

THE HON. EAST INDIA COMPANY. 331 



botanists ; and thousands and tens of thousands of 

 dried specimens, prepared under their superin- 

 tendence, have been transmitted to England, ar- 

 ranged into separate collections, and then dis- 

 tributed among the scientific botanists of Europe. 

 The same patronage has been extended to every 

 thing regarding zoology. No sooner had the 

 British arms taken possession of Java, than ar- 

 rangements were made for securing the services of 

 Dr. Horsfleld, an eminent naturalist then resid- 

 ing in the island, and his valuable collections were 

 made over to the Company. On the arrival of 

 Dr. Horsfield in this country, these scientific trea- 

 sures were deposited in the India House ; and when 

 suitable arrangements had been made in the museum 

 for their reception, they were opened to the public 

 and to men of science : and the " Zoological Re- 

 searches in Java" were soon after published, under 

 the Company's patronage. The chief results of 

 Dr. Horsfi eld's discoveries being thus given to the 

 world, the rich collection of duplicate specimens 

 was ordered to be distributed, like those of the 

 plants, among the different public museums, and the 

 eminent zoologists, both in Britain and on the Con- 

 tinent. The splendid collection of insects, equally 

 rich in duplicates, will, no doubt, be employed in a 

 manner equally calculated to benefit science, so 

 soon as the honour attached to their discovery and 

 investigation has been secured. In short, in what- 

 ever light we view the scientific patronage exercised 

 by the India Company, it is scarcely possible to do 

 justice to that munificent spirit which is apparent in 

 all the details. 



