195 



At the request of Dr. T r e u b I gave in the year-book of the 

 Topographical Survey Service in the Dutch Indies 1908, pp. 189-191, 

 a very succinct summary of the results of this trip. Having neglected 

 to assiduously study V e r b e e k's most valuable book on Krakatao 

 and not considering that T r e u b's investigation in 1886 had been 

 carried out much too hastily and over a too small part than that 

 its conclusions might be estimated to be valid for the entire 

 island, I shared the opinion of everyone at that time that Krakatao 

 had been buried in 1883 everywhere under a very thick and very 

 hot layer of ashes and pumice. Starting from this erroneous premise 

 I came to the conclusion that it was highly probable though not 

 fully proven that the entire vegetation had been destroyed in 1883 

 and that the new vegetation had been wholly introduced. With the 

 exception of this very badly founded conclusion I can still approve 

 of the survey mentioned above. Unhappily this conclusion is the 

 cardinal point wherewith the Krakatao-problem stands or fa/Is. 



On p. 26 seq. I have already given my present views on the 

 origin of the present inland vegetation. It is not necessary to repeat 

 here what has been said there. 



1 need scarcely say that from the trip of 1908 it does not 

 appear, neither could appear, that the vegetation had grown richer 

 since 1906. All plants found in 1908 for the first time may have 

 been growing on Krakatao years before. 



