St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-12-04
Scientific.
AGASSIZ'S NEW WORK.

The following letter was directed
to the Secetary of the New York His
torical Society, by Professor Agassiz,
in answer to an inquiry whether his
forthcoming work" Contributions to
the Natural History of the United
States would bear upon the civil
history of our country. In reply Pro-
fessor Agassiz says: ..-
l hardly need remind you of the
fact that the attention of historians
has but recently been called to the inn
portancc of considering the physical
character of the different parts of the
world in Connection with the successive
centuries of civilization and the prim-
tive abode of the different races of
men. But there is one feature of this
subject which has thus far been entire
ly neglected. I allude to the char
acter of the vegetation and animal Gre
alton in each natural area Of the globe,
which must at all times have greatly
influenced every where the progress of
civilization, picture of which may in
future be expected as sort of frontis-
piece to the general history of every
great country There are still other
more general features yet little know
even to naturalists, which may in time
add another charm to these contempla-
tions of the Kosmos-the contrast be-
tween the different parts of the world
when compared with the previous con-
ditions of our globe in successive geo.
logical periods. For instance, Europe
has physical character now which is
not exemplified in any of the past ages
Of our earth, while New Holland, as it
is now, reminds us of the condition of
certain portions of Europe during the
middle geological ages (the Jurassic
periodin particularly, and North Amer
lea recalls, both by it's physical con-
dition, it's large lakes among others,
and it's animals and plants, features
prominent in Europe during the terti-
ary times /; and l need only allude to
the opossum, the snapping-turtle, the
bull-frog, the large salamanders, ETC.,
the hickories, the swamp-cedar, the
white gum-tree, etc.-all found in the
tertiaries of Europe, and now entirely
extinct thereto show the resemblance.
Moreover, North America nourishes
now a number of fishes, and other ami
mails, such as the kingcrab, no repre-
sentatives of which are alive in any
other part of the globe, though they
were largely distributed over Europe
in several geological periods. This
character of the North American fish
fauna is so peculiar that, in alluding
to it | have often been tempted to ap-
ply to it the epithet Of old-fashioned.
Two of these curious fishes occur even
in the State Of New York-the gar
pike and the so-called mud-fish-and
the Others are scattered over other
parts of the country. l shall of course
introduce full account of these re-
markable relics of past ages in my
new proposed work, for they throw as
much light upon the physical condition
of former periods in the history of our
globe, as the ruins Of Egypt and MIN
eveh would furnish upon the history
of those periods in the life of mankind,
could they be restored to their former
splendor before our gaze, and studied
in the full animation Of their greatest
prosperity, as we may investigate our
living animals. May not add to all
this that there are features in the en-
bryonic growth Of animals which sig
nifty, as it were, the natural growth Of
mankind? So true is it that while
civilization has gradually estranged
man from nature, higher degree of
intellectual culture brings us back
and nearer to its wonders.