XVIII PREB^ACK. 



Museum of Natural History brought home by Lenz, Warburg, and 

 Dieekmami from the Riu Kiu Islands and Amurland; in the Museum 

 Sonc-k(>nl)ergianum, Frankfort on the Main, the depository of Bern- 

 hard Schmacker's collection from China and the Kiu Kiu Islands; in 

 Stockholm's Riksmuseum where are the Japanese collections made by 

 Dr. Osc. Nordquist during the Vega expedition; and in the museums 

 of Bergen and Christiania, some highly important collections from 

 Formosa. To the directors and curators of all these institutions I 

 wish to extend my thanks for facilities and assistance received. 



The material in the United States National Museum consists of 

 some very important collections. Only a few specimens from the 

 Perry expedition which opened Japan to foreign intercourse are still 

 in existence; there were probably not very many to start wath. The 

 next expedition, the Rodgers North Pacific Exploring Expedition, of 

 which Dr. W. Stimpson was the naturalist, secured rather large col- 

 lections, and these were reported upon by Doctor Hallowell. Unfor- 

 tunately, he died before the printing of the report , the editing of which 

 was intrusted to Dr. E. D. Cope, then quite young and inexperi- 

 enced. Many new species were described, but the descrij^tions were 

 very deficient and the whole publication was marred by numerous 

 serious errors and lapses. A large number of the specimens are lost, 

 many were apparently never returned to the museum, while the few 

 that are left have suffered from neglect and most of them are in poor 

 c(mdition. With their aid, however, and that of Doctor Stimpson's 

 manuscript field catalogue, which is still in existence, I have been 

 enabled to straighten out many dubious questions. Of later note- 

 worthy collections made for the museum, or acquired by it , I may men- 

 tion the excellent material gathered by my late friend Pierre Louis 

 Jouy m Japan and Korea. Doctor Ferrebee also sent in some speci- 

 ijiens from the latter country. During my visit to Japan in 1896, as 

 one of the Fur Seal Commissioners, I was enabled to secure numerous 

 specimens of the conunoner species from the surroundings of Yoko- 

 hama. One of the most extensive and valuable collections of reptiles 

 and batrachians was made by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, United States 

 Deputy Fish Commissioner, in 1901, in southern Japan, especially in 

 the island of Shikoku, hitherto almost unknown herpetologically. 

 Dr. S. Nozawa, of the Agricultural College, Sapporo, has presented 

 to the museum an excellent collection of Yezo reptiles. In 1904 the 

 National Museum acquired from Mv. Alan Owston his splendid col- 

 lection of Japanese rei:>tiles embracing large series of species from 

 Hondo, the central and southern groups of the Riu Km Islands 

 and from Formosa. Finally, the Science College of the Inq:>erial 

 University in Tokyo has presented to the U. S. National Museum a 

 valuable set of duplicates of Japanese and Formosan reptiles. 



