HUMPH, GEORGE EVERHARD, native of Harlan in Hesse Caasel, was born in 1626, and (lied iu Amboyna in 1693. He studied medicine, and went to Batavia when 28 years old, and entered tho senrice of the Dutch East India Com pany at Amboyna, where he passed the remainder of his life. At the age of 42, when contemplating n. visit to his native country, he suddenly became blind, and therefore never left his island home. But lie continued to prosecute his favourite studies in natural history till his death in 1693, when he had attained the ago of 67. His great work on the shells of Amboyna was not published till 1705. Ilis chief work, however, was the Ilortus Amboinense, which was only rescued from the Dutch archives and published some years after his death. D'Amboinische Raritertkammer, fol. 1705, has passed through several editions. It has never been tmnslated into English. It contains all con nected with the plants of that region. Drs. Hooker and Thomson say that having become blind, he obtained the assistance of some young men in completing the work, and translated the descriptions into Dutch ; it WSW finished in 1690. The manuscript remained upwards of thirty years in the possession of the Dutch East India Com pany, but was at length rescued from oblivion by Professor John Burinanu of Amsterdam, who edited it between the years 1741 and 1754, and illustmted it with several remarks and synonyms, besides giving a translation into Latin, for Rumphius' original one appears to have been lost. This work consists of six volumes,
with a supplemental or seventh one not published till 1757, and contains 696 plates, representing inore than twice that number of plants. The plates are much less valuable than those of Itheede, but the descriptions, 011 the contrary, are much superior. A most elaborate commen tary on tho Herbarium Amboinense was com menced by tho late Dr. Francis Buchanan Hamilton in the Transactions of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh ; what is printed only extends to the middle of tho second volume, but the remainder of the manuscript was presented to the Society before his death. Ile had at the same time pre pared a commentary ou the Hortus Malabaricus of Iran Rheede, which is in the possession of the Linnfoan Society of London ; that on the four first volumes is all which has .yet appeared in their Transactions.— Wight's Prodromus Ft. p. 8.