Book Description

Excerpt from Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 49 The present series, entitled "Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections," is intended to embrace all the publications issued directly by the Smithsonian Institution in octavo form: those in quarto constituting the "Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge." The quarto series includes memoirs, embracing the records of extended original investigations and researches, resulting in what are believed to be new truths, and constituting positive additions to the sum of human knowledge. The octavo series is designed to contain reports on the present state of our knowledge of particular branches of science; instructions for collecting and digesting facts and materials for research; lists and synopses of species of the organic and inorganic world; reports of explorations; aids to bibliographical investigations, etc., generally prepared at the express request of the Institution, and at its expense. In the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, as well as in the present series, each article is separately paged. The actual date of its publication is that given on its special title-page, and not that of the volume in which it is placed. In many cases works have been published and largely distributed, years before their combination into volumes. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.