X Preface. 



ence. Let him see it climb, walk, build its nest, eat, 

 and drink, and fight. Let him see the female suckle her 

 young and carry it astride her hip precisely as do the 

 Coolie women of Hindostan. Let him witness the human- 

 like emotions of affection, satisfaction, pain, and childish 

 rage. Let him see all this, and then he may feel how 

 much more potent has been this lesson than all he has 

 read in pages of abstract ratiocination." After all, the 

 Orang-utan is a poor creature, with but an outer re- 

 semblance to the human species. In intelligence he is 

 not only far below the lowest savage, but even inferior to 

 the horse or the dog. No amount of teaching wUl make 

 the Orang-utan or any other ape practically useful to 

 man. Do all we can for them in a state of confinement, 

 they are simply big helpless monkeys to the last ! 



The avifauna of the island is very rich. Its pheasants 

 rival those of China in beauty. The great hornbills 

 abound in the fruit groves, and are giants in comparison 

 with their representatives the toucans of South America. 

 Here the humming-birds of the new world are amply 

 representated by the sun-birds. Mound-building mega- 

 podia are common, their earth-works rivalling those of 

 the termites ; and the edible nest-making swallow works 

 in its dark cave dwellings to satisfy the epicurean tastes 

 of those Eastern aldermen, the mandarins of the Celestial 

 Empire. One peculiar species of kingfisher always makes 

 its nest in company with that of a colony of wild bees. 

 Its young may be fed on the young larv^, or perchance 

 the company of the bees may be courted for the sake 



