INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 
13 
in the East Indies — offered the means of exchanges with the 
most celebrated collections, and procured for our establish- 
ment other objects from countries on which the feet of the 
Dutch traveller had never yet trodden. Such was the 
state of the Museum when the late M. Boie quitted 
Europe in 1825, after having terminated his great work 
on the Beptiles of Java. This collection, since confided 
to my care, has extended equally with the other depart- 
ments of the Museum : it has now tripled its former ex- 
tent. The great number of travellers, almost simulta- 
neously despatched to various countries of our globe, have 
especially contributed to procure for us a vast number of 
objects, perfectly preserved, of which the native region is 
stated in the most precise terms. Some of our country- 
men, established in foreign parts, have been useful to 
science, by transmitting to our establishment collections 
containing the productions of their adopted country. 
Other recent travellers have presented us with duplicates 
of the produce of their researches, — a circumstance which 
has no less contributed to render our collections complete, 
than the purchases made in Paris, in London, and several 
other capitals. Private individuals also have exerted them- 
selves to communicate to us all objects which could be of 
any utility for my work. 
The small series of Ophidians from New Holland, 
which makes part of the Museum of the Netherlands, was 
acquired in London. The voyage of discovery to New 
Guinea, undertaken in the years 1827 and 1828, by order 
of our colonial government, has furnished us with a great 
number of objects of natural history, interesting, and for 
the most part new. Timor, Amboina, and the other ad- 
jacent isles, have been explored at different times by our 
navigators. A continual residence of those indefatiga- 
ble naturalists at Java, for nearly twenty years, has con- 
tributed to render the productions of the western part of 
that island almost as well known as those of Europe. My 
friend Dr Strauss brought me a small collection of rep- 
tiles, formed during his sojourn at Manado, at the eastern 
extremity of Celebes. MM. Von Siebold and Burger 
have collected, during their voyage to Japan, a great 
