Sometimes indeed the land-crab becomes, as in the West Indies, a part of the stock of the provident and luxurious inhabitants, who inclose a small piece of ground in the manner of a yard, and feed them with fruit, herbs, Indian corn, and other grain, on which they fatten exceedingly, and stewed in any manner are most delicious eating.
Thus a speculative man can find few opportunities of securing his collections, or of making observations, while surrounded by the hospitable chief, the trader, the planter, and their families, who scarce finding room enough in their houses for themselves, think all time lost that is not spent in lucrative business, active pleasures, or social festivity. If to this we add frequent sickness, the want of boats or cattle for conveyance in cases where moving without is impracticable; the want of information, of guides, of assistance, the means of transporting things, of candlelights, or even a table to write on, it will not be surprising we have so little knowledge of the uncultivated tropical regions. Even travellers, who go expressly to make observations, have other great difficulties to encounter. They are sometimes obliged to pass much of their time in providing the mere necessaries of life, and some in securing themselves from danger, while their industry is always exposed to the avarice, the neglect, or the ill-will of ignorant people, whose services, though poor, are not to be easily dispensed with.
Sometimes the cottages have no windows, and the larger houses, which they contrive to form in such manner as to receive the breezes, are generally without glass; so that the student frequently has his subject, his pen, or his paper blown away, with various other disappointments and vexations too numerous and too trivial to mention, but altogether distressing, and in many instances insurmountable.
As this is the case, we have not much reason to wonder that our accounts of some foreign countries, and their natural productions, are so short and imperfect. We must content ourselves with slight sketches, which, repeated and corroborated by various travellers, may at last amount to one great descriptive and useful work, of which those contained in this Preface are offered only as so many scattered seeds.
(The various observations upon the economy of different species figured in these Illustrations, and inserted in this Preface, have been respectively introduced under the species to which they belonged.)
ILLUSTRATIONS
OF
EXOTIC ENTOMOLOGY.