10 



able him to compile the three volumes contemplated by the act 

 of 1853 by the addition of such extracts from his published works 

 as may have been appropriate ; but it may admit of some doubt 

 whether any other person would be justified in making use of the 

 same printed matter for the same purpose. The fact has been 

 communicated to me that a large edition of his Natural, Civil and 

 Statistical History of Vermont yet remains unsold, and I am un- 

 willing to believe that inasmuch as his literary and scientific works 

 constituted the chief legacy to his wife and family, any one would 

 suggest or recommend any measure tending to lessen the sale of 

 his valuable books or infringe upon the copy-right in which his 

 family must feel no slight interest. If however, the widow and 

 heirs of the late State Naturalist can be induced to waive their 

 right and interpose no objection to a judicious use of that part of 

 Professor Thompson's history which relates to the Natural His- 

 tory of the State, then there would remain no obstacle or objec- 

 tion in the way of using all of the labors of the late State Natu- 

 ralist in carrying out the plan contemplated by the act of 1853. 

 Under these circumstances and influenced by the considerations 

 which I have briefly mentioned I have esteemed it to be my duty 

 for the present and until these suggestions are communicated to 

 the Legislature, to forbear any attempts to collect or arrange ma- 

 terials for the Botanical and Zoological compartments of the pro- 

 posed work, and have confined my labors and restricted my enquir- 

 ies to those matters which relate more particularly to the Geolog- 

 ical department in connection with Mineralogy. 



My predecessor, Professor Thompson, at the time of his/leath 

 had for causes to which I shall hereafter particularly advert, made 

 but slight progress in preparing his reports for publication. I 

 find, however, among the great number of papersj and collection 

 of matter from which the materials for his final reports were to 

 be drawn, a programme of his contemplated work contained in three 

 small pamphlets in manuscript* executed in his remarkably neat 

 and methodical manner, purporting to present the title-pages and 

 tables of contents of the three proposed volumes. Each volume 

 was entitled" Natural History of Vermont " the first being devot- 

 ed to Geology ; the second to Botany ; and the third to Zoology.* 

 The contents of the first volume were divided into four parts, viz : 



. * See Appendix No. 9, 



