a direct bearing upon the work 
of, the expedition. The subject was, " How to observe, 
and what are the objects of scientific explorations in mod- 
ern times." 
" My companions and myself have come together so sud- 
denly and so unexpectedly on our present errand, that we 
have had little time to organize our work. The laying out 
of a general scheme of operations is, therefore, the first and 
one of the most important points to be discussed between 
us. The time for great discoveries is passed. No student 
of nature goes out now expecting to find a new world, or 
looks in the heavens for any new theory of the solar system. 
The work of the naturalist, in our day, is to explore worlds 
the existence of which is already known ; to investigate, 
not to discover. The first explorers, in this modern sense, 
were Humboldt in the physical world, Cuvier in natural 
history, Lavoisier in chemistry, La Place in astronomy. 
They have been the pioneers in the kind of scientific work 
characteristic of our century. We who have chosen Brazil 
as our field must seek to make ourselves familiar with its 
physical features, its mountains and its rivers, its animals 
and plants. There is a change, however, to be introduced 
force of the current, the density and color of the water, and the animal and 
vegetable productions contained in it. (See Appendix No. I.) L. A. 
