Page:Jardine Naturalist's Library Foreign Butterflies.djvu/77

Rh abound in the island of Java, perhaps as much as in any other tropical region. They were peculiarly useful in travelling, and possessed the advantage of affording a ready access to the subjects. As the ultimate object of my pursuits was to provide an extensive and well-conditioned collection, which might be useful and instructive in England, I had, soon after receiving the patronage of the Honourable East India Company, directed my attention to the provision necessary for its safety during a voyage. My residence at Surakarta afforded me peculiar advantages in this point of view. Both materials and workmen are here obtained, perhaps more readily than in any other part of Java. Boxes, according to the plan described, were therefore provided, of more substantial materials than those employed in travelling, in proportion to the increase of the collection. The wood of the Bombax pentandrum was employed for lining the boards and securing the pins; and I ascribe to an acquaintance with the peculiar property of this wood—which renders it an effectual substitute for cork—the preservation of the collection during its transportation. After having carefully packed the subjects, every necessary precaution that suggested itself was used in securing the boxes against accidents during the voyage. They were individually painted and covered with oil-cloth. Each box was then placed in an outer case, made of the same substantial materials, and secured in the same manner. By these various precautions, and by the care which the collection