New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-03-25

One of the most impudent eItravaganzas of the
late Secretary of War, was the mode Of his con-
Quoting the surveys for the Pacific Railroad. On
the northern route Gov. Stevens went through in
bus;ne.s-lke style, obtaining the necessary facts,
aud presenting them in reasonable compass to the
War Department. His report was promptly print
ed in volume, and there was the end Of it. On the
southern route it was quite otherwise. There, Mr..
DAVIS kept at work an extensive corps Of sap
pers aId miners upon the Treasury, who have not
yet got through with their operations. small
army of scientific dettant were sent out to see how
much they could collect and publish that had
nothing to do with the real job in hand
Volume after volume has been issued ut enor-
mcus cost, and the cry is, still they come Unless
Congress stops the work, we see no reason why, on
the plan adopted, which seems to be to report on
even imaginable subject connected with physical
science the publication Of massive and elegant
volumes, ostensibly referring 70 the Pacific Rail
road, but really having nothing to DO with it. may
net 60 on indefinitely.
We have before US volume ". of the series
already issued. 1t is magnificent quarso of
about ESQ pages. filled with costly plates, and
columns of figures innunerable. We will give
some of the principal headings or subdivisions of
the contents of this volume, and the reader can
Judge what connection they bsve with the ques-
ton of the best route for q Pacific Railroad.
We have, for instance, u general description of
the botanical character Of the country trayersed by
our savans, illustrated by plates without number,
executed in the most expensive manner. This &C.
cupies about half the volume, and is BY Mr.. Big
Glow. 1t includes long catalogue OF botanical
collections. The name Of the second on the list is
the Cltmahs Big.iori, or the clematis Of Mr..
Bigelow. We presume, though we have not looked
TO see, that the record embraces the Cemdtis
PKrrii and the Ciem0tiS Dauisii, and the Clemass
Of the remainder of the Cabinet, or other things to
match. Now, this portion of the book is most
deliberately got up filled with expensive drawings
of all sorts Of plants, running down TO the mos,
minute specimens and subdivisions Of leaf, flower,
stalk and stem, in infnitesima variety; all of which
may be interesting to the curious students in bot
any, but altogether more so to the man who made
the drawings and the delighted engrayer who go
the job Of publishing them yet they are not of the
slightest service to the survey for Pacific Railroad
that Jefferson Davis was empowered to make, and
have rot the most remote Legitimate connection
| with it.
Next to this, comes the report on the Zoology
oil The Expedition" which is as absurdly super
nuous as ITS botany. In this division are embraced
statements OF specimens of natural history col
'ee'eu' Inc following, the first we come to in the
'olulne' may stand as specimen of the whole:
NJ . S SseI hss'ytina No. 4-skuil of an Indian
No No s-Sotiqnede!A CsIolnena. No. S-Fishea
Nc. e-Lepds ArtemiIf.
Then We have descriptions of frogs; "white and
'd'ery little fishes, belonging to the sucker
ismily (teneerly remembered as relatives Of the
members ct the Expedition, priuter-. enprayers.
&c; moGe Nth a white abao,oe9 e, ard
tai very ioas and hairy;" tosJs" with a
"bo0y two inches Ia length" "IzAra,r Which