18 
INTEODtJCTORY LETTER. 
particularly in the vicinity of Manado in Celebes. The 
late M. Duvaucel had sent to the Museum of Paris 
collections from Sumatra; Leschenault, from Java; 
Diard, from Cochin-China, from Siam, and Bengal. India 
has been explored by a great many French travellers, 
among whom we shall only mention MM. Leschenault, 
Reynaud, and especially M. Dussumier, who has visited 
almost every point on the coast of Asia, from the Seychelles 
and Malabar, to the peninsula of Malacca. MM. Goudot 
and Sganzin discovered several curious Ophidians in 
Madagascar, a virgin island in respect to natural history. 
The stay of the late M. Lalande at the Cape, has furnished 
to the Museum of Paris most of the reptiles peculiar to 
that colony; M. Perrotet has collected some of those of 
Senegal ; and it is continually receiving them from Barbary 
since the establishment of a French colony on that coast. 
The same takes place with the reptiles of Egypt, a coun- 
try which shares, with Brazil, the first place among those 
that attract a great number of travellers. The reptiles 
collected by Olivier in the Levant are still the only known 
species from Western Asia. M. Bory de St Vincent 
has very recently made known those of the Morea, and 
M. Bibron those of Sicily. 
The literary means which were at my disposal have 
greatly aided my researches. Your rich and beautiful 
collection of books, Sir, has been always open to me ; so 
that I have used it as if my own. Professor Geel, libra- 
rian of the University, has kindly put in my power all 
the books which I required for my work. 
The favours with which I have been loaded by M. 
Reinwardt, demand my most grateful acknowledgments. 
This venerable philosopher, formerly my most valued pre- 
ceptor, has communicated to me his manuscripts, and the 
numerous drawings of animals which he had made in 
India : ^ without the aid of his choice library I never could 
have brought my work to a conclusion. He has aided me 
by his advice ; and I have been fortunate enough, thanks 
to the friendship with which he has honoured me, to profit 
often by his knowledge. 
* I have commenced the publication of some of them in my Mhil- 
dungen^ of which the first number is about to appear. 
