338 BULLETIN 109, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



will find for you an artist who will engrave your fossils from nature, almost 

 without an original drawing. 



If you have d'Orblguy's Paleontology fraugaise at hand, you can tell your com- 

 mittee that the lithographer, Mr. De la Rue, never had other original drawings 

 before him except such ott'hand sketches as were necessary to arrange the fig- 

 ures of a plate, and nevertheless how beautiful his figures are. So was Hobe 

 never provided with more than simijle sketches for the magnificent work of 

 Goldfuss. Let that be known and repeated everywhere, and you will soon be 

 left quiet. Is it not a pity that an engraver who never had anything to do 

 with such drawings before should now come forward and stand against you 

 with his pretenses? Give him up simply ; you can not progress with one who 

 will not submit to your directions. 



Your sincere friend, 



(Signed) L. Agassiz. 



March, 1849. 

 Hon. Mr. Beach. 



Dear Sir: At your request have prepared a statement of the auiount of en- 

 graving necessary to complete the report on paleontology. 



I wish, however, to say a few words in exphmation of the past transactions 

 lu regard to this part of the survey. In 1S43, after the resignation of Mr. 

 Conrad, Governor Bouck had decided to bring the survey to a close in one year 

 and required that this part should be done in that time. I signed the agree- 

 ment, though protesting against it as not giving time to prepare a proper or 

 authentic work on this subect. In the course of that year, however, I did pre- 

 pare materials for a single volume, but as the specimens were obtained from 

 all the formations nothing had been thoroughly done, and had the work been 

 completed at that time and in that manner, it would have been discreditable 

 to the State and to myself, as well as being of no authority in the science. 



Subsequently, and when the time was extended, I devoted myself to the in- 

 vestigation of the lower rocks, and from them I have obtained all the species 

 described in the present volume. At the time of my engagement with Gov- 

 ernor Wright I sincerely believed that the work could be completed in about 

 two years and the number of plates in all would not exceed 150. At this time 

 I had allotted to the fossils of the lower rocks, comprising the Totsdam sand- 

 stone, Calciferous sandstone, Chazy, Birdseye, Black River, and Trenton lime- 

 stones, IJtica slate and Hudson River group, about 50 plates. The result of 

 a thorough investigation hns shown that very nearly 100 plates are required 

 properly to represent these fossils. 



I conceived it to be the object of the State in this matter to make the work 

 as perfect as it can be made under existing circumstances, and I have therefore 

 examined with the greatest care every fossil that hiis fallen under my obser- 

 vation. I believe I have made the volume already printed as perfect and com- 

 plete in every part as this one, and should the work be suspended before the 

 whole is completed in this manner I propose that as far as I do go to work up 

 the materials from each rock in its order in the same thorough manner that 

 so far as I shall have gone it may be satisfactory and creditable as well as of 

 sufficient authority to be cited hereafter. 



I have already made myself considerably acquainted with the fossils of the 

 higher rocks and have about 30 plates already engraved in wood and litho- 

 jjraphy. I have carefully gone over each rock and estimated the number of 



