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In a voyage of so much Scientifical interest as that which is about to be undertaken to the South Seas it would be wrong not to pay some attention to Mineralogy, at the same time it must be confest [confessed] that this department of Natural History promises fewer discoveries than the two others which are more particularly the objects of the expedition.
For not to mention the want of a good practical observor in this line, among the Men of Science who have been selected for this Voyage, the means of observing are fewer, more leisure is required for making discoveries & these are much greater physical impediments to the acquisition of knowledge.
The Countries whih are likely to be visited, are for the most part overgrown with wood, difficult of access & if inhabited, insecure. The Mineralogist therefore can only form a judgment of the nature of their constituent Strata & of their productions from the natural Sections of these Strata which are exposed in the Cliffs & Ravines near the Sea or from the alluvial contents of the river beds or from the substances rejected by the tides on the shore.
The means of observation being so limited, the information thus obtaind will necessarily prove less conclusive & important than could be wishd; nevertheless it will be both usefull & acceptable if made with an attention to accuracy & method.