40 Mr. J. M'Clelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 



types T have included under the head of Paonomince or herbi- 

 vorous Carps, of which the Gudgeons and Gonorhynchs are 

 the most remarkable. 



5. In the last-mentioned genera the mouth is situated com- 

 pletely under the head, and is constructed in the Gudgeons 

 for bruising soft vegetable substances, such as are found in 



the view of ascertaining if all the other plates in Hardwicke's ' Illustrations,' 

 as well as those of lishes, were derived from the two folio volumes stated to 

 be in the library of that institution. The following memorandum, which 

 was made on the occasion, ii ust be interesting to all who are in any way 

 connected with zoological pursuits. 



"Botanic Garden, .3rd September 1838. — Having obtained the requisite 

 permission, I inspected Buchanan's zoological MSS. for the first time; they 

 seem to contain descriptions and figures of the following animals : — 



" Five specie.s of S'nn'tn, one recently described by Ur. Harlan in the Ame- 

 rican Phil. Transac. as Simia Hoolock. 



" Five species of Fclince, one grey above and spotted beneath, a Fdis- 

 leopardus alius, and an Ursus. 



" Six Cerv'idce ; a Cervus nigtr, Buch Several species of )fns, two bear- 

 ing Buchanan's specific names ; also an Ichneumon and a Hystcrix opeigura, 

 Buch. ; three species of Capra bearing his specific names, as well as several 

 species of Tortoises, two species of flying Foxes, two Lacertce, and two Pa- 

 radoxuri. 



" Of birds I observed about sixty species of Falconii/(P, about 150 Inses- 

 sores, and about 74 Grullce, including many rare TanlaVnlcE, and the species 

 of Ciconia recently described as C. cristata, which appears to have been 

 named nearly thirty years ago by Buchanan Ardea crinita ; all which, in 

 addition to the fishes, are drawn in duplicate, thus amounting to about 

 900 drawings." Although Buchanan was professedly a botanist, his re- 

 searches appear to have extended to all branches of natural history except 

 entomology. His volumes on Gangetic Fishes, published at his own ex- 

 pense, under the disadvantage of being deprived of the greater part of his 

 fi'gures, are the only part of his zoological labours that are known, )'et his 

 inquiries in other branches of zoology were equally extensive, and equally 

 entitled to publicity. It now a])pears that two quarto volumes of MSS., 

 written with liis usual erudition, have been retained in the library of the 

 Botanic Garden since 1815 ; while every periodical that has since appeared 

 deprived him of some portion of those claims to priority which his j)apers 

 ou<iht to have secured to him had they been placed in proper hands, or de- 

 posited in an institution where their existence could have been known or 

 appreciated. 



Had such an injury to the advancenient of information resulted from an 

 oversight in an ordinary public office, the circumstance would excite less 

 surprise ; but that the works of a naturalist should be so treated in a public 

 institution expressly intended for the promotion of science, is so unaccount- 

 able to me, that I cannot presume to express an opinion on the subject. But 

 as the case stands, perhaps the best remedy that can now be applied, injus- 

 tice to Buchanan as well as to others who are still engaged in scientific pur- 

 suits, would be to give a complete edition of his labours, botanical and 

 zoological, to the public ; at the same time it is right to say, that no atone- 

 ment can now make amends for the injiuy that has been inflicted on Bu- 

 chanan as a naturalist, hy for the time that has been lost in allowing others 

 to go over unnecessarily the groiuid which he investigated, instead of he- 

 ginning where he left ofl^. 



