The year after his graduation, in October 1799, he accepted 

 service as surgeon on the China, a merchant vessel about to sail for 

 Java. In the course of the voyage he visited Batavia, in the island 

 of Java. He was impressed with the beauty of the scenery, the rich- 

 ness of the vegetation, and certain drugs in common use by the 

 natives which were extracted from local plants. He decided to in- 

 vestigate these substances, so upon his return home he secured 

 such books, scientific instruments and materials as he could get 

 together in Philadelphia and undertook a second voyage to Batavia 

 in 1801. There he secured, upon application, an appointment as 

 surgeon in the Dutch Colonial Army, and this gave him an oppor- 

 tunity to visit and study the flora, fauna and geology of the various 

 parts of the island. This was the beginning of eighteen years of 

 study which linked his name inseparably with the natural history 

 and especially the botany of Java. 



In the prefaces of his various works he tells the story of his 

 collections and travels. It appears that between 1802 and 1811 his 

 facilities were poor and many of his most valued specimens decay- 

 ed owing to inadequate preservation. For several years his re- 

 searches were confined to the vicinity of Batavia, but beginning 

 with 1804 he visited nearly all parts of Java and made brief trips to 

 several of the neighboring islands. 



In 1811 Java became a British possession, administered by the 

 East India Company. The temporary commissioner authorized 

 Horsfield to continue his investigations along the same lines as 

 hitherto, and before the end of the year a new governor. Sir Thomas 

 Stamford Raffles (after whom the genus Rafflesia and family Raffle- 

 siaceae were named) confirmed his appointment in the service of 

 the East India Company. This connection enabled him to pursue 

 his studies on a more elaborate scale. Dr. Horsfield thoroughly ex- 

 plored every part of the island in quest of its natural products. From 

 Java he visited Banca and gave the fullest and best account which 

 exists of the mineralogy, geology, botany and zoology of that island. 

 After the restoration of Java to the Dutch in 1816, Dr. Horsfield 

 made a long sojourn in Sumatra and there continued his favorite 

 studies. 



He secured the warm friendship of Sir Stamford Raffles, who, 

 it is believed, acquired from Dr. Horsfield that love of natural his- 

 tory by which he was distinguished, and which rendered him so 



