6 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 



two winters, who traversed Florida, Alabama, 

 Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas, and brought 

 home many new species, of types imperfectly 

 known. The first volume, containing the Anat- 

 omy, Physiology, and General History of the 

 Family, was then put in print ; still, new in- 

 formation was constantly accumulating, and he 

 resolved again to remodel it, adding also the 

 Histology of the animals. 



He had not advanced far before his health 

 began to fail him ; and he went to Europe, for 

 the double purpose of invigoration and of super- 

 intending the execution of the engravings which 

 remained to be done. His death in Rome soon 

 followed, (February, 1847 ;) and, as already 

 stated in the first volume, he requested and 

 provided that the work should be completed by 

 some other hand. It was supposed that this 

 task might be readily accomplished. But such 

 was the dispersed state of the materials, and 

 such a series of uncontrollable losses and mis- 

 carriages by steam and flood and fire ensued, 

 that it was not until 1851 that the volumes of 

 text were completed ; and six years more have 

 now elapsed in completing the volume of illus- 

 trative plates. An irreparable loss was sustained 



