The Mission to Siam, and Hué the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2. Finlayson George
fresh, is bright saffron, which becomes brown on drying. The body of the cup, the stalk, &c., are very neatly formed. They vary from two to five feet in height, and the cup is often three feet in diameter.
We obtained here a very singular species of Asteria, weighing from six to eight pounds. Its back formed a regular pentagon, with numerous round dots on its surface. The chasms on the lower surface are five in number, narrow, proceeding from the centre, furnished, as in other animals of this sort, with a double row of gelatinous, short, whitish feelers. The teeth not very obvious, but placed at the angular extremity of each flap. Its shell is of the consistence of very stout leather. Its internal structure consists of innumerable series of knotted threads. This was considered, in the place, as extremely rare, and the Malays have no name by which to distinguish it.
Among the more rare animals of the Class Mammalia, to be found at Singapore, we may reckon the following:
Halicora Dugong, called by the Malays, Duyong. The descriptions given of this singular animal by systematic writers, though incorrect and imperfect, sufficiently attest that it has been long known to naturalists, and is therefore not to be considered as new in our catalogues. It is found on various islands in the Archipelago, has been seen at Malacca, and several times taken at Singapore. By report, it is extremely inoffensive, grows to the length of ten or twelve feet, and feeds on Fuci. Its flesh is esteemed, in flavour and delicacy, not inferior to the best beef. The skin is remarkably thick and tough; dried stripes of it are not to be distinguished from the thongs usually made from the skin of the Hippopotamus. The structure of the stomach is said to correspond in all respects with that of the ruminating animals. In some crania, there are tusks and incisors in both jaws, but in others neither, or the former only. The tusks scarce project beyond the jaw, probably never beyond the lip. The absence of the teeth in some may be owing to age. A single spiraculum opens near the top of the head. The form of this canal is cylindrical. Seen in the skeleton, it suggests the idea of its performing the office of a spiraculum. In the living animal, however, it may possibly be clothed with skin. The lips are said to be remarkably thick, and scantily covered with stout bristles.
Unlike the Arctic Walrus, this animal appears to delight in solitude. It is occasionally taken by surprise near the lone islands of the Archipelago.
Flying squirrel, Pteromys Petaurista. This is of nearly the same size as the Galeopithecus variegatus, also common in this place. It is of a bright brown colour. Is seen towards evening flying from the tops of trees, and generally alighting about the middle of other trees, often at a considerable distance. In its flight, it merely expands the membrane extended between its legs, and floats gently through the air. When it has alighted on a tree, it quickly gains its summit, by a succession of leaps.
And lastly, two undescribed animals, of different genera.
The productions of the vegetable world are here scarcely less numerous, than in the beautiful and picturesque Island of Penang. Our herborisations in the neighbouring woods have already supplied us with some rare, and a few new plants. There is on the whole, a very obvious and striking difference between the plants of this island and that just mentioned; but there is this important distinction, that the difference refers for the most part to the individuals, and not to the families, or even genera: thus the acotyledonous plants occur in equal, if not greater, variety than in the latitude of the former place, and the species are almost all different. Yet only the fifth order of the acotyledones of Jussieu occurs in numbers; of the Fungi, Algæ, Hepaticæ, and Musci, the individuals are remarkably infrequent. The decayed woods of extensive forests are favourable to the production of the Fungi, yet these are not numerous. We, however, met with some singular plants of this description.
Of the Order Fuci, there is here a remarkable species, usually found growing in isolated patches upon coral banks. It is pinnated, plumose, elegant, about a foot and a half in length, and of a whitish colour. It is endued with the property of stinging like nettles; the sensation produced is more acute, and more penetrating – more instantaneous, but somewhat less permanent. The hand is scarcely brought into contact with it before the wound is inflicted. A small corrugated, granular bag, filled with a transparent fluid, would seem to be the organ by which it produces this effect. These are no sooner touched than they discharge the fluid they contain. The plant soon loses this power, after having been removed from the water. The comparative scantiness of the Cryptogamiæ is amply compensated for by the number, variety, beauty, and utility, of the more interesting order of Phænogamous plants. Of the former, the abundance of a few individuals is considerable, whilst, respecting the latter order, we are less impressed with the extent to which individuals exist, than with the great variety which they offer, a remark still more applicable to the zoology of this region than the botany.
Among the vegetable productions applicable to economical, commercial, and other purposes, is the Gambir; Nauclea Gambir and Aculeata, Linnæi, or nat. ord. Rubiaceæ of Jussieu.
Gambir, Terra Japonica, or Catechu, is obtained in large quantities from the leaves of this plant. The process is both simple and cheap. The leaves are collected three or four times a year: they are thrown into a large cauldron, the bottom of which is formed of iron, the upper part of bark, and boiled for five or six hours, until a strong decoction is obtained. The leaves are then withdrawn, and allowed to strain over the vessel, which is kept boiling for as many hours more, until the decoction is inspissated. It is then allowed to cool, when the Catechu subsides. The water is drawn off; a soft soapy substance remains, which is cut into large masses. These are further divided by a knife into small cubes about an inch square, or into still smaller pieces, which are laid on frames to dry. This Catechu has more of a granular, uniform appearance than that of Bengal. It is perhaps also less pure. The price in the market is four dollars per pecul, or 133½ lbs. It is exported to Java and the other eastern islands, where it is chiefly used for chewing with the betel leaf. The leaves of the plant when chewed give a very astringent taste, which is soon followed by a sweet, agreeable, and aromatic flavour.
We have already observed, that the most luxuriant vegetation of spontaneous growth affords no certain proof that the soil which has produced it will prove equally favourable for the production of the usual objects of culture. The soil of Singapore, however, would seem to be highly favourable for the cultivation of those products which are confined to intertropical regions. The Malay race, accustomed to a roving, unsettled life, have paid but little attention to agricultural pursuits. In this respect they are much in the situation of the Nomade tribes of northern Asia, or the more savage banditti of the Arabian deserts. Their labours, therefore, afford no adequate means of forming an estimate of the capacity of the soil. The skill and other resources of Europeans have not yet been directed to this end; neither has the well-proved industry of the Chinese had time to produce any considerable effect. The experiments, however, which have been made by the latter in the cultivation of pepper, and in the manufacture of Terra japonica, have given good earnest of what may be expected from agricultural operations of greater magnitude. Judging from the natural appearance of the country, it may be presumed that the whole island is susceptible of a high degree of culture. The soil is gently undulating, here and there rising into low, mammated or rounded hills of inconsiderable altitude; the temperature is favourable; irrigation is abundant, and the soil of the interior parts is composed of sand and stiff clay, mixed up with a large proportion of vegetable matter, which gives it a very black appearance. There is a general tendency to the formation of swamps; but never to the extent of forming lakes. Rivulets and creeks abound in various parts of the island. The former are of the greatest value in a commercial point of view, by the facilities, as well as safety, which they afford for the transport and landing of goods. The rivulets are but of inconsiderable size. Their waters are almost always of a black colour, disagreeable taste, and peculiar odour, properties which they would appear to derive from the peculiar nature of the superficial soil over which they pass, in many parts resembling peat-moss, as has been already observed. The water, however, drawn from wells penetrating through the sandy base, is much less sensibly marked by these disagreeable qualities.
It is at the point where the fresh water of rivers and rivulets intermixes with that of the sea, that we find Mangroves chiefly to abound. The economy of these plants is so strikingly peculiar in character, that they claim great attention from every observer. The species most common on the banks of rivers, in these climates, is the Rhizophora Gymnorhiza, a tall, handsome tree, often growing to the