plete so far as we are able be ths late time, the report 
on the fishes already promised by Vilkes himself in his 
narrative of the expedition. 
It is necessary, in order to secure a proper apprecia- 
tion of the extent and value of the materials gathered in 
the department of ichthyology, to try and view the efforts 
of the indefatigueble Wilkes at the time of their consum- 
mation. During that early period of the nineteenth Century 
comparativelyfew voyages of exploration in the southern 
hemisphere had been completed when Wilkes embarked. In 1824 
Quoy and Gaimard reported the fishes obtained by the voyare 
of Freycinet; 1826 to 1830, Lesson, in Duperry's Voyage of 
the Coquille; 1854, Quoy and Gaimerd in the Voyage of the 
Astrolabe under Pumont d Urville; 1836 and 1837, Eydoux and 
souleyet, in the Voyage of La Bonite, though the ichthyolog- 
ical portion appeared in 1841. If one glances at the results 
of these various works, it is quite evident that they fell 
very far short of the richness and variety in comparison with 
the collections and work of the United States Exploring Exped- 
ition. 
. the localities which have at last come down to us, and 
are preserved along with the specimens, may be briefly con- 
sidered. In the Atlantic we find the Cape Verde Islends, Rio 
Janeiro, northern Pategonia, Orange Harbor in Tierra del 
Fuego and the Cape of Good Hope. Of this group the Rio Janeiro 
ae 
material is fairly extensive, and far more complete than 
Agessiz's report of the Spix collection in 1829, Most of the 
e Wes oe pe ke ith . 
os dese Ta. jp ete Re Vamp a his a. Ax pb Teer 
iota = on oe a ae % Sol ee a Hc ich Beet er 
