58 



When any remarkable deficiency is observed in 

 particular natural groups, we may at least con- 

 clude that such insects are, on this plain, com- 

 paratively very rare. According to Dr. Hors- 

 field's general observation, indeed, those insects 

 which live on plants, shrubs, and trees, are ex- 

 tremely abundant in Java; while such as are, 

 in more temperate climates, commonly found 

 in various situations near the surface of the 

 earth, are limited to a few families. At the 

 same time, however, it will be well to bear in 

 mind, on regarding the immense proportion of 

 herbivorous insects in the collection, that, from 

 the nature of Dr. Horsfield's more immediate 

 pursuits, he was particularly led to collect on 

 plants. 



" From the plain just mentioned, in which, on 

 account of the extension of agriculture and a 

 numerous population, the variety of vegetable 

 arid animal productions is necessarily limited, 

 Dr. Horsfield often made journies, in different 

 directions, through the more wild and uninha- 

 bited parts of the island. Some of these were 

 undertaken almost exclusively for entomological 

 research, and were particularly directed, at the 

 proper seasons, to a long range of hills, ex- 

 tending parallel to the southern coast of the 



