1012 The American Naturalist. [December, 
“This memoir had its inception in an attempt to clear up certain 
matters connected with the synonymy of a large and important group 
of fresh-water mollusks—the Unionide. A number of very remarka- 
ble facts connected with the personality of its subject were thus inci- 
dentally learned. As the collation of data proceeded, the facts learned 
* seemed of sufficient importance to group them for presentation to the 
literary and scientific world in the hope that a better and more intel- 
ligent understanding of the work of this eccentric naturalist might re- 
sult. A number of impressions were forced upon my attention as the 
work proceeded; among other conclusions reached, was the one that 
Rafinesque had not been always fairly treated by his cotemporaries. 
Resulting from this was the conviction that many naturalists now liv- 
ing have formed opinions concerning the nature and value of Rafin- 
esque’s work which appear to me to be quite erroneous. In the hope that 
some of these misapprehensions might be corrected, the task of writing 
his life, which is quite a labor of love, was undertaken.” 
The prospectus goes on to say “ the publication will be in the sump- 
tuous quarto form adopted by the Filson Club, and issued in paper 
only. It will contain several full page illustrations, one of which will 
be a portrait of its subject. A complete bibliography of the writings 
of Rafinesque on every subject, comprising over four hundred titles, 
will be included, together with a certified copy of his will, one of the 
most remarkable testamentary documents ever probated,” ete. 
The gentlemen engaged in this enterprise probably think that they 
are conferring a benefit on contemporary and future science by issuing 
this publication. We wish to state that in our opinion the money 
devoted to it might be expended in a much more profitable direction. 
A reprint of Rafinesque’s botanical and zoological papers, so that they 
can be made accessible to students, would be far more useful to science, 
and we are glad to notice that the same publishers (Jno. P. Morton & 
Co.) propose to issue a reprint of the Ichthyologia Ohiensis. We do not 
mean to intimate, in making this suggestion, that the works of Rafin- 
esque ever had more than a very moderate scientific value, but he has 
added so much to the nomenclature that it ought to be possible to re- 
fer easily to them, whereas now many of them are inaccessible to most 
naturalists. 
Rafinesque is well known as a most careless writer who inflicted 
endless difficulties on his successors. Some of the matter of his papers 
is fictitious, and much of it of such an indefinite character that it 
should not be admitted into scientific literature. Some naturalists 
have been at great pains to identify his species, but such identifica- 
ESTE 
