" Gardens and Menagerie of the ZooL Soc. delineated" 205 



Every particular in this description, with two exceptions, 

 is taken from M. Desmarest's Mammalogie. But these two 

 " slight additions " are highly important to the elucidation of 

 the facts of the case. The first of them (the assertion that 

 the Indian tapir was " decouverte par M. Diard ") might 

 have been charitably attributed to a careless reading of the 

 passage in the Mammalogie, had not M. Lesson proceeded to 

 say, on his own authority, that the animal had been " tres- 

 bien figure par M. F. Cuvier." It is evident, therefore, 

 that he had consulted the Histoire Naturelle des Mammiferes 

 with reference to this particular animal. This fact once 

 established, he becomes a participator in an act of "injustice 

 to the merits of our countryman," by concealing Major Far- 

 quhar's prior claim to the discovery, which is fully stated in 

 that work ; and, to use the words of Mr. Swainson, he, as 

 well as M. Desmarest, " at the time he attributed the dis- 

 covery in question to M. Diard, knew that such was not the 

 fact ; that Major Farquhar in reality was its discoverer ; and 

 that a description by him had been laid before the Asiatic 

 Society." 



After this, it may be considered a work of supererogation 

 to add, but it is, nevertheless, worth mentioning, that M. Les- 

 son has actually made " assurance doubly sure." I give him 

 all the credit of being the first to quote, in his account of this 

 animal, in addition to MM. F. Cuvier and Desmarest, the 

 name of " Sir Raffles." But what becomes of this credit, 

 when, on turning to Sir T. Stamford Raffles's Descriptive Ca- 

 talogue of a Zoological Collection made in Sumatra, published in 

 the 13th volume of the Linnean Transactions, the work in- 

 tended by the quotation, we find the following passages under 

 the head of Tapirus malayanus : — 



" The first notice that I received of the existence of this 

 animal was in the year 1 805, a living specimen having been 

 sent to Sir George Leith when lieutenant-governor of Penang. 

 It was afterwards observed by Major Farquhar in the vicinity 

 of Malacca. A drawing and description of it was communi- 

 cated by him to the Asiatic Society in 1816, and a living 

 subject was afterwards sent to the menagerie at Barrackpore, 

 from Bencoolen. . . . Little can be added to Major Far- 

 quhar's original description. ... It may be interesting to give 

 the exact dimensions of two, one a male, described by Major 

 Farquhar," &c. " In a subsequent communication to the 

 Asiatic Society, Major Farquhar gave an account of a very 

 young tapir which he had alive in his house," &c. 



Such are the plain facts of the case, and such the evidence 

 by which it is estabhshed. In laying them before your readers. 



