ver 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, Kaioa,
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 b