48 Transactions of the Society. 



two atlases, occupied him from 1834 to 1847. His biographer, Paul 

 Fischer, observes, " Nine volumes and about five hundred plates, 

 relative to the most diversified subjects, hardly sufficed to make 

 known the great quantity of material which he had collected. 

 This immense work, says Elie de Beaumont, presents in an 

 almost encyclopaedic form one of the most extensive monographs 

 that has been devoted to any region of tlie world." ^ 



As we have seen {ante, p. 8), d'Orbigny was only twenty-three 

 years old in 1825 when an English company was formed to fit 

 out an expedition for the exploitation of the mines of Potosi, in 

 Bolivia, and the authorities of the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle 

 decided to send out with it a " Naturaliste-voyageur." It was 

 early in November, 1825, that Geoffroy-St. Hilaire intimated to 

 d'Orbigny that he had, jointly with Cuvier, Brongniart, and other 

 members of the Administration, proposed him for election to this 

 post of honour, and his appointment thereto was ratified in the 

 Seance of the Academy of November 14. D'Orbigny accepted at 

 first with some reserve ; he expressed a wish to devote a few years 

 to preliminary studies in various branches of science. This, how- 

 ever, was not practicable, though the Administration agreed that 

 he might remain for some months in France, and appointed him a 

 salary up to the time of his departure.^ 



He tells us himself, " To wander all over South America under 

 such fiatteiing auspices appealed to me in the highest degree." 

 By way of preparation for his voyage d'Orbigny set himself to 

 attend the lectures and classes of Cuvier, de Ferussac, Brongniart, 

 Geoff'roy-St. Hilaire, Cordier, and de Blainville, and made notes 

 for his future guidance. Cuvier honoured him with verbal instruc- 

 tions as to his zoological studies, and placed the resources of the 

 Cabinet d' Anatomic at his disposal. Alexander von Humboldt 

 and Bonpland had made a scientific tour of South America from 

 1799 to 1804, in augmentation of the results obtained on the 

 earlier voyage of Felix de Azara, and von Humboldt set d'Orbigny 

 a large number of questions upon which further enlightenment 

 was required, and obtained for him the grant of such meteorological 

 instruments as he was able to take with him — which consisted 

 only of barometers — besides giving him introductions to persons 

 in South America who might be able to assist him in his work.' 

 Indeed, it would appear that all the leading naturalists then in 

 Paris helped the young " Naturaliste-voyageur " with their advice 



1 XXI,, p. 441 ; XVI., p. 830. D'Orbigny tells us himself that he was still 

 working at it in 1844, when von Hauer invited him to make a special study of the 

 Vienna Poraminifera (XII., p. ix). 



^ I have taken what seems of interest for the purposes of this paper from 

 the biographical notices of Fischer (XXI.), Gaudry (XVI.), and Labonnefon 

 (XXII.), and from his own narrative of the Voyage, vol. i. pp. 4-8, 15, 21. 



^ He pays a tribute to the advice and assistance of Cuvier and von Humboldt 

 in his special work on " L'Homme Americain " (see note 2, p. 50 ; Introd., p. s). 



