VI PREFACE. 



Mollusca by Dr. Byrnes, have not been included, but are left to form, with 

 such additions as may be made to the Zoological and Botanical material, a 

 second part of this volume, of which it is to be hoped the preparation and 

 publication will be accomplished at an early date. 



In order to make the review of the Botany and Zoology of the State com- 

 plete, Part II of the volume should contain, in addition to those already 

 written on Botany and Conchology, a report on the lower forms of plant life, 

 especially the Fungi, and others on the Articulates — Crustacea, Insects, etc. — 

 including descriptions of all those which "are injurious or beneficial to man. 

 These, if properly prepared, will have much scientific value, and especially 

 those on Economic Botany and on Economic Entomology, will be of great and 

 immediate practical value. 



Some impatience has been expressed at the slow progress of the preparation 

 of the volume on Zoology and Botany, and the late appearance of the part 

 now issued. But it should be remembered that all time and thought which 

 have been expended upon these thorough and voluminous reports, destined to 

 be so creditable and useful to the State, have been gratuitously bestowed. Not 

 a dollar has been paid to the authors for the years they have spent in this work, 

 and justice as well as courtesy demands that the invaluable gifts now made to 

 the people of Ohio by the eminent naturalists who have prepared these reports, 

 should be gratefully acknowledged. Probably no where in the history of scien- 

 tific publication can be found more honorable examples of the gratuitous con- 

 secration of time and learning by men of science to the higher interests of the 

 public. 



It is possible also that there are some who will fail to appreciate the value of 

 these detailed reports on the Natural History of the State ; but with the excep- 

 tion of some scattered newspaper or magazine articles, nothing has been 

 published in regard to the Zoology of Ohio since the catalogue prepared by 

 Dr. Kirtland was issued in 1838, and in that interval there has been felt a 

 constant want in every town, village, hamlet, and farmhouse of a better knowl- 

 edge of the surrounding objects of nature. In every district school questions 

 are constantly arising, inspired by the natural curiosity of the child, which the 

 teacher has not been able to answer, from the want of means of information in 

 regard to the animals and plants of the State. An interest in nature is almost 

 universal, and its development wholesome and happifying. Hence, the distri- 

 bution of documents that will enable every one to learn the character and 

 history of the objects that surround him, will prove not only a gratification but 

 a benefit to a great multitude. All this for the educational influence of such 

 reports. Their bearing upon the practical life of our people is not less real, 

 since a knowledge of the habits of the animals that contribute to the support 

 of man, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, the fishes of the waters. 



