8 Baron Cuvier''s Historical Ehge of 



His collections, during the three years which the voyage last- 

 ed, of objects of all descriptions, were immense, even although a 

 part of them was lost, in consequence of an accident that befel 

 the ship. It was for a long time hoped that Solander and him- 

 self would indulge the public with an account of them ; and it is 

 difficult to imagine what prevented them from doing so. So- 

 lander only died in 1782, and he could have employed ten 

 years of his life in this undertaking. Besides their common 

 journal, their notes, and all the drawings made under their in- 

 spection, still exist in the Banksian Library. The engraving 

 of a splendid series of plates, intended to extend to two thousand, 

 was begun ; but, to the great regret of naturalists, nothing 

 has appeared, at least under the auspices of the authors. Per- 

 haps Mr Banks judged that his treasures would not be the less 

 profitable to science, although he did not publish them himself. 

 One of the most remarkable traits of his character was the gene- 

 rosity with which he communicated his scientific treasures to all 

 who appeared to him worthy of perusing them. Fabricius de- 

 scribed all his insects. He gave specimens of all his fishes to 

 our colleague Broussonnet, for the ichthyology which he had 

 commenced. Botanists who wished to see his plants, had 

 free permission to consult his herbaria. Gaertner constantly 

 profited by this indulgence for his admirable history of fruits 

 and seeds, and Vahl for his Eclogues ; and, in these later times, 

 the excellent work of Mr Robert Brown on the Plants of New 

 Holland, a work composed in Sir Joseph Banks's, and in the 

 midst of his collections, has fulfilled, and more than fulfilled, all 

 that could have been hoped from himself. Besides, he distri- 

 buted, among all the gardens of Europe, the seeds of the South 

 Sea, as in the South Sea he had distributed ours. Lastly, he 

 was satisfied that, in all that could regard immediate utility, the 

 object of his voyage had been as effectually accomplished as it 

 could be. In fact, a multitude of beautiful shrubs, which he 

 first introduced, now ornament our groves and grounds. The 

 Otaheitean cane, which affords more sugar, and ripens more 

 freely, has, in part, repaired the disasters of our colonies ; the 

 bread-fruit tree, carried to the warm countries of America, will 

 repay the services which America formerly rendered to us, when 

 it furnished us with the potato ; the New Zealand flax, the fi- 



