HISTORY OF THE INVESTIGATION OF THE FLORA OF SURINAM. 3 



Hostmann mentions his journey to Anka on the Marowine. In order to 

 have better opportunities for collecting, Hostmann had already given up 

 his practice and offered the government to become commander of the post 

 at Anka. He set out for that place in March 1840, but was forced by 

 insufficient means of conveyance to break his journey for a month at 

 Armina, where he made for the first time the acquaintance of Kappler. 

 But it soon appeared that little could be undertaken with the Bush negroes 

 at Anka. Since Hostmann moreover was ill every moment, he resolved to 

 return to Paramaribo in July. After his return his practice went down 

 altogether. Neither did he care much for it any longer; he preferred to 

 occupy himself with the study of nature and with schemes for the emanci- 

 pation of the slaves. The shape in which he made known his ideas to 

 his contemporaries was received with nothmg but ridicule in Surinam, while 

 in Holland liis ideas were disregarded. 



It is in this time that he became more closely acquainted with 

 Kappler. Kappler, born at Stuttgart in i8l6, was originally educated for 

 the trade ; soon however his longing for travelling got the better of him 

 and after an unsuccessful attempt of joining the Greek army, he goes to 

 Holland in 1835, where he enlists at Harderwijk for the colonial army, 

 being destined for Surinam. He goes thither for six years in 1835. His 

 experiences during that time are described in a little book, entitled: Six 

 years in Surinam, Sketches of social and military life in this colony by 

 A. Kappler. 2 vols. (Utrecht 1854, in Dutch; Stuttgart 1854, in German.) 

 Having been sent out to various military outposts in the wilderness, alone 

 with a single negro, he had ample opportunity of devoting his attention to 

 tropical nature. In the first years, however, his collections were exclusively 

 zoological. Besides he was not lucky with them. His first collection, which 

 he sent to Stuttgart, was lost with the ship that conveyed it. During a short 

 residence at Armina he made the acquaintance of Hostmann. After his 

 return to Paramaribo in 1841 Hostmann persuaded him to ask a three 

 weeks' leave and to undertake together a botanical expedition along the 

 Surinam river from the middle of August to the beginning of September. 

 This collection which was afterwards offered for sale by Hohenacker, was 

 collected for the greater part on the Joden-savanne, Bergendal and Station 

 Victoria. Through illness of Hostmann, however, the journey had to be 

 considerably shortened. Kappler, who in the meantime had been promoted 

 to the rank of quarter-master, left the service in 1842 and returned to Ger- 

 many, after having made an arrangement with Hostmann that he would soon 

 return and that they would then both make an expedition to the Upper 

 Surinam. 



Kappler remained in Europe only for a few months. Already in July 

 1842 he is at Paramaribo again, where he is informed to his dismay that 

 Hostmann had set out for the interior three weeks previously. Kappler goes 

 after him at once and overtakes him at Victoria, where he finds Hostmann 



