the malay archipelago-1-第1章

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The　Malay　Archipelago　　Volume　1

by　Alfred　Russell　Wallace




The　land　of　the　orang…utan；　and　the　bird　or　paradise。

A　narrative　of　travel；　with　sketches　of　man　and　nature。

To　CHARLES　DARWIN；

AUTHOR　OF　〃THE　ORIGIN　OF　SPECIES；〃

I　dedicate　this　book；　Not　only　as　a　token　of　personal　esteem　and　friendship　But　also　To　express　my　deep　admiration　For　His　genius　and　his　works。


PREFACE。

My　readers　will　naturally　ask　why　I　have　delayed　writing　this　book　for　six　years　after　my　return；　and　I　feel　bound　to　give　them　full　satisfaction　on　this　point。

When　I　reached　England　in　the　spring　of　1862；　I　found　myself　surrounded　by　a　room　full　of　packing　cases　containing　the　collections　that　I　had；　from　time　to　time；　sent　home　for　my　private　use。　These　comprised　nearly　three　thousand　birdskins　of　about　one　thousand　species；　at　least　twenty　thousand　beetles　and　butterflies　of　about　seven　thousand　species；　and　some　quadrupeds　and　land　shells　besides。　A　large　proportion　of　these　I　had　not　seen　for　years；　and　in　my　then　weakened　state　of　health；　the　unpacking；　sorting；　and　arranging　of　such　a　mass　of　specimens　occupied　a　long　time。

I　very　soon　decided　that　until　I　had　done　something　towards　naming　and　describing　the　most　important　groups　in　my　collection；　and　had　worked　out　some　of　the　more　interesting　problems　of　variation　and　geographical　distribution　（of　which　I　had　had　glimpses　while　collecting　them）；　I　would　not　attempt　to　publish　my　travels。　Indeed；　I　could　have　printed　my　notes　and　journals　at　once；　leaving　all　reference　to　questions　of　natural　history　for　a　future　work；　but；　I　felt　that　this　would　be　as　unsatisfactory　to　myself　as　it　would　be　disappointing　to　my　friends；　and　uninstructive　to　the　public。

Since　my　return；　up　to　this　date；　I　have　published　eighteen　papers　in　the　〃Transactions〃　or　〃Proceedings　of　the　Linnean　Zoological　and　Entomological　Societies〃；　describing　or　cataloguing　portions　of　my　collections；　along　with　twelve　others　in　various　scientific　periodicals　on　more　general　subjects　connected　with　them。

Nearly　two　thousand　of　my　Coleoptera；　and　many　hundreds　of　my　butterflies；　have　been　already　described　by　various　eminent　naturalists；　British　and　foreign；　but　a　much　larger　number　remains　undescribed。　Among　those　to　whom　science　is　most　indebted　for　this　laborious　work；　I　must　name　Mr。　F。　P。　Pascoe；　late　President　of　the　Entomological　Society　of　London；　who　had　almost　completed　the　classification　and　description　of　my　large　collection　of　Longicorn　beetles　（now　in　his　possession）；　comprising　more　than　a　thousand　species；　of　which　at　least　nine　hundred　were　previously　undescribed　and　new　to　European　cabinets。

The　remaining　orders　of　insects；　comprising　probably　more　than　two　thousand　species；　are　in　the　collection　of　Mr。　William　Wilson　Saunders；　who　has　caused　the　larger　portion　of　them　to　be　described　by　good　entomologists。　The　Hymenoptera　alone　amounted　to　more　than　nine　hundred　species；　among　which　were　two　hundred　and　eighty　different　kinds　of　ants；　of　which　two　hundred　were　new。

The　six　years'　delay　in　publishing　my　travels　thus　enables　me　to　give　what　I　hope　may　be　an　interesting　and　instructive　sketch　of　the　main　results　yet　arrived　at　by　the　study　of　my　collections；　and　as　the　countries　I　have　to　describe　are　not　much　visited　or　written　about；　and　their　social　and　physical　conditions　are　not　liable　to　rapid　change；　I　believe　and　hope　that　my　readers　will　gain　much　more　than　they　will　lose　by　not　having　read　my　book　six　years　ago；　and　by　this　time　perhaps　forgotten　all　about　it。

I　must　now　say　a　few　words　on　the　plan　of　my　work。

My　journeys　to　the　various　islands　were　regulated　by　the　seasons　and　the　means　of　conveyance。　I　visited　some　islands　two　or　three　times　at　distant　intervals；　and　in　some　cases　had　to　make　the　same　voyage　four　times　over。　A　chronological　arrangement　would　have　puzzled　my　readers。　They　would　never　have　known　where　they　were；　and　my　frequent　references　to　the　groups　of　islands；　classed　in　accordance　with　the　peculiarities　of　their　animal　productions　and　of　their　human　inhabitants；　would　have　been　hardly　intelligible。　I　have　adopted；　therefore；　a　geographical；　zoological；　and　ethnological　arrangement；　passing　from　island　to　island　in　what　seems　the　most　natural　succession；　while　I　transgress　the　order　in　which　I　myself　visited　them；　as　little　as　possible。

I　divide　the　Archipelago　into　five　groups　of　islands；　as　follows：

I。　THE　INDO…MALAY　ISLANDS：　comprising　the　Malay　Peninsula　and　Singapore；　Borneo；　Java；　and　Sumatra。

II。　THE　TIMOR　GROUP：　comprising　the　islands　of　Timor；　Flores；　Sumbawa；　and　Lombock；　with　several　smaller　ones。

III。　CELEBES：　comprising　also　the　Sula　Islands　and　Bouton。

IV。　THE　MOLUCCAN　GROUP：　comprising　Bouru；　Ceram；　Batchian；　Gilolo；　and　Morty；　with　the　smaller　islands　of　Ternate；　Tidore；　Makian；　Kaióa；　Amboyna；　Banda；　Goram；　and　Matabello。

V。　THE　PAPUAN　GROUP：　comprising　the　great　island　of　New　Guinea；　with　the　Aru　Islands；　Mysol；　Salwatty；　Waigiou；　and　several　others。　The　Ke　Islands　are　described　with　this　group　on　account　of　their　ethnology；　though　zoologically　and　geographically　they　belong　to　the　Moluccas。

The　chapters　relating　to　the　separate　islands　of　each　of　these　groups　are　followed　by　one　on　the　Natural　History　of　that　group；　and　the　work　may　thus　be　divided　into　five　parts；　each　treating　one　of　the　natural　divisions　of　the　Archipelago。

The　first　chapter　is　an　introductory　one；　on　the　Physical　Geography　of　the　whole　region；　and　the　last　is　a　general　sketch　of　the　paces　of　man　in　the　Archipelago　and　the　surrounding　countries。　With　this　explanation；　and　a　reference　to　the　maps　which　illustrate　the　work；　I　trust　that　my　readers　will　always　know　where　they　are；　and　in　what　direction　they　are　going。

I　am　well　aware　that　my　book　is　far　too　small　for　the　extent　of　the　subjects　it　touches　upon。　It　is　a　mere　sketch；　but　so　far　as　it　goes；　I　have　endeavoured　to　make　it　an　accurate　one。　Almost　the　whole　of　the　narrative　and　descriptive　portions　were　written　on　the　spot；　and　have　had　little　more　than　verbal　alterations。　The　chapters　on　Natural　History；　as　well　as　many　passages　in　other　parts　of　the　work；　have　been　written　in　the　hope　of　exciting　an　interest　in　the　various　questions　connected　with　the　origin　of　species　and　their　geographical　distribution。　In　some　cases　I　have　been　able　to　explain　my　views　in　detail；　while　in　others；　owing　to　the　greater　complexity　of　the　subject；　I　have　thought　it　better　to　confine　myself　to　a　statement　of　the　more　interesting　facts　of　the　problem；　whose　solution　is　to　be　found　in　the　principles　developed　by　Mr。　Darwin　in　his　various　works。　The　numerous　illustrations　will；　it　is　believed；　add　much　to　the　interest　and　value　of　the　book。　They　have　been　made　from　my　own　sketches；　from　photographs；　or　from　specimensand　such；　only　　subjects　that　would　really　illustrate　the　narrative　or　the　descriptions；　have　been　chosen。

I　have　to　thank　Messrs。　Walter　and　Henry　Woodbury；　whose　acquaintance　I　had　the　pleasure　of　making　in　Java；　for　a　number　of　photographs　of　　scenery　and　of　natives；　which　have　been　of　the　greatest　assistance　to　me。　Mr。　William　Wilson　Saunders　has　kindly　allowed　me　to　figure　the　curious　horned　flies；　and　to　Mr。　Pascoe　I　am　indebted　for　a　loan　of　two　of　the　very　rare　Longicorns　which　appear　in　the　plate　of　Bornean　beetles。　All　the　other　specimens　figured　are　in　my　own　collection。

As　the　main　object　of　all　my　journeys　was　to　obtain　specimens　of　natural　history；　both　for　my　private　collection　and　to　supply　duplicates　to　museums　and　amateurs；　I　will　give　a　general　statement　of　the　number　of　specimens　I　collected；　and　which　reached　home　in　good　condition。　I　must　premise　that　I　generally　employed　one　or　two；　and　sometimes　three　Malay　servants　to　assist　me；　and　for　nearly　half　the　time　had　the　services　of　an　English　lad；　Charles　Allen。　I　was　just　eight　years　away　from　England；　but　as　I　travelled　about　fourteen　thousand　miles　within　the　Archipelago；　and　made　sixty　or　seventy　separate　journeys；　each　involving　some　preparation　and　loss　of　time；　I　do　not　think　that　more　than　six　years　were　really　occupied　in　collecting。

I　find　that　my　Eastern　collections　amounted　to：

310　sp