PREFACE. 



THE remarks contained in the following 

 pages have been prepared from notes col- 

 lected during a residence of about thirty 

 months in Sarawak, and the west coast of 

 Borneo. My object, (the collection of plants 

 and seeds,) led me more into the country, 

 and amongst the tribes of aborigines, than 

 any other Englishman who has yet visited 

 the shores of this Island ; and I trust that, 

 though very incomplete, this Work may, in 

 the absence of others on the subject, be 

 found to contain some interesting informa- 

 tion respecting the domestic economy of the 

 people. 



On my arrival in England, in October last, 

 I had no intention of publishing any account 



