Transcribe Hornaday, W. T. Letter to the Ward, Henry A. (1878-10-21)

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were to spend any time & money on Java. Macas-
ian or Amboyua now that matters have taken the shape they
have. Java I am decidedly set against. If you do care
for a large collection of fishes & invertebrates -- and you say 
"get all showy kinds of crustaceans & fishes but others -
then it is no use going to Amboyna. I had thought you
wanted a big collection of those from Amboyna & so I have
up to now been looking upon that as a good place. I might 
find Bird of Paradise skins in Macassar for sale - and I might
not. I could get you a few Cassowary by spending 2 to 3
months in the mountains of Ceram. & by going
to Lombock for a time. There are the main things the
Moluccas could give us, for you know their mammals
amount to almost nothing. I should like to visit the
Arn Is. for kinds of paradise - and to see the place but
they are beyond our reach. It is little use for a collector to 
go to the Moluccas unless he has unlimited time at his
disposal. I think that while a flying visit to Macassar &
Amboyna might result in establishing a correspondence with
those places & in tying up loose things, which in the end might
pay. I do not think a protracted visit would be advisable -
unless you want of Amboyna things. Now let us get
down to figures. I believe Australia would pay well, but
it would take $2000. ^ more ^ to finish Singapore. do
Australia & get home.# If left to myself, after reaching
Singapore I would either strike for Australia or home, &
yet it would be an awful calamity to get home in the
dead of winter.
 You need not take any further trouble about primers,
as I have just received some from , which came
without any hitch or difficulty 
# i.e. to do Australia on all
sides for a year or so. H. A. W.
Yours very sincerely
Wm T. Hornaday
P. S. Dr. Dennys of the Singapore museum wants to trade
for me of my Orang skeletons. We will see what he can
give us. I must shoot an extra one for him, and thus
increase the variety of the collection provided he

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were to spend any time & money on Java. Macas- ian or Amboyua now that matters have taken the shape they have. Java I am decidedly set against. If you do care for a large collection of fishes & invertebrates -- and you say "get all showy kinds of crustaceans & fishes but others - then it is no use going to Amboyna. I had thought you wanted a big collection of those from Amboyna & so I have up to now been looking upon that as a good place. I might find Bird of Paradise skins in Macassar for sale - and I might not. I could get you a few Cassowary by spending 2 to 3 months in the mountains of Ceram. & by going to Lombock for a time. There are the main things the Moluccas could give us, for you know their mammals amount to almost nothing. I should like to visit the Arn Is. for kinds of paradise - and to see the place but they are beyond our reach. It is little use for a collector to go to the Moluccas unless he has unlimited time at his disposal. I think that while a flying visit to Macassar & Amboyna might result in establishing a correspondence with those places & in tying up loose things, which in the end might pay. I do not think a protracted visit would be advisable - unless you want of Amboyna things. Now let us get down to figures. I believe Australia would pay well, but it would take $2000. ^ more ^ to finish Singapore. do Australia & get home.# If left to myself, after reaching Singapore I would either strike for Australia or home, & yet it would be an awful calamity to get home in the dead of winter.

    You need not take any further trouble about primers,

as I have just received some from , which came without any hitch or difficulty

i.e. to do Australia on all

sides for a year or so. H. A. W. Yours very sincerely Wm T. Hornaday P. S. Dr. Dennys of the Singapore museum wants to trade for me of my Orang skeletons. We will see what he can give us. I must shoot an extra one for him, and thus increase the variety of the collection provided he