Notebook of animal lists by John Forbes
Information
Title - Notebook of animal lists by John Forbes
Record type - Archive
Original Reference - RHS/Col/3/3/9
Date - 1820s
Scope & content - Notebook by John Forbes comprising a list of animals, loosely arranged based on the Linnaean taxonomy. Enclosed two loose sheets of notes, possibly relating to a journal entry, and two poems or songs
Overview of contents:
Pages 1-29: 'Birds'
Page 30: Blank
Pages 31-40: 'The tribe Simia'
Pages 41-47: 'Insecta'
Pages 48-50: 'Vermes'
Pages 51-54: 'Amphibia'
Pages 55-56: Blank
Pages 57-72: Descriptions of birds, numbered, arranged by order and genus
Pages 72-78: Blank
Physical description: Bound in soft paper covers marbled in red/brown shell pattern with blue veins. The binding is breaking. Two loose enclosures. Pages are reasonably robust. Fragile. Handle with care. Dimensions: 20.5 (h) x 12.5 (w) cm
Undated. Possibly written before the journey for reference. Annotated in pencil
The volume was paginated on the upper right-hand corner of rectos during cataloguing
The volume had two loose enclosures at the front of the volume. These enclosures were removed for preservation purposes during cataloguing and stored with the volume in separate folders:
Enclosure 1: Notes on a loose sheet, possibly for a journal entry, in Forbes' hand. Undated [c.1823]
'Set out. The parties. Our course. The walk, roads [&] places visited. The soil, its qualities. Sowed seeds etc. Plants found, starting cultivation. Continuation, great monuments seen. Employment of the natives. Houses form of & composed of. State of cultivation in peculiar places. Tombs etc. Continuation of course. Volcano, its shape & angles etc. Birds birds [sic] met with. Night, returned home. Manners & hospitality of the natives & their propensities. Season of the year. No instrument for cultivation, probably using wooden stakes. Manner of treating the women with respect to men & proportion of the two sexes. Ages of the inhabitants, no estimation can be formed of people who differ so much in their manner & being. Charts of the ships' course & the different places she touches at'
Enclosure 2: 'Merrily bosom boundeth', notes
Copy of a poem or song lyrics in an unidentified hand, undated, on a loose sheet ('Merrily every bosom boundeth, merrily oh, merrily oh, where the song of freedom soundeth') ['Merrily every bosom boundeth', or 'Tyrolese song of liberty' by Thomas Moore]. Copy of a poem in French in another hand, written in pencil ('heureux qui dans son champ demeurant a l'ecart, sans crainte, sans desires, sans eclat, sans envie, dans l'uniformite, passa toute sa vie') [the first verse of 'Imitation d'un morceau de Claudien' by Stanislas de Boufflers, French writer and governor of Senegal in the 1780s]
Summary of contents:
Note on the inside of the cover: 'Bullet moulds 15 and 24'
Lists of birds, mammals, insects, invertebrates and amphibians, loosely based on the Linnaean taxonomy, although with some diversions. Each list is arranged in columns, headed genera, specific, English name, habitat and author, with the lists divided into numbered orders. As the modern classification differs in many respects from that used in the volume, the modern names of the order or genera are not given below. There are annotations in pencil [in Forbes' hand], including additions and exclamation marks next to some species
Pages 1-29:
'Birds', list of birds, comprising Accipitres, including Vultur [annotated in pencil: 'vulture'], Falco or eagle, Strix or owl and Lanius or butcherbird or shrike
Picae, including Psittacus or parrot, Buphagae or beef-eater [Buphagus, oxpecker], Corvus or crow, Cuculus or cuckoo and Alcedo or kingfisher [here the list includes 9 more genera]
Anseres, comprising Anas or goose, Aptenodytes or penguin, Procellaria or petrel, Diomedia or albatross and Pelicanus or pelican)
Grallae, including Phoenicopterus or flamingo, Ardea or crane, Tantalus or ibis, Tringa or lapwing and Rallus or rail [here the list includes 8 more genera]
Gallinae, comprising Otis or bustard, Struchio or ostrich, Didus or dodo, Phasianus or pheasant, Numida or pintado and Tetrao or grouse)
and Passeres, including Columba or pigeon, Turdus or thrush, Musicarpa or flycatcher, Parus or titmouse and Caprimulgus or goatsucker [here the list includes 10 more genera]
Pages 31-40:
'The tribe Simia', list of mammals, comprising 'Apes, order Primates', comprising Homo or ape, Simia, Galago [Colugo] and Vespertilio or bat
Bruta, comprising Bradypus or sloth, Dasypus or armadillo, Manis or scaly lizard [pangolin], Myrmecophaga or anteater, Rhinoceros and Elephas or elephant)
Ferae, comprising Canis or dog, Felis or cat, Mustela or weasel and otter, Viverea [Viverra] or ichneumon [mongoose and civet], Talpa or mole and Sorax [Sorex] or shrew
Glires, including Hystrix or porcupine, Mus or rat, Sciurus or squirrel, Aretomy or marmot and Lepus or hare [here the list includes 3 more genera]
Pecora, including Camelus or camel, Cervus or deer, Antelopus or antelope, Capra or goat and Ovis or sheep [here the list includes 4 more genera]
and Bellua, comprising Equus or horse, Hippopotamus or river horse and Sus or hog
Pages 41-47:
'Insecta', list of insects, comprising Coleoptera, including Scarabaeus or beetle, Curculio or weevil, Buprestis or cow-burner [jewel beetle], Mantecora [unidentified] and Erodius [here the list includes 2 more genera]
Hemiptera, including Blatta or cockroach, Mantis or soothsayer, Gryllus or locust, Cicada or flea locust or froghopper and Gumex or bug [here the list includes 2 more genera]
Lepidoptera [list left blank]
Neuroptera, comprising Libellula or dragonfly
Hymenoptera, comprising Thynnus or tunny fly and Formica or ant
Diptera, comprising Aestrus or gadfly
and Aptera, comprising Termes or white ant [termite], Phalangium [harvestman], Scorpio or scorpion and Scolopendra or centipede
Pages 48-50:
'Vermes', list of worms, molluscs, crustaceans, corals, algae etc [the list begins with order 2 'Molluscae', with a pencil annotation next to the heading 'or Helminths, order 1 Intestina'], comprising Molluscae, comprising Sepia or cuttlefish, Asterias or starfish and Echinus or sea urchin
Testacea [annotated in pencil: 'or concology [conchology]'], including Chama or chima [jewel box shell], Argonauto [Argonauta] or argonaut [paper nautilus], Nautilus, Conus or cone [cone snail] and
Turbo or wentletrap [wentletrap, turban snail] [here the list includes 4 more genera]
Zoophites [Zoophyta] [annotated in pencil: 'order 5 Infuscorea [Lithophyta]'], including Tubipora or tubepore [organ pipe coral], Madrepora or madrepore [stone coral], Isis or red coral [soft coral], Gorgonia or black coral [sea fan] and Corallina or coraline [coralline algae] [here the list includes 5 more genera]
Pages 51-54:
'Amphibia', list of amphibians, comprising 'Order 1 [unnamed, reptiles]', comprising Testudo or turtle and tortoise, Rana or frog and toad, Draco or dragon [gliding lizard] and Lacerta or lizard
Serpentes, comprising Boa, Coluba [Coluber] or viper, Langaha and Anguis or snake [slowworm and worm snake]
Pages 57-72:
Descriptions of birds, divided into orders (Accipitres, Picae, Anseres, Grallae, Gallinae and Passeres), numbered [copied from Carl Linnaeus, 'A General System of Nature' / 'Systema Naturae', first edition 1735]. Including Falco or falcon ('bill hooked, the base covered with a cere, head covered with close-set feathers, tongue bifid'), Todus or tody ('bill subulate, depressed, obtuse, straight, covered at the base with bristles, nostrils oval, small, feet gressorial'), Procellaria or petrel ('bill toothless, a little compressed, hooked at the point, mandibles equal, nostrils cylindrical, tubular, truncate, lying on the base of the bill, feet palmate, the back toe pointing down'), Phoenicopteros or flamingo ('bill naked, toothed, bent as if broken, nostrils linear, feet 4-toed, palmate, the membranes semicircular on the fore part, hind toe not connected') and Penelope ('bill naked at the base, head covered with feathers, chin naked, tail with 12 feathers, legs without spurs') [here the list includes 85 more genera]
Extent - 1 volume
Repository - Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library
Copyright - Royal Horticultural Society
Credit Line - RHS Lindley Collections
Usage terms - Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)