PREFACE. 



II/TY readers will naturally ask why I have delayed 

 writing this book for six years after my return ; 

 and I feel hound to give them full satisfaction on this 

 point. 



When I reached England in the spring of 1862, I found 

 myself surrounded by a room full of packing-cases, con- 

 taining the collections that I had from time to time sent 

 home for my private use. These comprised nearly three 

 thousand bird-skins, of about a thousand species ; and at 

 least twenty thousand beetles and butterflies, of about 

 seven thousand species ; besides some quadrupeds and 

 land-shells. A large proportion of these I had not seen 

 for years ; and in my then weak state of health, the 

 unpacking, sorting, and arranging of such a mass of 

 specimens occupied a long time. 



