Professor Cli. Fred. Hartt., Jf. A. — Simonch. 11 
"of studying the geology of the valley, and of examining the 
"table-topped hills, which last had been referred to the Drift. 
"I wished, also, to take into the field a number of scientific 
"students from Cornell University, in the expectation that 
"some of them, at least, might be stimulated to devote them- 
"selves to the life study of some branch of natural history." 
On this expedition he was accompanied by a party of 
twelve, one of which was his colleague, professor A. N. Pren- 
tiss, of the chair of botany. The remainder were chief!}" 
students. Here again that kindly spirit, so characteristic of 
Prof. Hartt is shown, for no one realized more fully than he 
that the care, responsibility and training of an inexperienced 
body was not only a burden, but that it involved a personal 
sacrifice as Avell, viz., the loss of much valuable time from 
his own scientific pursuits, liut he expressed no regret at his 
course; on the contrary, he rejoiced, for, of that little band, 
several were induced to enter upon scientific careers. 
"If," he wrote, "to discover a new Carboniferous fauna will 
"repay a journey to Brazil, of how much greater inipcu'tance 
"is the discovery of a new naturalist? Had the expedition 
"produced no other results than to have added four new men 
"to science, I should have considered time and money amply 
well spent."* 
Upon the return of the expedition he published a brief 
paper, in the Ar/ierictni Journal of Science for April, 1871, on 
"Amazonian Drift," in which he set forth his disagreement 
with professor Agassiz regarding the glaciation of the Ama- 
zonian valley. The views of Agassiz may be found in chap- 
ter XIII of his "Journey in Brazil. "f As epitomized by Hartt 
they are as follows : "Prof. Agassiz has claimed that the geo- 
"logical structure of the Amazonian valley is very simple; 
"that, from one end to the other, there were laid down in a 
"fresh water lake, formed by the damming up of the mouth of 
"the valley by a glacial moraine, beds of sands, clays and 
"sandstones, filling the valley to the hight of nearly a thousand 
"feet above the present level of the river ; that, from the burst- 
"ing of the barrier and draining of the lake, the uppermost 
"beds were swept off from over a very great part of the valley, 
*Ball. of the Cornell Univ., lac. cit. 
lA Journey in Brazil, by professor and Mrs. Louis Agassiz. Boston: 
Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
