| Description | The events in France [the July Revolution] which he has been informed of since his arrival in England, have prevented Cuvier from seeing Buckland in Oxford. His daughter shares his regrets which he asks to be conveyed to Mrs Buckland. Buckland can do Cuvier a great service by providing information. He would like the Dodo's skull, Didus ineptus, which is in the Ashmolean Museum, better represented than it appears in the Naturalists' Miscellany [The naturalists' miscellany : or coloured figures of natural objects; drawn and described immediately from nature, by George Shaw and F P Nodder (London 1789-1813)]. He would like to have three views of the skull - represented by rough sketches with descriptions, and gives various instructions, including lifting the skin of the bird, to provide extra detail, and commissioning simple drawings, but of natural size. Cuvier explains that he needs the drawings to compare with some fossils found in a cave on the island of Rodrigues, near Mauritius. He concludes by giving news of common acquaintances. |