xiv 



ther the skins of animals too hastily pre- 

 pared, nor the fishes and reptiles placed in 

 phials filled with alcohol. I have thought 

 proper to enter into these details, which, 

 although little interesting in themselves, 

 prove that we had no means of bringing 

 back, in their natural state, many objects 

 of zoology and comparative anatomy, 

 of which we have published descriptions 

 and drawings. Notwithstanding some ob- 

 stacles, and the expense occasioned by the 

 carriage of these articles, 1 had reason to 

 applaud the resolution I had taken before 

 my departure, of sending to Europe the 

 duplicates only of the productions we had 

 collected. I cannot too often repeat, that 

 when the seas are infested with privateers, 

 a traveller can be sure only of the objects 

 in his own possession. A very small num- 

 ber of the duplicates, which we shipped 

 for the ancient continent during our abode 

 in America, were saved; the greater part 

 fell into the hands of persons unknown to 

 science. When a ship is condemned in a 

 foreign port, boxes containing only dried 

 plants or stones, far from being sent to the 

 scientific men to whom they are addressed, 



