THE CHARTS OF THE EXPEDITION 



two citations from the coral book one on the analysis 

 of corals, and another on the Cyathophyllidce. They 

 were printed before I had heard of the delay at Washing- 

 ton, and if they object, it cannot be helped, there is no 

 review of it. 



" P. S. If you examine Wilkes's charts, you will find 

 them well done. They are the surveys of his officers (as 

 well as himself) and among them were some excellent 

 surveyors. The Feejee chart is very far superior to the 

 French one by D'Urville, made after their late voyage, a 

 rival of our expedition. Indeed, we had a better chart 

 from our traders there, to start with, than that by D'Ur- 

 ville. His was the work of a few days, and ours of three 

 and one-half months. I mention these particulars, be- 

 cause, whatever may be said of him [Wilkes] and the 

 Narrative, the hydrographical department has been well 

 carried out. Wilkes, although overbearing with his 

 officers, and conceited, exhibited through the whole 

 cruise a wonderful degree of energy, and was bold even 

 to rashness in many of his explorations. ... I much 

 doubt if with any commander that could have been se- 

 lected we should have fared better, or lived together 

 more harmoniously, and I am confident that the navy 

 does not contain a more daring explorer, or driving 

 officer." 



DANA TO ASA GRAY 



" NEW HAVEN, Feb. 20, 1846. 



" One word about the plan of my books. I have 

 considered corals as animals, and whatever characters be- 

 longed to the living zoophyte have been mentioned first 

 in the descriptions ; afterwards, if any other characters of 

 importance were presented by the coral (that is, characters 

 not determinable except when it was stripped of the fleshy 

 portion), they have been given. As with an animal, the 

 animal as a whole is first described, and then any pecu- 

 liarities of the skeleton are mentioned. Coral is in gen- 

 eral an internal secretion ; you might as well say that a 

 man lives in his skeleton, as that the coral contains 

 polyps." 



The following account of the Zoophytes and Crustacea 



149 



