Topographical, 6^c. description of Wiscofisin. 307 



cultural community, embracing by far the larger portiou of our whole 

 population. 



Durmg the eight years that T have had the honor to superintend the 

 bureau entrusted to my charge, it has been wholly reorganized ; and within 

 ,this time, it will be recollected, all its papers and records have been de- 

 stroyed, but are now mostly restored. Having been instrumental in the 

 reorganization, I felt desirous to carry out the plan then proposed. The 

 time has now arrived, when my duties might be changed, without injury 

 to the public service. I pretend not to say how much could be done ; but 

 I venture the opinion, that an appropriation to cover the expenses of a sin- 

 gle year, in the prosecution of an object so important, would never be 

 regretted. The country might understand more fully its resources, and 

 Congress be enabled to legislate with still greater prospect of benefiting 

 all the parts of our common Union." 



Mr. Ellsworth states that constant applications are made 

 to the Patent Office, for copies of the reports, thus showing 

 the deep interest manifested in the subject. 15,000 copies 

 of the present one were ordered to be printed, but if not 

 sufficient, we trust another year it will be augmented to 

 50,000 copies. 



Art. IV. Topographical and Geological Descriplio7i of 

 Wisconsin, l^'c. Bv I. A. Lapham. Pamphlet. 12mo. 

 pp. 96. Milwaukie. 1843. 



A LITTLE pamphlet, sent to us from the author, giving 

 some account of the geological character of this new section 

 of the country, — its mineral and botanical riches, &c. 

 The number of plants that have been detected and exam- 

 ined in the county of Milwaukie, without including mosses 

 and the lower order of Cryptogamae, is 678 ; and in other 

 parts of the state, 179; making in all, 857. This, how- 

 ever, is supposed to be far from the actual number, as much 

 of the county has not been visited by any botanist. 



The following remarks, upon the climate of Wisconsin, 

 may interest some of our readers : — 



" From the observations made at the military posts within the territory, 

 we are able to form a pretty correct estimate of the climate of Wisconsin ; 

 and by comparison with the observations reported to the Regents of the 

 University of the State of New York, we find a remarkable similarity 

 between the climate of Wisconsin and that of the interior and western 



