516 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



Transactions of the American Philosophical 

 Society, in those of the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences, and in the Memoirs of the American 

 Academy; while the smaller communications 

 find a place in Silliman's Journal, in the Jour- 

 nal of the Boston Natural History Society, 

 and in the proceedings of other scientific so- 

 cieties. Museums also are already founded ; 

 . . . and beside these there are a number of 

 private collections in single departments of 

 zoology. . . . Better than all this, however, is 

 the lively and general interest taken in the 

 exploration of the country itself. Every sci- 

 entific expedition sent out by the government 

 to the interior, or to the Western States of 

 Oregon and California, is accompanied by a 

 scientific commission, zoologists, geologists, 

 and botanists. By this means magnificent 

 collections, awaiting only able investigators to 

 work them up, have been brought together. 

 Indeed, I do not believe that as many new 

 things are accumulated anywhere as just here, 

 and it is my hope to contribute hereafter to 

 the more critical and careful examination of 

 these treasures. Under these circumstances I 

 have asked myself for months past how I 

 ought to decide ; not what were my inclina- 

 tions, for that is not the question, but what 



