the Supplement to the * Birds of Australia,’ two “ Allied ” and two
“ Hairy ” Hermits in the ‘ M onograph of th e Humming-Birds,’ and
two Orange-hreasted ” Trogons in the second edition of the Monograph.
The list of “ E rra ta et Corrigenda” proves th a t, with all one’s care,
a good many mistakes will occur in a gigantic Index like the present.
Many of these errors were not discovered u n til the final sheets of the
book were being checked, as it was impossible to p u t the whole of the
work up in type a t th e same time, and in this way most of the mistakes
were noted only when too late for correction.
I n conclusion, I can only hope th a t this ‘ Index,’ over which I have
expended so much time, will he found to supply a re al want, and will
be of much service to th e possessors of Gould’s splendid series of
ornithological works. I have only once more to th an k my assistant,
Mr. Chubb, for the cheerful help which he has rendered me throughout
the preparation of the work.
Some little difficulty arose a t first as to whose set of Gould’s works
should he used as an authentic and complete copy. Messrs. Sotheran
very kindly len t me a complete set of the Indices to the folio works,
as far as they had got them, h u t they were unable to supply me with
those of the ‘ Birds of Europe,’ the ‘ Birds of Australia,’ and some of the
earlier Monographs. I therefore determined, in the case of these
works, to depend upon the copies in the library of the Zoological
Society of London.
R. BOWDLER SHARPE.
Chiswick, Dec. 15, 1892.
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR.
To write the history of a man’s life when th e subject of one’s pen has
passed away, leaving behind him no private journal or memoranda of
any kind, is not easy. I n th e case of J o h n G o u l d it is perhaps not
necessary to seek for such data, for his work speaks for itself and his
books te ll the story of his life. This is, I am sure, what he would
himself have wished them to do.
Several excellent notices of his life and labours were published in 1881
a t the time of his death, notably in I Nature ’ and in th e ‘ Zoologist;’ bu t
perhaps the best and fullest account was th a t written by Count Salvadori
in the ‘ A tti ’ of th e Royal Academy of Science of Turin, of which
Gould had been a Corresponding Member since 1811. This paper, entitled
“ D ella vita e delle opere dell’ ornitologo inglese Jo h n Gould,” was
published in the * A tti ’ of the above-named Academy in 1881, and Count
Salvadori therein gives a complete list of all the works and papers written
by th e deceased naturalist. Another excellent notice was published in
1861 in ‘ Photographic Portra its of Men of Eminence,’ when Gould was
sixty years of age, and from this memoir and th e story which he himself
tells of his work in the “ Prefaces ” to his various publications we gain
a history of his early life and accomplishments. I have also received
much assistance in compiling this memoir from his th re e daughters,
Mrs. Moon, Miss Louisa Gould, and Miss Sai Gould, and also from my
colleague Mr. Jo h n Cleave, of the British Museum, who is a nephew of
the deceased naturalist.
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