696 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



which he was entitled, and have "been made to appear as one of 

 the most vigorous leaders of early American science. 



The scientific items in Dr. Mitchill's record are continued 

 with mention of the introductory lecture to the College of Phy- 

 sicians, etc., on the life and writings of their late president, 

 Samuel Bard, 1821 ; a philosophical discourse in St. Stephen's 

 Chapel, Bowery, to the class formed in that congregation for cul- 

 tivating the natural and physical sciences, 1822 ; a discourse on 

 the Life and Writings of Linnaeus, at Prince's Botanical Gardens, 

 Flushing, on the anniversary of the Swede's birthday in 1823 ; and 

 the publication of a catalogue of the geological articles and or- 

 ganic remains which he presented to the museum of the Lyceum. 

 In 1823 he appears as performing, after the Venetian example, on 

 an invitation from Albany and a mission from New York, the 

 ceremony of marrying the Lakes to the Ocean, at Albany, " on the 

 day of the unprecedented gathering of the people to witness the 

 scene of connecting the "Western and Northern Canals with the 

 Hudson " ; and again, two years afterward, as a member of a com- 

 mittee for celebrating the completion of the Western Canal, when, 

 in the vicinity of Sandy Hook, he pronounced an address " on the 

 introduction of the Lady of the Lake to the estate of her spouse 

 the Lord of the Ocean." This, according to Dr. Francis, was the 

 proudest day of his life. He also acted on a committee, in 1824, 

 to receive funds in aid of the efforts of the Greeks to achieve then- 

 independence. 



Dr. Francis says, summing up his work, and quoting at least a 

 part of the estimate from the book, Old New York, that " the uni- 

 versal praise which Dr. Mitchill enjoyed in almost every part of 

 the globe where science is cultivated, during a long life, is demon- 

 strative that his merits were of a high order. . . . His knowledge 

 was diversified and extensive, if not profound. His first scientific 

 paper was an essay on Evaporation. His mineralogical survey of 

 New York, in 1797, gave "Volney many hints ; his analysis of the 

 Saratoga waters enhanced the importance of those mineral springs. 

 . . . His ingenious theory of the doctrine of septon and septic acid 

 gave origin to many papers and impulse to Sir Humphry Davy's 

 vast discoveries ; his doctrines on pestilence awakened inquiry from 

 every class of observers throughout the Union ; his expositions of 

 a theory of the earth and solar system captivated minds of the 

 highest qualities. His speculations on the phosphorescence of the 

 waters of the ocean, on the fecundity of fish, on the decortication 

 of fruit trees, on the anatomy and physiology of the shark, swelled 

 the mystery of his diversified knowledge. . . . His researches on 

 the ethnological characteristics of the red men of America be- 

 trayed the benevolence of his nature and his generous spirit. . . . 

 He increased our knowledge of the vegetable materia medica of 



