PREFACE. 



The interest in J&e colony Surinam has of late years been constantly 

 increasing. - — 



In 1900, owing" to the^support of the minister for colonial affairs at 

 that time, J. F. Cremer, and the assistance of the governor of Surinam, 

 W. Tonckens LL. D., two expeditions were almost simultaneously sent 

 out, one of which investigated the- course of the Nickerie* river and the 

 other explored the Coppenam river. Both expeditions contributed to our 

 knowledge of the flora by collecting plants. The latter expedition was 

 organised by the "Committee for the scientific investigation of Surinam" 

 (Commissie tot wetenschappelijk onderzoek van Suriname), a committee 

 formed by delegates of the "Royal Dutch geographical society" (Koninklijk 

 Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig genootschap), the "Society for promoting 

 scientific investigation in the Dutch colonies" (Maatschappij tot bevordering 

 van het natuurkundig onderzoek in de Nederlandsche kolonien) and the 

 "Society for Surinam" (Vereeniging voor Suriname). This committee, presided 

 by Jhr. C. H. A. van der Wijck and subsidised by the government and the 

 three afore-mentioned societies organised three other expeditions in the 

 following three years. 



The starting point for this enumeration was a collection of Prof. F. 

 A. F. C. Went, collected in Surinam in 1901 and first worked out by the 

 present writer. When the other expeditions considerably enlarged the 

 material, it appeared desirable to the author to work out as much as 

 possible all the collections from Surinam, the more so as he had the 

 privilege of joining one of the expeditions mentioned as a botanist. 



In the compiling and editing of this work the author was supported 

 by various bodies. The already mentioned Committee for the scientific 

 investigation of Surinam granted him a sum of money which enabled him 

 to undertake journeys to Kew, Gottingen and Berlin, in order to compare 

 his collections with those there. 



For the publication of this work the author' received a considerable 

 grant from the Dutch government through the minister for colonial affairs, 

 from the "Association for preserving the Old Students' Fund at Utrecht" 



