wh ich th e
pitcher plants
were the most
remarkable.
These wonderful
plants
never seem to
succeed well in our hot-houses,
and are there seen to little
advantage. Here they grew
up into half climbing shrubs,
their curious pitchers of
various sizes and forms hanging
abundantly from their
leaves, and continually exciting
our admiration by their
size and beauty. A few
coniferse of the genus Dacry-
dium here first appeared, and
in the thickets just above
the rocky surface we walked
through groves of those splendid
ferns Dipteris Horsfieldii
and Matonia pectinata, which
RARE FERNS ON MOUNT OPH1R.
bear large spreading palmate
fronds on slender stems six or eight feet high. The Matonia
is the tallest and most elegant, and is known only from
this mountain, and neither of them is yet introduced into
our hot-houses.
It was very striking to come out from the dark, cool, and
shady forest in which we had been ■ ascending since we
started, on to this hot, open rocky slope where we seemed
to have entered at one step from a lowland to an alpine
vegetation. The height, as measured by a sympiesometer,
was about 2,800 feet. We had been told we should find
water at Padang-batu, but we looked about for it in vain,
as we were exceedingly thirsty. At last we turned to the
pitcher-plants, but the water contained in the pitchers
(about half a pint in each) was full of insects, and otherwise
uninviting. On tasting it, however, we found it very
palatable though rather warm, and we all quenched our
thirst from these natural jugs. Farther on we came to
forest again, but of a more dwarf and stunted character
than below; and alternately passing along ridges and descending
into valleys, we reached a peak separated from the
true summit of the mountain by a considerable chasm.
Here our porters gave in, and declared they could carry
their loads no further; and certainly the ascent to the
highest peak was very precipitous. But on the spot where
we were there was no water, whereas it was well known
that there was a spring close to the summit, so we determined
to go on without them, and carry with us only
VOL. I. E