94 Academy of Natural Sciences. 



by him presented to the Academy. In this department the classifi- 

 cation of Lamarck is exclusively followed. 



The Insects are numerous, especially the Lepidoptera. Great 

 difficulty, however, has been found in preserving them ; and several 

 successive collections have been destroyed by damp, or by the inroads 

 of predaceous insects. But it gives us much pleasure to state that 

 a valuble cabinet of upwards of four thousand species, (two thirds 

 of which are American) chiefly collected by a member of the Acad- 

 emy, will be presented to the institution so soon as effectual means 

 can be devised for its exhibition and preservation. With the Birds 

 presented by Dr. Hering were four hundred species of insects, in 

 fine order, from the province of Surinam. The Crustacea and 

 Zoophytes embrace a valuble series of American species. 



Botany. — The Academy possesses about ten thousand species of 

 plants, among which is a choice American Herbarium collected by 

 Mr. Thomas Nuttall. This gentleman is well known to have been 

 for many years ardently engaged in Botanical researches : he has 

 traversed the United States and Territories in almost every direc- 

 tion, — the courses of the Missouri and Arkansa rivers, — the great 

 Lakes, — Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, he. he. In the prosecution 

 of his travels Mr. Nuttall collected and carefully preserved upwards 

 of four thousand species of plants, all of which are now embraced 

 in the Academy's Herbarium. 



Accompanying Dr. Hering's recent donation of Birds, is an exten- 

 sive collection of the plants of Surinam : their number (probably 

 some thousands) is not yet ascertained. Mr. De Schweinitz has 

 them at present at his residence in Betlrlehem, Penns. for the pur- 

 pose of labelling and arranging them. 



There are also small collections from the Andes, from Southern 

 Africa and India. The European collection, presented mainly by 

 Mr. Maclure, is both extensive and valuable. To conclude this part 

 of our subject we record with pleasure, that the present proprietor 

 of the Botanical collection of the late Dr. Baldwin, has intimated 

 his intention of adding it to the Herbarium of the Academy. 



Geology and Mineralogy. — The Geological series is perhaps 

 the most complete of the Academy's collections. It comprises 

 about four thousand five hundred specimens, of which two thirds are 

 fossil organic remains of animals and plants. The fossils are all ar- 

 ranged according to the formations in which they occur, and conse- 

 quently afford matter of great interest to the geologist. The differ- 

 ent suites may be enumerated as follows j 



