(ee. [Oct., 
REVIEWS OF SCIENTIFIC WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED. 
A Journey in Brazil (Agassiz). Rambles of a Naturalist on the 
Shores and Waters of the China Sea (Collmgwood). Acadian 
Geology (Dawson). Coast Defence (Yon Scheliha). Minor 
Works and New Editions. 
A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL.* 
In the winter of 1865 Professor Agassiz found it necessary to seek 
a change of scene and climate, and rest from work. From early 
life he had possessed a desire to study the fauna of Brazil, and 
especially the fishes, in their own home. Single-handed he would 
have been able to make but slight use of the opportunities presented 
to him during a visit to that country, although he was certain that 
the Emperor and the head of his government would give him every 
facility for his investigations. 
While brooding over his difficulty, Mr. Nathaniel Thayer ex- 
pressed to the Professor an interest in his proposed journey, and 
said, “‘ Take six assistants with you, and I will be responsible for all 
their expenses, personal and scientific.” This princely generosity 
was carried out in its largest and most liberal sense; and thus 
we haye the origin of Professor Agassiz’s Scientific Expedition to 
Brazil. 
The volume before us contains a sketch of the Journey in the 
form of a diary, with here and there statements of the results of 
the investigations of the party: it is well calculated to interest 
general readers who are curious in such matters as the manners 
and customs of a wandering naturalist. — 
The voyage out was occupied most instructively: the Professor 
gave lectures to his assistants on various Natural History subjects, 
including the Gulf Stream and its Inhabitants, the Physical features 
of South America, Embryology, the Glacial Period, the Art of Ob- 
servation, and many other subjects bearing upon the work before 
them, concluding with a warning against Darwinian tendencies ; 
brief reports of the lectures being here given by Mrs. Agassiz. 
Landing at Rio de Janeiro, the route of the expedition was up 
the coast to Para; up the Amazon to Manaos, and on to Tabatinga, 
the frontier-town between Brazil and Peru: haying left one of their 
party at that place to make collections, and two at San Paolo, the 
* ¢A Journey in Brazil. By Professor and Mrs. Louis Agassiz. S8vo, pp. 540. 
Boston: Ticknor and Fields; London: Triibner and Co., 60, Paternoster Row. 
1868. 
