1 6 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE 



himself with the Mora and Pauna of these countries, which then 

 were very incompletely known : he collected plants and insects of 

 all orders, crustaceans, shells, fishes, birds ; all had attraction for 

 him, and of all he brought valuable collections home with him 

 when he returned to England in 1815. They far exceeded 

 Swainson's powers and knowledge to be M^orked out by himself ; 

 but they brought him into direct relations with some of the leaders 

 in science at home, particularly William Hooker and Alex. 

 McLeay, and in after years they were utilized by him for the 

 increase of other parts of his collection. He also had commenced 

 to cultivate his great artistic talent ; aud in a letter which he 

 addressed to Shaw, he offered him drawings, made from life, 

 of birds and marine animals for the 'Naturalists' Miscellany.'' 

 Among his correspondents of this period were the Sicilian 

 botanists Antonio Arrosto and Bivona Bernardi, the Maltese 

 entomologist Naudi, and his friend Rafinesque Schmaltz, who 

 resided at that time at Palermo. 



The collection of Eafinesquian letters in the Swainson corre- 

 spondence is probably the largest that has been preserved of this 

 enthusiastic, yet fantastic writer. It consists of 53 letters, or 178' 

 closely-\ATitten folio or quarto pages ; it covers six years of Swain- 

 son's stay in Sicily and the first five years after Eafinesque's return 

 to the United States ; and was interrupted only after Eafinesque- 

 had obtained the position of Professor in the Transylvania Uni- 

 versity of Lexington ; E/afinesque reopened it for a short time 

 when he had left Lexington and was thrown again entirely upon 

 his own very precarious resources, having been encouraged by some 

 friendly remarks which Swainson inserted in his ' Natural History 

 of Pishes,' in remembrance of their former companionship. The 

 last letters were written by Eafinesque only a few months before 

 his death in 1840 ; yet they show no sign of a decliue of his 

 physical or mental vitality. In fact, as regards style and variety of 

 ideas, his last letters are singularly like those of his early manhood. 



Eafinesque's position as a botanical and zoological writer has 

 been fully discussed in North -American literature. While his 

 contemporaries (Swainson excepted) paid but little attention to his 

 writings or ignored them altogether, and the men who were still 

 in touch with him pointed out the worthless character of his 

 work *, the younger school of North-American naturalists treat 

 him as one of the pioneers in the investigation of the natural' 

 products of their country, whose labours mark a distinct progress 

 in our knowledge, and who in many respects was far in advance of 

 his time t. 



Prom an examination of such of Eafinesque's writings as are 

 accessible in this country, I came to the conclusion some years ago 

 that, if they be not set aside in toto, his nomenclature at least 

 should not be grafted, on the ground of priority, upon the work of 



* Silliman's Journal, xl. 1840, p. 220 ; xlii. 1842, p. 280. 

 t David Star Jordan in 'Popular Science Monthly,' 1886, xxix. p. 212 ; E. E. 

 Call, ' Eafinesque's Ichthyologia Ohiensis,' Cleveland, 1899, 8vo ; and others. 



