THE society's heritage from the macleats. 573 



1789-95; second edition, 8 vols, 4to., 1796-1801), "The Insects of Great Britain" 

 (1 vol., 4to., containing the Papilios only, 1795), and of a paper, "Observations 

 respecting some rare British Insects" (Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. iii., 1797) ; and a 

 contemporary of Dru Drury, and A. Macleay. Drury was always on the lookout 

 for opportunities of getting into touch with intending travellers and others about 

 to visit foreign countries. In 1771, with the financial co-operation of Sir Joseph 

 Banks, the Duchess of Portland and some others, he had enabled Henry Smeath- 

 man to go to Africa as a travelling naturalist and collector. With his know- 

 ledge of the Lewin family, he was able to get into touch with J. W. Lewin be- 

 fore the latter left for Australia. 



J. W. Lewin ai'rived in Sydney in 1800. The plates for his book were en- 

 graved and coloured by himself in 1803, in Parramatta. They were the earliest 

 engravings produced in Australia. The text was printed in London, bound up 

 with the plates as sent home to his brother Thomas Lewin, and issued as a book 

 in 1805. But with the plates, J. W. Lewin sent home a made-up complete copy, 

 with a title-page and some text in manuscript, as far as he could complete it. This 

 copy, together with the original coloured drawings of some of the larvse and pupae, 

 were afterwards acquired by Alexander Macleay, and are now in the Society's pos- 

 session. Possibly examples of the perfect insects, and a letter of supplementary 

 information may also have been sent; but if so, there is no available record of 

 them. A comparison of the original copy with the book as published, explains 

 what is stated in Macleay's letter to Kirby. 



J. W. Lewin was an artist, a good observer, and a practical entomologist, 

 but without technical knowledge, and without books. The text, as he sent it to 

 England, was insufficient, and not in a suitable form for publication. It con- 

 sisted merely of the explanations of the figures, more or less copious, of the 

 larv« and their habits, but without descriptions of the perfect insects, to which 

 only fanciful vernacular names were given. The title-page was "Natural History 

 of Eighteen Nondescript Moths with Descriptions," &e. 



Thomas Lewin was an artist, and had not quite all the necessary technical 

 knowledge to enable him to supply the deficiencies in the text, as written by his 

 brother, notwithstanding the statement in the last sentence of the Preface : "Of 

 the style of the publication, and the aiTangement of the subject, we can only 

 say, being well instructed in the Field of Nature, we have endeavoured to render 

 the book useful." As Editor of the contemplated book, therefore, he sought the 

 advice and assistance of the President and Secretary of the Linnean Society, as 

 narrated in the Preface : "And all that was left for us to do was merely to define 

 the genus, and name the "individual in some cases, which we have done sometimes 

 from the plant on which the insect is found; and for the names of those plants 

 we make our acknowledgments to the learned President of the Linnean Society, 

 Dr. Smith, and also acknowledge the kind observations of the Secretary of the 

 Linnean Society, Alexander Macleay, Esq., for whose abilities as an Entomologist, 

 we have the highest respect, though we cannot avoid differing greatly from him on 

 some points." Dr. Smith supplied the names of the food-plants, as well as ha 

 could, for some of them were without flowers or fruits. A. Macleay offered, or 

 consented after being asked, to draw up the necessary technical descriptions of 

 the perfect insects, with the addition of binomial names; and, judging from his 

 letter to Kirby, did so. What, then, were the points on which Thomas Lewin, as 

 editor of the book, differed from him? 



