PREFACE. 
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The following figures were selected from General Hardwick e’s 
Collection of Drawings. The Engravings were made, the im- 
pressions coloured, and the descriptions set up in type in 1833 ; 
but the appearance of the work was delayed by the death of 
General Hardwicke, and by the chancery suit which his family 
instituted. 
The various works then in progress, founded on the materials 
collected by him, were this year sold by public auction, and 
having again come under my control, I hasten to fulfil in some 
degree, the desires of my late friend, who made so many sacri- 
fices for the improvement of his favorite study. 
As the text had to be recomposed, references to modern 
works, &c., have been added to make it consistent with the 
present state of Entomology. 
This work will be followed by : — 
1. The Ornithology of China, illustrated with Plates, by W. 
Swainson, Esq., F.R.S. 
2. The Spiders of Nepal, illustrated with numerous Plates. 
3. The Fungi of Nepal, with numerous Plates, and some 
other works selected from General Hardwicke’s collection. 
JOHN EDWARD GRAY. 
British Museum, 
1st September, 1846. 
