LiNiTEAjr sociBir OP LO]srDo:N'. xssiii 



The Dutch Colonies in the Indian Archipelago were amongst 

 the first to apply themselves to the cultivation of science and 

 literature. The Society of Arts and Sciences of Batavia com- 

 menced their Transactions in 1779, under the title of Yerhande- 

 lingen van het Bataviaasch G-enootschap van Kunsten e3i Weten- 

 schappen. The first volumes are in octavo, with, as might be 

 expected, coarse paper and typography ; but they soon extended to 

 small quarto, and in 184i9 to full-sized quarto, with much improve- 

 ment in the execution. There are now twenty-nine volumes up to 

 1862 J they contain, however, no Natural History of any import- 

 ance, with the exception of Blocker's Ichthyological papers in 

 some of the later volumes. These Transactions are chiefly in 

 Dutch, with some memoirs (it is to be supposed, on literary or 

 historical subjects) entirely in Oriental language and character. 

 Since 1853 the same Society has also published an annual volume 

 of a Journal or Tijdschrift of their proceedings, including a few 

 short papers, chiefly historical, literary, or ethnographical. 



Another scientific Society in Batavia has published, up to 1859, 

 six quarto volumes of Transactions under the double title of Acta 

 Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neerlandicae, and Verhandelingen der 

 Natuurkundige Vereenigung in JSTederlandsch Indie. Amidst 

 various other sciences, these volumes contain a considerable num- 

 ber of Bleeker's Ichthyological and Carcinologieal papers, occupy- 

 ing the greater portion of nine volumes, besides Bernstein on 

 Javan birds and birds' nests, Eosenberg on Sumatran birds, 

 Doleschall on Arachnidse of the Archipelago, Hasskarl on Javan 

 ferns and on some plants of the Buitenzorg garden, and Zollinger 

 on Bottler a. The papers are mostly in Dutch, but usually with 

 Latin technical characters ; and every paper, however short, and 

 although several on the same subject sometimes follow each 

 other, has its separate paging. 



IX. Belgium. 



The Societe Litteraire de Bruxelles, established in 1769, 

 through the exertions of Count de Cobenzl, Imperial Minister 

 Plenipotentiary to the Low Countries, was transformed in 1772 

 by the Empress Maria Theresa into the Academic Imperiale et 

 Eoyale des Sciences et Belles-Lettres de Bruxelles. Broken up 

 on the second invasion of the French armies in 1794, it was re- 

 established in 1816, dropping the word Imperiale from its title. 

 The old series of its quarto Transactions consists of five volumes, 

 from 1777 to 1788, entitled Memoires de 1' Academic Imperiale et 



LINlSr. PKOC. — VOL. IS, C 



