The Ornithological in the Vassar Museum, contains nearly twelve hundred distinct species, of which seven hundred are North American, and the remainde… - James Orton

The of mountain regions is very limited, for the number of species diminishes rapidly as we ascend in altitude or latitude. The reptilian life of any district, however, is highly interesting, as it is more natural and well defined than that of other vertebrates, because reptiles have a limited range ... and are less likely to be forced out of their original s or introduced by man. It has been supposed that in order of altitudinal range, lizards go highest, snakes next, and s and s last. There are no chelonians in the valley as far as we know; but we found frogs as high up as , and no lizards there. Gibbon found no snakes at .

There is no section of our country that may not reward a diligent search for precious or useful s. The rocks, however, between the Alleghanies and the Atlantic and between the and the Pacific furnish the greater variety and abundance. Here are found the best ores. Gold and silver seem to abound more on the western than eastern sides of both mountain-chains. A trap-region, like the shore of and the , is likely to be a good locality for copper and iron. The , or the region of , furnishes chiefly iron and lead; gold, silver and copper are seldom found. In general, where the layers of rock lie level and contain fossil shells, it is a locality good only for , ( excepted), , and salt. The regions of , , , , etc., offer the greatest inducement to search for useful minerals.

The importance of every fact relating to the natural limits of animals and plants is felt in its bearing on the great question of the day—the .