INTRODUCTORY NOTE
as
IT >i reference to the following papers upon the respective branches of Natural History ofE X ' C l )ar ticularly treat, it should he borne in mind that, in the equipment of the Japan
tuition, scientific researches were to be considered of secondary importance, and consequentlyo t^ ecia ^ a Ppropriations were made or any steps taken at the outset to employ civilians, as inj r ex peditions, for purposes purely scientific.
v es Relieved, and so expressed myself to the government, that the officers of the severaldev 6 S S( l 11a d ron would be sufficiently competent, if their acquirements were properly
•doped, to accomplish all in the way of science that could reasonably be expected of anoffi 1 10n ' n * en d e d exclusively for naval and diplomatic service; and though but few of thosedufi 618 ^°°k an a( d’ ve P ar f in pursuits not immediately pertaining to their legitimate routine ofes > there were some who rendered important assistance in obtaining the collections now
Ascribed.
^ ^dliam Heine contributed chiefly to the procurement of the birds. The collections of8 a °d shells were made under my own supervision, and the botanical specimens wereE r re d and preserved by the chief interpreter , Mr. S. Wells Williams, ' and by Doctois Green,an d Morrow.
^ is a source of extreme regret to me that th»se plants, which possess considerable interest^ mostly from Japan and Lew Chew, have not been described and published in thisa fi't/ ^ ^ ^ la< ^ mtended they should have been. By some mistake they fell into the hands offail | ln ^ Uls ^ le d botanist of this country, who, for reasons never satisfactorily explained to me,H eek‘ ^ ^ escr ^ Je them, as he had promised to do, and by the consequent delay prevented myother means of having the desired description and drawings prepared for the press.c °st of aC * S °* ^ on S res8 calling for my report in detail make no provision for the indispensablehave P re P ar i n 9 for publication the original manuscript of so voluminous a work, and hence Iand ° re( * nn( ^ cr man y disadvantages in the procurement of suitable aid in the preparation^rangememt of the papers on Natural History . .a bd j 6 ^' r< ^ s been described by that well known naturalist , Mr. John Cassin , of Philadelphia ;„ ^ le classiiic‘ i tion and description of the fishes and shells, I am entirely indebted to theYork ° US Serv * cs 0+ personal friends, Messrs J, Carson Brevoort and J. C. Jay, of Newhave * ^* s ^ n 8 u ^*bed for their attainments in the departments of science in which theyj ® res Pectively Kboi ed in friendly regard to me.
° r 0 j|^ er . av °id unnecessary expense to the government, none of the varieties of birds, fishes,8 0 f S ’ ln *^ le collections of the expedition, have been engraved for publication that have ever,as We know, been heretofore accurately figured and described in preceding works,
M. C. PERRY.