INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 13 



in the East Indies — offered the means of exchanges with the 

 most celebrated collections, and procured for our establish- 

 ment other objects from countries on which the feet of the 

 Dutch traveller had never yet trodden. Such was the 

 state of the Museum when the late M. Boie quitted 

 Europe in 1825, after having terminated his gi'eat work 

 on the Reptiles of Java. This collection, since confided 

 to my care, has extended equally with the other depart- 

 ments of the Museum : it has now tripled its former ex- 

 tent. The gi'eat number of travellers, almost simulta- 

 neously despatched to various countries of our globe, have 

 especially contributed to procure for us a vast number of 

 objects, perfectly preserved, of which the native region is 

 stated in the most precise terms. Some of our country- 

 men, established in foreign parts, have been useful to 

 science, by transmitting to our establishment collections 

 containing the productions of their adopted country. 

 Other recent travellers have presented us Avitli duplicates 

 of the produce of their researches, — a circumstance which 

 has no less contributed to render our collections complete, 

 than the purchases made in Paris, in London, and several 

 other capitals. Private individuals also have exerted them- 

 selves to communicate to us all objects which could be of 

 any utility for my work. 



The small series of Ophidians from New Holland, 

 which makes part of the Museum of the Netherlands, was 

 acquired in London. The voyage of discovery to New 

 Guinea, undertaken in the years 1827 and 1828, by order 

 of our colonial government, has furnished us with a great 

 number of objects of natural history, interesting, and for 

 the most part new. Timor, Amboina, and the otlier ad- 

 jacent isles, have been explored at different times by our 

 navigators. A continual residence of those indefatiga- 

 ble naturalists at Java, for nearly twenty years, has con- 

 tributed to render the productions of the western part of 

 that island almost as well known as those of Europe. My 

 friend Dr Strauss brought me a small collection of rep- 

 tiles, formed during his sojourn at Manado, at the eastern 

 extremity of Celebes. MM. Von Siebold and BiJRaER 

 have collected, during their voyage to Japan, a great 



