xxxi] WASHINGTON TO SAN FRANCISCO 145 



while the fresh-water species are still more numerous, its 

 magnificent water-system, including the great lakes and such 

 grand rivers as the Mississippi, being richer in mollusca than 

 any other part of the world, considerably more than a 

 thousand species having been described. 



On Friday, April 22, I returned to Cincinnati to deliver 

 my lectu res on " The Colours of Animals " for the Natural 

 History Society. The audience was, however, a small one, 

 and the lantern very bad, so that the slides were not shown 

 to advantage, but the subject was evidently so new to the 

 hearers that they were much interested. The next evening 

 I gave the same lecture at College Hill, fifteen miles out of 

 town. I had tea with Dr. and Mrs. Myers, who were pleasant 

 and sympathetic people. Dr. Myers told me that he had 

 become a sceptic through Spencer and Darwin, but is regain- 

 ing belief through spiritualism. Here I had a good lamp, and 

 everything went off well ; but I only received one hundred 

 dollars for the two lectures, out of which I had to pay fifteen 

 dollars for the lamp and operator at the last one, so that 

 my net receipts only paid my hotel bill. But I had a very 

 pleasant visit, and met a number of intelligent people. 



My next engagement was at Bloomington, Indiana, where 

 I was to lecture on the Darwinian theory to the university 

 students. I stayed with Dr. Branner, the professor of 

 geology, who had spent many years in Brazil, so that we had 

 a common interest He showed me his drawings of palms, 

 and photographs of Brazilian scenery. The university here, 

 like all colleges and schools in the West, is open to both 

 sexes. They meet in the classes, in lecture rooms, and in 

 debates on a perfect equality, and Mrs. Branner thinks the 

 results are entirely beneficial. The next morning Dr. Bran- 

 ner took me a long drive through the country. The rocks 

 were of Carboniferous age, and were of limestone and sand- 

 stone in nearly horizontal strata, leading to pretty undu- 

 lations of hill and valley, with abrupt slopes. We passed 

 through some fine tracts of forest, but there were very few 

 flowers, though the red maples in the woods, and the white 

 A melanchier canadensis were pretty. 



VOL. II. L 



