72 INTRODUCTION. 
by the author. It was designed to be the precursor 
of several other works on the natural history of 
that country and of Otaheite, where the author 
spent nearly eight years, and was published in the 
hope that the profits of the sale would enable him 
to return to his native country; a prospect, how- 
ever, which was unhappily not realised, for he died 
at Sidney in 1821. The work is now extremely 
rare, and it is probably on that account that the 
interesting groups which it describes have not 
much attracted the attention of recent entomological 
writers. 
The extensive works of Hubner and Herbst de- 
serve a conspicuous place among the illustrated 
works devoted to the Lepidoptera, and there are 
many others of great merit which we cannot afford 
space more particularly to advert to. 
Of those authors who have arranged the hetero- 
cerous Lepidoptera systematically, it is scarcely 
necessary to allude to the well known classifications 
of Linnaeus and Fabricius, The former at one time 
included the whole in his genus Phalaena, but he 
afterwards added the genus Sphinx, and divided 
Phalaena into numerous sections. Latreille was the 
first who attempted a natural arrangement, which 
appeared in 179<3, in the " Precis," &c. of which 
we have already spoken. Following out the views 
of Mr. Macleay with regard to a circular relation of 
affinities, several British authors have endeavoured 
to apply his principles to the insects in question. 
Mr. Stephens, the author of one of the best de^- 
