364 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan, 



of which we can hardly have a full conception in the present 

 advanced state of the science. With the want of books the pre- 

 carious tenure of the establishment of the Jesuits here may 

 also be adduced as a reason why so few turned their attention 

 to such subjects. Liable every moment to be driven out of the 

 country, the leaders would naturally bend all their energies 

 to secure that which had already been gained, and leave others 

 to narrate what was seen. The erroneous ideas concerning 

 the natural history of this country which have become current 

 among the great mass of readers in the West is a serious evil, 

 and one which has been occasioned chiefly by the exaggerated 

 statements of these early writers. Every author for the last 

 century who wished to write concerning China needed only 

 to open the volumes of the Jesuits, and long descriptions on 

 every subject met his eye. These he wrought into his own 

 phraseology, and spared not to enlarge or reduce them to suit 

 his own convenience. The consequence is, that the same 

 thoughts, being presented in many lights and by authors of 

 reputation, are received as accredited truths. An instance of 

 this is found in Malte-Brun's ^ Geography,^ who states, on the 

 authority of a member of the Dutch embassy, ^ that the Chi- 

 nese farmer yokes his wife and ass together at the plough ;' 

 and this is said in such a manner as to convey the idea that it 

 is a common occurrence ; while the instances of such brutality 

 are as rare in China as in Persia or India, or any other 

 country in the same state of civilization. Concerning the ac- 

 counts of the Jesuits in general, we may observe, that when 

 they are satisfactorily proved or disproved, and the truth 

 sifted from the rubbish which surrounds them, they will be 

 found to contain much valuable information ; but until they 

 have been carefully compared with renewed investigations, 

 they must be cautiously received. We will now proceed from 

 the works of the Jesuits, which for the most part were written 

 before the eighteenth century, to consider what has been done 

 by more recent observers. In 1750 Peter Osbeck came to 

 China as chaplain to a Swedish East Indiaman, and made 

 some discoveries in the vicinity of Canton. He was a disciple 

 of Linnaeus, and had imbibed his master's love for the works 

 of nature. The freedom allowed to foreigners at that time 

 enabled him to extend his researches in this hitherto unex- 

 plored field to a considerable distance round the city. He col- 

 lected many plants in the vicinity of Canton and the anchor- 

 age at Whampoa. The remembrance of his zeal and success 

 was perpetuated by Linnaeus in the Osbeckia chinensis ; and 

 a friend and assistant was remembered in the Torenia asiatica. 

 These, we believe, are the only instances of any persons who 



