﻿172 FIELD AND FOREST. 



The Museum Godeffroy. 



In the January number of Field and Forest there is an article de- 

 scriptive of this museum, the points of which were translated from a 

 book of travels by M. Emile Guimet, and as that writer presents them 

 with his own coloring, the following may not be without interest to 

 the readers of this journal. 



The firm of Godeffroy & Co., of Hamburg, are extensive ship own- 

 ers and traders with many of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, where 

 they own plantations devoted to the cultivation of cotton, the cocoa- 

 nut, and as an experiment, coffee. On some of the Samoan Islands 

 they hold a monopoly of trade and exercise authority over the natives. 

 It may be remembered that they were instrumental in causing the re- 

 moval of Stein berger from the Samoas last year. 



The head of this firm, Mr. J. Caesar Godeffroy, has from his youth 

 been an enthusiastic lover of science, and for many years past he di- 

 rected the captains of his vessels, whom he selected among the more 

 intelligent of their craft, to collect objects of natural history in the 

 countries they visited, and to record their observations in reports on 

 their arrival home. He also induced young men of scientific attainments 

 to make voyages of exploration at his expense. Among these I will 

 mention : Dr. Ed. Graeffe of Zurich, the present director of the Vi- 

 enna Aquarium, who went to the Samoa and Feejee Islands, where 

 he was active for ten years in his special department of zoology, mak- 

 ing besides observations on their geology, geography, ethnology, &c. 

 The Pole, J. Kubary, visited various groups of islands and returned in 

 1874 after making observations in all departments of science. Our 

 countryman Andrew Garrett made ichthyology his speciality and I will 

 have an opportunity to refer to him further on. A German lady, Am- 

 alia Dietrich, was sent to Eastern Australia in 1863, where she labored 

 principally in Queensland ; her collections along the Brisbane River 

 and on many of the islands on the coast, include delicate mosses and 

 algas as well as skulls and skeletons of extinct races. She returned in 

 '73 to take charge of the botanical department of the Museum, while 

 the others are under the direction of Mr. J. D. E. Schmeltz, Jr. 



The museum is the result of all these and many other travels, and 

 it may be cited as the first instance in which a lover of nature make, 

 use ofhis advantages and great wealth, for the advancement of sciences 



