AftAA“ ” ™' Magazine, “ IS distmguislied by constant moistnrcand moderate
W ? Vi . ft” '-egctation. The refreshing showers and ooiitim.al
but gentle heat cause the plants and trees to grow during tho whole year, the forests
being deeked with that perpetual verdure which confers on the Bornean islands when
viewed from tho sea, an aspect of unexampled beauty. Shrubs o f HiUscm and flower-
; freef. belonging to the gcims Barrmgtbma, overhang the margin of the ocean ; while
the fai inland mountains ai'e clothed to their summits with dense and rich vegetation.”
Ih e thermometer a v c ra p s from 70° to 72° of Fain-, in tho mornings and evenings and
from 82 to 8a ^ in the hottest part of the day. “ The soil of Sarawak is a rich yellow
loam, covered with a surface of from six to twelve inches of vciy productive mould fonned
by the decay of tho forests. It is admn-ably suited to the growth of the sugai'-caiie which
CctIot slightest culture, than it exhibits iu
mi i, 1 ° Europeans. Nutmegs also g iw here without the slightest
i"A .moistmn are, however, too great for European fruits and vegetables
S e n t ri 7 “ 1 ‘ “ A succeed on the mountains. Of all tho native
S t a i ' f t f S “ ’? « ft™" O' ««fttoge oi the palm, caUed nibong, is the most distin-
S i ,!,VtJfl, ? ! "ftofto/'n'otP™"««! foliage, and is delicately white, with a
f S ? 1 “ ft ' " ‘'ft exoollont vegetable in their unopened
fronds. Ih e egg-plant, sweet potatoes, yams, and earth-nuts are also grown, and a
a k S ? 5’ 1 ’ ft? ‘" ‘ft® ’“‘ft “ ‘“ “ ’P- 'ftftft ®ft°°also cooked by tlie natives, and eaten by the Em-opcans when fop icofkt le‘fdto. ftTamhoft oloa rgaerer
iffii d ? ft™ftoo ate useful for a variety of purposes ; “ and the poor people, who cannot
affoid cookmg-pots of earth or brass, even contrive to apply them to that use, in the
t w T ? ri ft ftftalays and Dyaks cut the green bamboo in lengths of two or
with waieV™ T ‘1 ' « "uth nee or meat, chopped into little pieces, and mixed
With watci. a o cook the food properly, the fire must come exactly in contact with the
r I T l ’l t i ¡¡ft®‘® ™ ‘“ ft ’’ftft'O” '! 1 "ftlfo ‘ft« gi'««a and hard part of the
tafo ‘o"A«ft ftj- ‘ft« ftame, resists it so long, that the provisions arc sufficiently prepared
? ?, L® ®‘“g “ lar pot Ignites. A bundle of leaves, placed in the mouth, serves for a
wbi 1 ™ « «««oa-afo Paim, the sago-palni, the botel-nut, and the Ai'cnga saccliarifcra,
wlneh produces the mtoxicatmg drink called toddy, are found in gi-eat abundance 5
aLndd Yarler t abioo ug?l iit ffro m“ *tt‘hf"e® south fta“nd!® - eas“t e'frtn’’ “ parts of othf eB oisrlnaenod eixnc evl asatl l qtuhaen otitthieesrs ”,
tlmLe”, ? ' ? “? ft“ 'f ta s te s , mats, and cordage, and, where nails are unknown,
they seivo fol the pui-poso of binding tho frame of a house together. The drug caUed
dragons blood is procm-ed from one of the larger rattans.” These rattans “ abound in
old and damp jungles, and prove veiy annoying to the pedestrian, whoso clothes are
caught by tlieir strong curved prickles, and who can only extricate himself by stepping
backwards and carefully unbooking them.” “ The A L / r i h W , though of h u S
growth among tlie palms is aa valuable to the people of Borneo as any of its congeners
I t IS found on river-banks wherever the salt wateJ- reaches, and it o v e r s p r e a r th e s?h
m ta e f T ,‘fto"®«f ® f ««'«®- ft‘® oftfoft «alue is for eovering houses, and the roofs
I f ” ‘r *ftft-“ '®- ®«’‘ ’® procured from the ashes of tho bm-nt
t a L ? ®"g“ ' ft'o™ 'fo flowei-stalk.' The fmit is also oaten. The plant
p¥r?ohdiuccttfioon? toaf BBo rneo fits“ Itbh®e’ tt rue c‘a-fmt fpth? or ?(Df-!r y®ofbt™al®an *o0p™s c ‘a’m'«p fht«b"r“a')«.- ” “ 'O'-nn oL‘taab-u vhaalnu atbhloe
campimi tree grows abundantly, and is one of the noblest ornaments of the jungle - it
has a fine straight stem, from which the bark separates in large flakes ; the foliao-o is
f o 7 n ? f tT ’ fto™*"g a well-shaped head ; and the tnm k is often ninety feet high, bifore
givm^ off a single bianch I t is alleged that the younger aud smaller trees produce
as much camphor as the old ancl larger individuals. This substance is found in a con-
fe lliL ri ? ‘ft« O'«™«® of ‘Pe wood ; and it can, unfoitiinately, only be extracted by
felling the tree which IS aftenvards cut mto Hooks and split with tho wedges, when the
iesTd’S L ? t a hoTl " '’" ‘ftfY ‘'ansparent, can he easily removed. An essential oil, also, '
resides m the hollows of the wood, and the natives crystallise it artificially ; but the
ding so obtained is not equally prized with that which is found naturally cL ta llis cd ”
SoTCi-al species cjf Ihpterocdrpus produce a nut from wliich a fatty oil is exp-essed, known
in England under the names of vegetable tallow and vegetable wax. “ The tree most
valued foi yielding it gi'ows on the banks of the Sarawak river ; it is about forty feet
high with laj'ge foliage, and branches drooping towards the water ; its appcarajco is
i r s t v r “ groat profusion, aSd as large as a wah’int, vvhh tTo Ìo„g
ooff ooifl, which assumes ftlh “e a,ppft®e afrtfat nce and cfot“ns®i®s t‘eftn«c ™y o‘f® ’ s"p'fetr'omft. ”y foSfoe vae rlaalr goet hqeura tnrteietsf
producing oil are found m the-woods ; but the most important product of the forest is tho
mato, or gutta percha tree. This tree is found in all the forests of Malacca Borneo
Sm g y o ie , and the adjacent islands. Another substance resembling caoutchouc is ob-’
tamed m large quantities iii Borneo and many of the other islands. I t is the produce
of a climbing ui'ceohg whose trunk grows to the size of a man’s body. The bark, which
is soft and thick, with a very rough appearance, emits, on being out, an immense flow of
sap and the tree is uninjured by the process. There are three kinds of this plant in
Borneo, all of them known hy the name of Jintarvaii. Tho fruit, which is large aud of a
fine apricot colour, ooiitains twelve or more seeds, enveloped in a rich reddish pnlji,
which is very gi-ateful to the palate of an European. Tho upas tree is found nem-
Sarawak, hut it is not common. The poisonous juice exudes freely when the bark, which
is white, is tapped. Cinnamon, cotton, pepper, coffee, tobacco, cocoa, and tm-mcric, all
grow ill Borneo, the coif'ce and tobacco having been introduced, but tbe other plants are
natives of the soil. Ebony grows in many places, and tho lignum aloes, used for
making incense ; hut this latter seems to be caused by the disease of particular trees,
for this scented and resinous part of the trunk is only procm'aHe after the trees have
been cut down and are decayed. (Low’s Sarawak, as qmtid in the Botanical Magazine
776 h e flowers o f Borneo are remarkable for thcir beauty and fragi-aiice, and the
orchideous tribes arc particularly numerous and lovely. Perhaps the most gorgeous of
the native plants of Borneo are, however, as Mr. Low observes, “ the various species of
the genus Ehododendron, which here assume a peculiar form, being found epiphytal
upon the trunks of trees, as in the genera of the order Orchidaccoj. This habit, induced
probably by the excessive moisture of the climate, is not, however, confined to the
ei'icaceous plants, hut also prevails with the genera Fagi'ic'a, Comhrctum, and many
others usually tcn-estrial. The roots of the rhododendrons, instead ot bemg, as with
the species inhabitants of cold climates, smaU and fibrous, become large and flesliy,
wmdmo- round the trunks of the forest-trces. The most beautiful one is that -»-Inch I
have named in compliment to Mr. Brooke. Its lai'ge heads of flowers arc produced
in the gi'eatest abundance throughout tho year ; they must exceed in size that of any
known species, frequently being formed of eighteen flowers, wluch are of all shades,
fi-om pale and rich yellow to a rich reddish salmon colour. In tho sun the flowers
sparkle with a brilliancy rescmhlmg that of gold-dust.” (Sarawak; its Inhabitants and
Froductions, p. 65.) There are also four beautiful species of Clerodendron which adorn
the banks of the Sarawak river. Two of them, which are fragrant, bear white flowers,
ono is scarlet, aud the other crimson. Hoya impcrialis is very striking ; its dark purple
wax-like flowers being relieved by an ivory-wliitc oeiitrc. Among other curious plants,
no less than eight now species of pitchei'-piaiit have been discovered.
77’ In Java judo-hig from the work of Sir Stamford Eaffles, there seems to he
very little gai'dening, cither as an art of taste or of culture. The kraton, or palace of
the prhioo is an extensive square, surrounded by a high wall, with a moat in the front,
and sometimes in the rear. An open square is sun-ounded by railing, iii the centre of
which arc two banyan trees, the mark of the royal residonco from tho earliest date of
Jav an history. (History o f Java, p. 84.) Tho cottages are never found detached or
so lta ry - they always unite to form villages of greater or less extent, accordmg to tlie
fertility’of the nofohhouring plain, abmidaiiceof water, or other accidental circumstances.
In some pi'ovincos, tho usual number of iuhabitauts iu a village is about 200 ; iu others,
less than fifty. On the first establishing or formation of a viUage on new ground, tho
iiitcnded settlers take care to provide themselves with sufflcicnt garden ground around
thcir huts for thcir stock, and to supply the ordinary wants of their families. Tho produce
of this plantation is the exclusive property of the peasant, and is exempted iroin
contribution or b u rd en ; and such is thcir number and extent in some rogeiicics (as m
Kcdu for instance), that they constitute, perhaps, a tenth part of the area of tho whole
district Tho spot surroundmg his simple habitation the cottager considers his exclusive
patrimony and cultivates with peculiar care. He labours to plant and to rear in it those
vegetablcs’that may bo most useful to his family, and those slirubs and trees which may
at once yield him thcir fruit and then' shade ; nor does ho waste his efforts on a thankless
soil. Tho cottages, or assemblage of huts, that compose the village, become thus
completely screened from the rays of a scorching sun, and are so huried amid the foliage
of a luxiu'iant vegetation, that, at a smaU distance, no appearance of a human dwelling
can be discovered; and tho residence of a numerous society appears only a verdant
grove or a clump of evergreens. Nothing can exceed tho beauty or tho intei'est which
such detached masses of voi'durc, soattcrcd over the face of tho coimtry, aud indicating
each the abode of a collection of happy peasantry, add to scenery otherwise rich,
whether viewed on the sides of the mountains, in the narrow vales, or on the extensive
plains In the last case, before the grain is planted, and during the season of in-igation,
when the rico-flclds are inundated, they appear like so many small islands rising out of
the water. As the young plant advances, their deep rich foliage contrasts pleasingly with
its liHitcr tin ts ; and when tho full-cared grain, with a luxuriance that e.xcceds a
European hai'vcst, invests the eai'th with its richest yellow, they give a variety to the
prospect, and aflbi'd a most refrcsliing relief to the eye. The clumps of trees, with which
X 3