collected by W. J. Burchell in Brazil. 309 



This niecliaiiical labour was therefore completed when 

 Burchell was about 63 years o£ age, IG^ years after the 

 Brazilian journey came to an end in February 1830, 



It is hard!}' necessary to add that the specimens were set 

 in our old insular style, sloping and low upon the pin. 

 Nearly all the butterflies have now been reset in accordance 

 Avitli modern requirements. 



Burchell's method of keeping his notes on the Arthropoda 

 was changed as time went on. At first he sorted out tlie 

 captures of each day into what lie believed to be species, and 

 gave a list of these, and, in another column, the number of 

 individuals belonging to each. Opposite these numbers 

 observations of habits were sometimes recorded. During his 

 journey to Rio, between April 2 and July 6, 1825, he had 

 captured 97 kinds, distinguished by the numbers 1-91 (in 

 Portugal, at Madeira, at TenerifFe, and on the ship). Be- 

 tween July 26 and Oct. 27, 1825, he had similarly distin- 

 guished species g§-1022 (during the earlier months of his 

 residence at Rio and the greater part of his excursion into 

 Minas Geraes). '^fhe labour was probably excessive and in 

 the majority of cases served no specially valuable purpose ; 

 for the same work could be done better after his return home. 

 Accordingly we find tiiat he employed this method for the 

 last time on Oct. 27, 1825, explaining a new meaning for all 

 the numbers beyond 1022 in these words: — -" N.B. The 

 following Numbers are of such Insects only as require special 

 and particular remark : of all the others their locality and 

 seasoyi can be known only by referring to that same date in 

 the Journal, or in the Catalogus Geographicus of the Botanical 

 Collection : or to the following list of dates.^' The Journal 

 is unfortunately lost, but the other two books are in the Hope 

 Department, the second (" the following list of dates ") being 

 what I have called the " Brazilian note-book." In this 

 latter the numbers 1023 to 13^5 (Jan. 1, 1826, to March 18, 

 182i<) occur among other entries wliich are distinguished by 

 dates alone, and not by numbers. All the numbers beyond 

 1022 and some of the dates refer to observations made upon 

 tiie living forms. The numbers of individuals are not given, 

 but can sometimes be inferred from the descriptions. The 

 last number 13Jf5 refers to an observation made at Porto 

 Real (Na^ionale) on March 18th, 1829 3 so that all the 

 observations made during the descent of the Tocantins and at 

 Pal a, in fact from March 19, 1829, to Feb. 10, 1830, are lost, 

 having been contained in tlie missing volume alluded to on 

 p. 98 (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., Feb. 1904). 



It is much to be hoped that an opportunity may be found 

 fur publishing the two Oxford note-books, both on account of 



