the New York _Evening
Post_. The author has also published "Physical Observations on the Andes
and the Amazon" and "Geological Notes on the Ecuadorian Andes" in the
_American Journal of Science_, an article on the great earthquake of
1868 in the Rochester _Democrat_, and a paper _On the Valley of the
Amazon_ read before the American Association at Salem. These papers have
been revised and extended, though the popular form has been retained. It
has been the effort of the writer to present a condensed but faithful
picture of the physical aspect, the resources, and the inhabitants of
this vast country, which is destined to become an important field for
commercial enterprise. For detailed descriptions of the collections in
natural history, the scientific reader is referred to the various
reports of the following gentlemen, to whom the specimens were committed
by the Smithsonian Institution:

Volcanic Rocks Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, F.R.S., Montreal.

Plants Dr. Asa Gray, Cambridge.

Land and Fresh-water Shells. M. Crosse, Paris,
and Thomas Bland, Esq., New York.

Marine Shells Rev. Dr. E.R. Beadle, Philadelphia.

Fossil Shells W.M. Gabb, Esq., Philadelphia.

Hemiptera Prof. P.R. Uhler, Baltimore.

Orthoptera S.H. Scudder, Esq., Boston.

Hymenoptera and Nocturnal Lepidoptera Dr. A.S. Packard, Jr., Salem.

Diurnal Lepidoptera Tryon Reakirt, Esq., Philadelphia.

Coleoptera George D. Smith, Esq., Boston.

Phalangia and Pedipalpi Dr. H.C. Wood, Jr., Philadelphia.

Fishes Dr. Theodore Gill, Washington.

Reptiles Prof. E.D. Cope, Philadelphia.

Birds John Cassin, Esq.,[2] Philadelphia.

Bats Dr. H. Allen, Philadelphia.

Mammalian Fossils Dr. Joseph Leidy, Philadelphia.

[Footnote 2: This eminent ornithologist died in the midst of his
examination. Mr. George N. Lawrence, of New York, has identified the
remainder, including all the hummers.]

Many of the type specimens are deposited in the museums of the
Smithsonian Institution, the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science,
the Boston Society of Natural History, the Peabody Academy of Science,
and Vassar College; but the bulk of the collection was purchased by
I