INTRODUCTION. 



The investigations recorded in the following pages were for the most part con- 

 ducted in Liberty Count}', Georgia, where the author had opportunities of obtaining 

 fresh specimens of vertebrata, living and dead, seldom enjoyed by observers. The 

 researches, however, were necessarily attended with great labor and many embar- 

 rassments consequent upon the peculiar habits of the animals and the extreme 

 difficulty of access, and miasmatic condition of their localities. 



Owing to the extent and complexity of the topics discussed in this Memoir, the 

 results presented must necessarily be very imperfect; and, in fact, are to be con- 

 sidered merely as contributions to science, to be continued and completed hereafter 

 by the author, or by others who may have proper opportunities for so doing. 



Whatever may be thought of the deductions and generalizations of the author, 

 he is confident that the experiments which he has presented, and which have been 

 made at so great an expense of time and labor, and which have involved so many 

 sacrifices, will not be considered without value in throwing some light upon the 

 important questions to which they pertain. 



