ditch was an American, and is highly distinguished
at home and abroad. Such men as Plana and Babbage rank him among the
first class, and his commentary on the 'Mecanique Celeste' of Laplace,
has secured for him a niche in the temple of fame, near to that of its
illustrious author. Anderson and Strong are known to all who love
mathematics, and Fischer was cut off by death in the commencement of a
bright career. And may I here be indulged in grateful remembrance of two
of my own preceptors, Dr. R. M. Patterson and Eugene Nulty. The first
was the professor at my Alma Mater (the University of Pennsylvania) in
natural philosophy and the application of mathematics to many branches
of science. He was beloved and respected by all the class, as the
courteous gentleman and the profound scholar; and the Mint of the United
States, now under his direction, at Philadelphia, has reached the
highest point of system, skill, and efficiency. In the pure mathematics
Nulty is unsurpassed at home or abroad. In an earlier day, the elder
Patterson, Ellicot, and Mansfield cultivated this branch successfully in
connection with astronomy.

A new and extensive country is the great field for descriptive natural
history. The beasts, birds, fishes, reptiles, insects, shells, plants,
stones, and rocks are to be examined individually and classed; many new
varieties and species are found, and even new genera may occur. The
learned Mitchell, of New York, delighted in these branches. The eminent
Harlan, of Philadelphia, and McMultrie were of a later and more
philosophic school. Nuttall, of Cambridge, has distinguished himself in
natural history, and Haldeman is rising to eminence.

Ornithology is one of the most attractive branches of natural history.
Wilson was the pioneer; Ord, his biographer, followed, and his friend
Titian Peale; Audubon is universally known, and stands preeminent; and
the learned Nuttall and excellent and enthusiastic Townsend are much
respected. Most of these men have compassed sea and land, and
encountered many perils and hardships to find their specimens. They have
explored the mountains of the North, the swamps of Florida, the prairies
of the West, and accompanied the Exploring Expedition to the Antarctic,
and round the world. As botanists, the Bartrams, Barton, and Collins, of
Philadelphia, Torrey, of New York, Gray and Nuttall of Cambridge,
Darlington, of Westchester, are much esteemed. The first botanical
garden in our countr