1871. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 197 
‘in a view of claiming the merit of making a present to the Com- 
‘*énany of its own property, but arose from a conviction that their 
“being deposited in the collection at the India House was the 
«most probable means of rendering them useful to science.’”’ The 
drawings were kept in India to illustrate Dr. Buchanan’s statistical 
reports on several of the districts, and it was proposed to take 
copies of the originals, which were subsequently to be transmitted 
to England. ‘ 
Some of these drawings have been transferred to the Illustrations 
of Indian Zoology, General Hardwicke having had them “ copied 
from the drawings of Buchanang Hamilton by that gentleman’s* 
consent.”’ (Richardson.) Others have been reproduced by McClelland 
in his Memoir on the Cyprinide of India, R. A. 8. of B. 1839. 
In the Zoological Record for 1869, p. 127, Dr. Giinther observes 
of these drawings, that they ‘‘ exist in triplicate, one copy being 
in the British Museum, where their free use is allowed.” He 
also remarks: ‘It may be questioned whether it is desirable to 
utilize drawings, the types of which are lost, in any other way, 
but as a help to supplement the insufficiently published descrip- 
tions.’ But have the types been lost ? In the ‘‘ Catalogue of the 
Fishes of the British Museum,’’ Vol. III, p. iv, 1861, the receipt is 
acknowledged of ‘‘ 6. A collection of fishes from Bengal, believed 
to contain many typical specimens of Buchanan Hamilton’s work, 
presented by G. R. Waterhouse, Esq.” 
The first consideration which suggests itself is, how was this 
collection obtained from Bengal? It does not appear to have 
existed in the Museum of the Asiatic Society or in the Botanical 
Gardens, whilst the collections conveyed to Hurope by Buchanan 
were presented by him to the India House. 
At page 471 in the same volume, Dr. Giinther observes of the 
Ophiocephalus awrantiacus, H, B., “the typical specimen is not pre- 
served in the collection presented by Mr. Waterhouse : and in fact 
the drawing is taken from the Hardwicke collection.” It would 
appear from this, that Dr. Giinther had arrived at the conclusion, 
probably on good evidence, that Mr. Waterhouse had presented 
* More probably with the consent of the Superintendent of the Botanic 
Gardens in whose charge they remained. 
