[a] 
T;rolivc urges me tlien to hasten to divulg'e my discoveries, 8c lo continue it annu- 
ally on the present plan, althougli i should prefer, a«^(^tter one If I had the choice. 
Theprinciplesof these tracts shall belong to the true linhean school of im- 
provement. I shall follow all the improvements that tlie worthy Linneus would 
liave adopted if he iiad lived in this age ; but I shall carefully avoid any deviattO)|is 
JVom the fundamental, rational and everlasting rules of nomiSticlatureAn^ descrip- 
tive history. 
'I'he following lines shall contain many of my unpublished discoveries, ma3e be- 
tween 1816 and 1819, in the states of New-Vork, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New 
.Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, I'ldiana and Illinois, &c ; but sever- 
al must still be delayed, as well as the figures. As my Ichthyology, or natural 
history of the Fishes of tlie Ohio, (containiiig 100 new species) is now under t!ie 
press, the fisiies of that river shall not be mentioned here. If I should occasion- 
ally repeat the descriptions of some few new animals and plant.s, already commu- 
nicated to some societies, or journalists, the blame is their own. AVh)^ do they 
delay the publication of them ? and how am I to know if they ever received them, 
& mean to publish them .'' Do they wish me to wait until somebody may follow the 
path which I have opened, and anticipating my publications, deprive me of the 
Iruit of my labor, (as it has been already attempted) and of the only reward I ever 
hope for tny individual exertions, the esteem of the friends of knowledge ? I 
fhall very seldom mention again those whicli have been already published, ex- 
cept when they are only lo be found in journals of very limited circulation.; or 
when it will be needfid to illu.strate more carefully their characters or hislEory. 
Very few Reptiles, Shells and Fossils will be introduced, although they include 
some of my most numerous discoveries ; because I have already prepared several 
letters on our Erpetology for the American .Journal of Science; I am besides en- 
gaged in writing a general Conchology of the land shells and fresh water shells of 
the United States, and I have undertaken willi Mr. John D. Clifford to de- 
scribe all the fossil remains of the western states. 
To those who may happen to regret tlie continual Increase of J new genera and 
new species, I shall observe, that unles« we detect and fix all the unknown genera 
and species of beings existing in oiu" country and on earth, we cannot extend and 
secure our researches after their properties, qualities and manners. Tliose who 
deplore the increase of natural knowledge, or knowledge of any kind, are^below 
our notice ; they ought to be ranked with tlie enemies of mankind and of our 
moral powers. But from those who prefer to see new beings and materials ap- 
pearunder a handsome and prolix shape, J shall reruiest to afford me the means of 
gratifying their peculiar taste, and when they do, 1 shall not fall to comply. Yet 
I shall add, that it is better for the science and our purse, that many new objccls 
should be introduced under a small compass, tha)i when a few are scattered 
througli amass of extraneous or compiled matter. My constant aim has been the 
extension of knowledge rather than the compilation of old materials. I wish that 
many naturalists and philosophers would always have the same object in view. 
C. S. RAPINKSQUE. 
Transylvania University, f 
JMarch 1, 1820 5 
ANIxMALS. 
I CLASS. MAS TOSIA —THE SUCKLERS. 
1. N. Sp. Malapha fuscata. Ears longers than the head, auriculated and black, 
i.sh ; tail three-scvenths of total length, jutting only by an obtuse point; body 
brownish above, greyish beneath shoulders and cheeks dark brown; hind feet 
blackish, hairy above ; wings blackish brown.— Found in the northern parts of 
the state of New York and in Vermont. Total Ingth three and an half inches. 
My genus .'?m'a/>/ia (Free, dec.) contain all the Bats without foreteeth; there 
are 3 or 4 species of them in the Unued States all blended under the name of 
Vespertilio for .YoctilioJ iwveboracennis bvthe writers. 
I. N.(i F.i'T';sii;rs. Four acute fore-teeth to the upper jaw, in two equal 
pairs, separated by a great mterval and a large flat wart, eaeli pair has tv.o uiie- 
(jual teeth, the outside tootli is much larger and unequally bifid, the outside one 
much larger, inside tooth small and entire. Si.\ fore -teeth to the lower jnw, equal 
