GEORGE MARC GRAVE 261 



lustrations; Book III. deals with trees, 104 being described and 75 

 figured; Book IV. treats of fishes and crustaceans, both fresh-water 

 and marine, 105 of the former being described and 86 figured, the num- 

 bers for the latter being 26 and 19, respectively, and in addition one 

 starfish is both described and delineated ; Book V. contains descriptions 

 of 115 birds, 54 of these being shown in figures; Book A 7 I. deals with 

 quadrupeds and contains descriptions of 46 and figures of 26, together 

 with 19 reptiles, of which 7 are figured; Book VII. is devoted to in- 

 sects, 55 being described and 29 figured ; Book VIII., the last, has to do 

 with the country, its aborigines and present inhabitants and has 5 illus- 

 trations. The Appendix treats of the inhabitants of Chile and contains 

 two figures, one being probably the earliest known drawing of the llama. 



Finally in these eight books are 429 figures for the most part accurately 

 drawn by the author himself. (Statement at foot of table of contents.) 



Disregarding Book VIII. and the appendix with their seven figures 

 we find that 301 plants are described and 200 figured. Of animals 367 

 are described and 222 figured. Of these 668 forms practically all were 

 new to science and the 422 figured had probably never been drawn be- 

 fore. 



Despite the fact that Marc-grave knew nothing of the subtleties of 

 classification based on the structure and position of stamens and pistils 

 in flowers, and on the count of fin-rays and lateral line scales in fishes, 

 nevertheless his work in Brazil was an epoch-making one. In bringing 

 to the notice of the scientists of Europe the wonders of Brazil, Marc- 

 grave was the worthy predecessor of the Prince of Keuwied and of Spix 

 and Martius. His history of the natural things of Brazil is probably 

 the most important work on natural history after the revival of learn- 

 ing, and, until the explorations of the Prince of Neuwied were made 

 known, certainly the most important work on Brazil. 



But, in giving praise to whom praise is due, Count Maurice should 

 not be overlooked, for it is certain that he alone made it possible for 

 Marcgrave to do all this magnificent work. Van Kampen compares 

 Count Maurice to Napoleon, who on his expedition to Egypt carried a 

 numerous band of savants with him. Piso, however, likens him to Alex- 

 ander, in which comparison Marcgrave and not himself must take the 

 place of Aristotle. All honor to Count Maurice ! 



However, it is not the intention of the present writer to go into any 

 extended analysis of the natural-history work of Marcgrave. This has 

 long ago been done and most ably for a large part of the animals by 

 Lichtenstein (1814-15, 1816-17) and for the plants by von Martius 

 (1853-55). It is in the book on fishes that the present writer is most 

 interested, and it does not seem out of place to quote the estimates of 

 some of the great ichthyologists. 



Cuvier and Valenciennes (1828) say : 

 George Marcgrave . . . the most learned, the most exact, and above all the 



