viij PREFACE. 



Crustacea, the arachnid es, and the insects. To 

 M. Delafosse, who lectured for the eminent pro- 

 fessor whose recent loss is so much felt, is due 

 the article on mineralogy ; and M. Laurillard has 

 supplied me with the details I wanted for the 

 description of the cabinet of comparative ana- 

 tomy, and for the collection of fossil bones. 

 I beg leave here to present these Gentlemen 

 with my acknowledgments and gratitude for 

 their kind assistance. Lastly, Mr. Royer, one of 

 the clerks in the office of the administration, 

 who has been at the expence of this edition, has 

 had drawn and engraved for it the accompany- 

 ing Plans and Views. 



Although this work can be considered but as 

 a mere sketch, it will nevertheless give a tole- 

 rable idea of the riches the Museum contains; 

 and it will impress the reader with the utility 

 and importance of that establishment. May it 

 remind every Frenchman of the obligations the 

 natural sciences owe to our Kings, who unin- 

 terruptedly, from Louis XIII down to our actual 

 Sovereign, have favoured their study and facili- 

 tated their progress. 



