Tiii 



the long course of publication of the original work \\vre discoi ho refer- 



ences complete ; and truly to present, as far as a " Dictionai \ <>f riii\.-r-.-il Kn<.\\'. d_.- " can 

 present, the advanced opinions of our own times ; to this labour, amonpst .-ill m.irnirr.l in tin- 

 work, the Conductor can bear the most ample testimony. In tins Division of the Cycl<>p:i'dia. 

 his own duties have consisted o&ly in a general Bopermte&denoe. I ! is deeply indebted to 

 the exertions of Dr. EDWIN LAXKESTER, by whose care the Cyclopaedia of Natural History 

 has been brought into a more systematic shape ; while every exertion has been made to bring 

 up the articles to the science of the present day. much that was obsolete has been n nmvi-d. 

 The scientific connexions of Dr. LANKESTEK have enabled him, in editing this department, to 

 have access to the opinions of the best living authorities, and to secure the aM.-t assistance 

 wherever required. 



Of the typographical execution of this work, in the essential point of accuracy, the 

 Conductor can confidently speak. Of its other merit, that of mechanical execution, he 

 believes that no work of such remarkable cheapness was ever produced with the beauty that 

 was once considered exclusively to belong to the dearest class of books. 



, 1843. 



