to Brother Fuller the productions of the country; to
Brother Pearce the language, etc.; and to the Society a joint account
of the mission."

He had "separate books for every distinct class, as birds, beasts,
fishes, reptiles, etc." Long before this, on 13th March 1795, he had
written to the learned Ryland, his special correspondent on subjects of
science and on Hebrew, his first impressions of the physiography of
Bengal, adding: "The natural history of Bengal would furnish
innumerable novelties to a curious inquirer. I am making collections
and minute descriptions of whatever I can obtain; and intend at some
future time to transmit them to Europe."

"MUDNABATI, 26th November 1796.--I observed in a former letter that the
beasts have been in general described, but that the undescribed birds
were surprisingly numerous; and, in fact, new species are still
frequently coming under my notice. We have sparrows and
water-wagtails, one species of crow, ducks, geese, and common fowls;
pigeons, teal, ortolans, plovers, snipes like those in Europe; but
others, entirely unlike European birds, would fill a volume. Insects
are very numerous. I have seen about twelve sorts of grylli, or
grasshoppers and crickets. Ants are the most omnivorous of all
insects; we have eight or ten sorts very numerous. The termes, or
white ants, destroy everything on which they fasten; they will eat
through an oak chest in a day or two and devour all its contents.
Butterflies are not so numerous as in England, but I think all
different. Common flies and mosquitoes (or gnats) are abundant, and
the latter so tormenting as to make one conclude that if the flies in
Egypt were mosquitoes, the plague must be almost insupportable. Here
are beetles of many species; scorpions of two sorts, the sting of the
smallest not mortal; land crabs in abundance, and an amazing number of
other kinds of insects. Fish is very plentiful, and the principal
animal food of the inhabitants. I find fewer varieties of vegetables
than I could have conceived in so large a country. Edible vegetables
are scarce, and fruit far from plentiful. You will perhaps wonder at
our eating many things here which no one eats in England: as arum,
three or four sorts, and poppy leaves (Papaver somniferum). We also
cut up mallows by the bushes for our food (Job xxx. 4). Amaranths, of
three sorts, we also eat, besides capsicums, pumpkins, gourds,
calabashes, and the egg-plant fruit; yet we