Letters, Announcements, S^c. 489 



('Indische Zoologie')^ "was begun in the year 1769. The 

 descriptive part fell to my share : the expense of the plates 

 was divided between Mr. Banks^ now Sir Joseph Banks, 

 Baronet : John Gideon Loten, Esq. ; a governor in Ceylon ; 

 and myself. Twelve only were engraved and published : soon 

 after which, the undertaking appeared so arduous that the 

 design was given over.^' . ..." I prevailed on my two friends 

 to unite with me in presenting the learned John Reinhold 

 FoRSTER with the plates. I also bestowed on him three others, 

 engraven at my own expense, before the work was dropped. 

 These were never published in England ; but when Dr. Forster 

 left our island, he took the whole with him, and in 1781 printed, 

 at Halle, in Saxony, an edition very highly improved, and 

 translated into Latin and German. He prefixed to it a most 

 elaborate lucubration de Finibus et Indole Aeris, Soli, Ma- 

 risque Indici ; described the subjects of the three additional 

 plates ; and inserted, after the description of the fifteenth plate, 

 a most learned dissertation on the genus o£ the Birds of Pa- 

 radise, and on the Phcenix. He added several notes ; and 

 at the end ]3resented his readers with a Faunula of the qua- 

 ydrupeds and birds of the extensive region of India and its 

 Islands.^' It will be observed that Pennant makes no claim 

 whatever to be the author of this ' Specimen Faunulse Indicse,' 

 as published.in Latin in the ' Indische Zoologie;' and it can 

 only be regarded as an act of courtesy on the part of Forster 

 that Pennant's name was inserted as author of this Latin list. 

 The descriptive part mentioned by Pennant as his share, must 

 have referred, if it was in this book at all as published by 

 Forster, to the first portion ; for there is no " descriptive part " 

 in the list of names of quadrupeds and birds. I cannot see, 

 therefore, how it will be possible to reject this portion of the 

 ' Indische Zoologie,' when the rest, containing descriptions 

 by Forster of various species, is accepted, " and his names 

 have always been in use." P. L. S. Miiller is now, I believe, 

 universally quoted for the species named by him; so is Bod- 

 daert ; and so also should be Forster ; and whenever an intel- 

 ligible reference is given by him to the species he intends to 

 characterize, it appears to me the name he bestows must be 



