Introductory Paper. 5 
sional interesting extracts from recent European journals 
and books of science. 
But whatever is done under this denomination must 
always be held subordinate to what we have stated to be 
the proper objects of this publication. 
In the prosecution of the plan of a Journal which we 
have thus briefly sketched, it will be our aim to adhere, 
as much as possible, to a simple exposition of facts, as 
they present themselves in Nature; and especially to 
shun all unnecessary discussions upon dubious and un¬ 
determined questions of theory. Such discussions must, 
we conceive, in our present circumstances, be both pre¬ 
mature and injurious. They are not likely to be pos¬ 
sessed of much scientific value in themselves ; while they 
could hardly fail to divert attention from the less showy 
and imposing, but incomparably more solid and import¬ 
ant, object of preparing and accumulating materials for 
future and more advanced inquirers to operate upon. We 
should like to impress upon this Journal the useful cha¬ 
racter of being a trustworthy repository of ^veil-ascertained 
facts—a faithful record of the interesting forms and laws 
under which mineral, vegetable, and animal existences 
exhibit themselves in this comparatively unknown region 
of the globe. Such a character may take off from its 
qualifications as a work of popular interest; but we are 
persuaded it will add greatly to its value in the opinion 
of those who are best able to judge of its merits. 
The importance of such a Journal to the interests of 
the Colony is sufficiently apparent. The knowledge com¬ 
municated by it may, in numerous cases, contribute di¬ 
rectly to the development of its natural resources. In a 
soil and climate destined by nature for agriculture, geo¬ 
logical and botanical researches are calculated to be of 
