1 847 -49.] LAKE SUPERIOR. 17 



A remarkable volume entitled " Lake Superior : its 

 Physical Character, Vegetation and Animals, compared 

 with those of Other and Similar Regions," by Louis 

 Agassiz, with a narrative of the tour by J. Elliot Cabot, 

 and contributions by other scientific men, elegantly 

 illustrated, appeared in due time, -- March, 1850, --at 

 Boston. A few words are necessary to call atten- 

 tion to the great value of the volume, which marked 

 an epoch in natural history publications in America. 

 Until then, all books containing plates of natural his- 

 tory objects, with a few exceptions, such as Isaac Lea's 

 " Contributions to Geology," Conrad's " Fossil Shells 

 of the Tertiary," "Natural History of New York," 

 and Wilkes's "United States Exploring Expedition," 

 had been executed in very poor style. Compare, for 

 instance, the volumes of General J. C. Fremont, issued 

 in 1845, with that of Captain H. Stansbury, issued in 

 1852, two years after the appearance of Agassiz's work 

 on Lake Superior, both of which were published at the 

 expense of the government. Stansbury's survey of the 

 Great Salt Lake is in every respect a very creditable 

 publication ; while, on the contrary, Fremont's first and 

 second expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon, 

 and Northern California is a disgrace as regards the 

 execution of landscapes and natural history illustrations. 

 Agassiz, who had succeeded in bringing the lithographic 

 establishment of M. A. Sonrel from Neuchatel to Cam- 

 bridge, put into the hands of that excellent French artist 

 all the illustrations and drawings of the landscapes and 

 specimens. Everything was done in fine style ; and the 

 volume, when published, attracted attention, and even 



VOL. II. C 



