A NATUBALIST IN CELEBES 



Of all the branches of Natural History, not one has made 

 so much progress within the last ten years as that of 

 marine zoology. The vast improvements in the microscope, 

 the new means for anatomical and embryological research, 

 and the beautiful methods of killing and preserving the de- 

 licate inhabitants of the sea, have given a great stimulus to 

 this branch of study; and it is needless to say that the results 

 obtained by investigators have been of the greatest interest 

 and importance. Having directed my attention for some 

 years to questions connected with marine zoology, I deter- 

 mined to undertake, when time and opportunity served, a 

 voyage to that most generous of hunting grounds — the 

 coral reef — to devote some time to the study of such ques- 

 tions under the most favourable conditions. 



It is perhaps unnecessary for me to relate the series 

 of reasons which induced me to choose Manado, in North 

 Celebes, for my head-quarters. The three conditions ne- 

 cessary for the continued and uninterrupted pursuit of my 

 work — a calm sea free from serious typhoons and storms, 

 a friendly and tolerably intelligent race of natives, and a re- 

 putation for general salubrity — were coexistent, I knew, ia 

 that region ; and the writings of naturalists who had pre- 

 viously visited the spot are so full of glowing accounts of 

 the beauty and luxuriance of land and sea that I longed to 

 observe for myself the wonders they describe so well. 



The long voyage from England, through the Mediterra- 

 nean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Eed Sea and Indian Ocean, 

 full of interest and excitement as it was and ever must be to 

 a lover and observer of nature, I must pass over without 

 comment. Nor can I pause to relate my impressions of 

 Java, with its densely populated towns, its wondrous forests 

 and its awe-inspiring volcanoes. 



These parts of the world have been well described by 

 other travellers far better acquainted with them than I am 



