218 Natural History. 



Bats are tolerably abundant. Birds have many peculiar spe- 

 cies, with a decided relationship to those of the two nearest 

 masses of land. The insects have similar relations with the 

 birds. As an example, four species of the Papilionida^ are pe- 

 culiar to Timor, three others are also found in Java, and one in 

 Australia, Of the four peculiar species two are decided mod- 

 ifications of Javanese forms, while the others seem allied to 

 those of the Moluccas and Celebes. The very few land shells 

 known are all, curiously enough, allied to or identical with 

 Moluccan or Celebes forms. The Pieridse (white and yellow 

 butterflies), which wander more, and from frequenting open 

 grounds are more liable to be blown out to sea, seem about 

 equally related to those of Java, Australia, and the Moluccas. 



It has been objected to Mr, Darwin's theory — of oceanic 

 islands having never been connected with the main-land — 

 that this would imply that their animal population was a 

 matter of chance ; it has been termed the " ilotsam and jetsam 

 theory," and it has been maintained that nature does not 

 work by the " chapter of accidents." But in the case which 

 I have here described, we have the most positive evidence 

 that such has been the mode of peopling the islands. Their 

 productions are of that miscellaneous character which we 

 should expect from such an origin; and to suppose that they 

 have been portions of Australia or of Java Avill introduce per- 

 fectly gratuitous difiiculties, and render it quite impossible 

 to explain those curious relations which the best-known group 

 of animals (the birds) have been shown to exhibit. On the 

 other hand, the depth of the surrounding seas, the form of 

 the submerged banks, and the volcanic character of most of 

 the islands, all point to an independent origin. 



Before concluding, I must make one remark to avoid misap- 

 prehension. When I say that Timor has never formed part of 

 Australia, I refer only to recent geological epochs. In Second- 

 ary, or even Eocene or Miocene, times, Timor and Australia 

 may have been connected ; but if so, all record of such a union 

 has been lost by subsequent submergence ; and in accounting 

 for the present land-inhabitants of any country we have only 

 to consider those changes which have occurred since its last 

 elevation above the waters. Since such last elevation, I feel 

 confident that Timor has not formed part of Australia. 



