604 president's address. 



i., p. 02) — "Mr. Kirby mentions in the introduction to Eutomologj', his having 

 Hound these insects [Troges] on a ram's horn. I was myself present in the forest 

 of Fontainebleau, with the last-mentioned entomologist, when he took a specimen 

 of Jroj from off a horse's scull " This was in June, 1817. Kirby, in a letter to 

 his friend Sutton, has given an account of his first visit to Paris, of his introduc- 

 tion to Latreille, and of W. S. Macleay's kindness and helpfulness to him. 



It is evident that W. S. Macleay had the opportunity of making a good col- 

 lection of the Cuban groups in which he was interested, sufficient not only for his 

 own requirements, but for purposes of exchange with his scientific friends ; as well 

 as of supplementing it, to some extent, at the places which he visited on the 

 voyages outwards and homewards. 



He does not appear to have had a separate collection of his own prior to his 

 departure for Cuba in 1825. Any specimens which came into his possession, 

 whether as the results of his own collecting, or as gifts or exchanges, were added 

 to the paternal collection. But just before the time of parting came, his father 

 allowed him to take over such specimens as he was particularly interested in, as an 

 aid to work he may have had in hand, or in prospect. These .^ormed the nucleus 

 of the collection he eventually brought out to Australia in 1838. Some of the 

 items, as well iis some of his records of observational zoologj-, are mentioned in 

 his paper "On the Annulosa of Sov/th Africa." On p. 22, he says — "I have found 

 Diplognatlia Gagales common at Porto Praya in the Cape de Verds; but I cannot 

 say that it is a llower-freciuenting insect, as I never met with it except in the 

 cocoa-nut groves below the town, and always on the foliage of the underwood 

 which grows beneath the Palms." On p. 54 he refers to "the Decapods of 

 my own collection." On p. 63, he remarks — "It becomes necessary to 

 point out the families of a stirps [Grapsina] which is very common in warm cli- 

 mates, and the study of whose manners afforded me much amusement whilst I 

 reside<l in the West Indies." On p. 65, of a crab, he adds — "I have found in 

 CJuba the species of Sesarma to live generally under stones on the banks of the 

 nniddy mouths of rivers." And on p. 66, of another crab, he says — "The type 

 of this genus is the Grapstos rurieola of Degeer, a crab whose manners are de- 

 tailed by me in the fu'st volume of the Transactions of the Zoological Society. 

 Also on p. 67 — "I liave taken abundance [of yeutilograpsus mi>iutuj: Fabr.] in the 

 Atlantic Ocean, adhering to the gulf-weed." 



After his return to England, W. S. Macleay undertook the description of the 

 Annulosa, chiefly collected during an Expedition into the Interior of South Africa, 

 under the direction of Dr. Andrew Smith, in the yeai-s 1834. 1835, and 1836; fitted 

 out by the Cape of Good Hope Association for exploring Central Africa. The 

 first portion only of his intended contribution was published, in 1838, shortly l)c- 

 fore his departure for Australia. In the preface (p. 1) he says — "It may be 

 well that I should mention here my having lately acfjuired, by purchase, the very 

 extensive collection of Annulosa made by M. Verreaux during liis long residence 

 at the Cape, and also his manuscript notes on the species collected . Perhaps there- 

 fore no nat\iralist is better provided than T am with those materials wliich are 

 necessary to enal)lc us to form accurate notions of South African entomology. 

 Upon this subject also, my pei-sonal acquaintance with the habits of many exotic 

 genera, may to a certain degree be brfiught to bear." 



Early in the year 1836, after completing more than ten yeai-s' service, W. S. 

 Macleay set out on his return to England. On the way, he visited the United 



