8 Biographical Memoir of' the late Henry Kilhl. 



in manual labour. As an example of his industry and profi- 

 ciency in this department, we may mention that he described 

 the Kobelian Collection of Insects, which was purchased at this 

 time, in such a manner as few collections in Europe have been 

 described. 



It is also due to him to state, that he gave excellent defini- 

 tions of most of the amphibia depicted in Seba^s Thesaurus, by 

 which means Swinderen's copy is rendered of the greatest va- 

 lue ; and Swinderen further states, that, at the request of seve- 

 ral of the most eminent naturalists, he described many things 

 relating to this explanation of Seba"'s plates, and transmitted 

 them to them ; and it would be of advantage to science, as well 

 as creditable to our author, that this work were published, since 

 the Index to BufFon and Daubenton is already before the pub- 

 lic. But it is a matter of much regret, that Kiihl never com- 

 pleted the plan which he had entered upon, of defining the whole 

 of Seba's work ; from doing which, as well as from composing 

 many other excellent works, he was prevented by his journey 

 to India, and ultimately by his premature and much lamented 

 death. 



We have thus come to another and very important period of 

 his Hfe, to the time when he prepared for his journey to India ; 

 which happened in the following manner. 



Having gone, in his accustomed manner, during the short va- 

 cation of the Christmas season, to Holland, in order to inspect 

 the specimens of objects, with which he was only acquainted by 

 means of descriptions, on account of the limited nature of the 

 collections at home, he betook himself to Temminck, at Amster- 

 dam, with the view of defining, along with him, the collection 

 of fishes which he had either brought home himself in the pre- 

 ceding summer, or had received, from the Mediterranean. And 

 being requested by this celebrated naturalist to undertake along 

 with him the description of his splendid ornithological collection, 

 he undertook a selection of the Index published by Latham, as 

 a prodromus of his General Synopsis of Ornithology, a work of 

 much labour ; by which Kiihl, with the guidance of Temminck, 

 and the use of his admirable library, indeed made remarkable 

 progress in the knowledge of exotic species, but which, being 

 deficient in the lately discovered species, has yielded to the 



