VIII NOTICE OF THE TRANSLATOR AND EDITOR. 
Hence, that part of the work treating of the anatomy of the 
Invertebrata, by Von Siebold, is rich in the results of -microscopi- 
cal researches; and their value in the elucidation of the subject 
will be readily appreciated. This plan of procedure hag not the 
same urgency with the higher animals, where the character of an 
organ or part can generally be ascertained from its position, &e.; and, 
in the second part of the work, on the Anatomy of the Vertebrata, 
by Stannius, details of microscopical structure are comparatively 
little insisted upon. But, within a few years, the histological compo- 
sition of organs, even though their character and function is well 
known, has become of great and increasing interest; and details of 
‘this kind, as far as they would be understood without the aid of 
‘figures, I have sought to add in their regular order and place. 
As to the notes and additions generally, they stand by themselves 
with Ep. affixed, and almost invariably refer to some point treated of 
in the text or notes of the original, and for the most part relate to the 
correction, confirmation, or extension of some statements there made. 
“These notes were drawn from all the sources accessible to me; but 
from the many difficulties in the way of the early receipt of foreign 
works in this country, they are not as complete a record of the recent 
progress of the science as would be desired. 
As to the translation, I may say, that not being a German scholar, 
‘but having read the German language chiefly for scientific purposes, 
I trust that any inelegances of diction or idiom will be excused. 
But, throughout, I have endeavored to give a faithful rendering of 
the author’s meaning, and to express this in as simple and terse a 
form as possible. 
In conclusion, I wish to express my gratitude to my friends who 
have kindly aided me in this work ;— prominent among these is Mr. 
Edward Capen of this city, who has been of invaluable assistance 
to me in the labor of passing the sheets of this volume through the 
press ; — of others, such as Professors Agassiz, Dana, Leidy, and 
Wyman, their names will be found honurably recorded by their own 
important labors in science, to which I have so frequently referred 
in these volumes. WwW... B. 
Boston, Nov. 1853. 
