ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE.
Mr. Wallace and the Malay Archipelago--Animals--
Birds--General characteristics of plants--European
flora in mountains--Darwin's explanation--Fruits--
History of cinchona introduction--Mr. Ledger's
story--Indiarubber.
No less than eight years (1854--1862) were employed by Mr. Wallace, the
naturalist, in "the study of man and nature" in the Malay Archipelago.
During this period he collected a vast number of specimens of animals
and plants, and, some years after his return to England, gave the
results of his travels to the world in his "Malay Archipelago." The
general conclusions which Mr. Wallace was led to form are of such
interest, that I shall endeavour very briefly to lay them before the
reader.
In the first place, the evidence supplied by the nature of the
distribution of the various plants and animals is such as to point to
the belief that the whole Archipelago is composed of fragments of two
separate continents. The Malay islands must, therefore, be divided into
two groups. Of these groups the first, roughly consisting of Sumatra,
Java, Borneo, and the Philippines, once formed part of the continent of
Asia; while in the second, the Celebes, Flores, Timor, the Moluccas, and
New Guinea, we have fragments of a great Pacific continent, which has
been gradually and irregularly broken up. The inhabitants of the former
region, to which Mr. Wallace gives the name Indo-Malayan, are Malays;
those of the latter, the Austro-Malayan, are Papuans.
Secondly, the intervening seas, which surround the various islands which
have now taken the place of these former continental tracts, have been
formed by the subsidence of land from which the foundations have been
withdrawn by the continued activity of a long volcanic chain which
traverses the Archipelago from end to end. And therefore, strange as it
may seem at first sight, the fertile island of Java, with its rich
plains and abundant vegetation--so unlike the traditional barrenness of
a volcanic region--is the work of this subterranean energy.
"The island of Java contains more volcanoes, active and extinct, than
any other known district of equal extent. They are about forty-five in
number, and many of them exhibit most beautiful examples of the volcanic
cone on a large scale, single or double, with entire or truncated
summits, and averaging 10,000 feet high."[20]
[Footnote 20: "Malay Archipelago."]
Thirdly, not only did Sumatra, Java, and Borneo once form part of the
continent of Asia, but the subsidence of land which caused their
separation from the continent, and from each other, is of very recent
date--recent, that is, in the scale of geological eras. This is shown by
the fact that the separating seas are so shallow that to-day ships can
anchor anywhere in them. We shall, therefore, expect a strong
similarity, almost amounting to a complete identity, to exist between
the animals and plants of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo and those of
Southern India, Burmah, and the Malay Peninsular. Such, according to Mr.
Wallace, is the fact.
"The elephant and tapir of Sumatra and Borneo, the rhinoceros of Sumatra
and the allied species of Java, the wild cattle of Borneo, and the kind
long supposed to be peculiar to Java, are now all known to inhabit some
part or other of Southern Asia.... Birds and insects illustrate the same
view, for every family and almost every genus of these groups found in
any of the islands occurs also in the Asiatic continent, and in a great
number of cases the species are exactly identical."
In addition to the rhinoceros and wild cattle mentioned above, the wild
animals of Java include the jackal, the tiger, and several species of
monkeys. Snakes and alligators are also to be found in the island. There
is a good supply of domestic animals with the exception of sheep. This
useful animal was so entirely unknown to the natives, that when the
Dutch attempted to introduce it into the island it was necessary to find
a name for it. It was accordingly called a "Dutch goat;" nor is there at
the present time any other term in the Malay language by which the
animal can be designated. I have already spoken of the utility of the
Javan horses. They are imported in large numbers from the neighbouring
island of Sandalwood, and great attention is being paid to the
production of country-breds. An attempt is also being made to improve
the breed by the importation of English and Australian thoroughbreds. I
was also informed that in recent years a number of cattle had been
introduced from India. As in most Eastern countries, the ox is used in
Java for drawing carts and for other agricultural purposes; but the
buffalo is the most valuable of all animals to the natives, by whom it
is especially employed in the cultivation of the ricefields. The only
dangerous animal is the tiger, and the sport of tiger-hunting still
forms one of the recreations of the native princes.
The birds of Java are distinguished for their variety and for the rich
plumage with which they are adorned. During a single month passed in
Ardjoeno, a mountain situated in the regency of Paseroean, in the east
of the island, Mr. Wallace collected ninety-eight species of birds.
Among these he mentions the Javan peacock, of which he obtained two
specimens more than seven feet long; the jungle fowl (_Gallus
furcatus_); the jungle cock (_Gallus bankiva_), called by the natives
bekéko; various species of woodpeckers and kingfishers; a hornbill
(_Buceros lunatus_) more than four feet long; and a "pretty little
lorikeet (_Loriculus pusillus_) scarcely more than as many inches." When
he visited the west of the island, he found still more valuable
specimens in the Preanger regencies, twenty miles south of Buitenzorg.
Among the mountains of this neighbourhood, and at an elevation of 4000
feet, he collected in a fortnight forty species of birds, "almost all
of which were peculiar to the Javanese fauna." In these were included
the "elegant yellow-and-green trogon (_Harpactes Reinwardti_); the
gorgeous little minivet flycatcher (_Pericrocotus miniatus_), which
looks like a flame of fire as it flutters among the bushes; and the rare
and curious black-and-crimson oriole (_Analcipus sanguinolentus_)." Mr.
Wallace also speaks of the rare and beautiful butterflies which he
captured here. In particular he secured a specimen of the calliper
butterfly, "remarkable for having on each hind wing two curved tails
like a pair of callipers."
It is in this neighbourhood that the large Javan wood-pigeons which I
saw at Tji Wangi are to be found. As they are excellent eating, they are
shot by the planters, though it is often difficult to get within range
of them owing to the height of the rosamala trees in which they settle.
There are certain characteristic developments of plant-life which arrest
the attention of the traveller in Java.
In the towns he cannot fail to be impressed with the large-leaved and
gorgeously coloured shrubs which surround the houses of the European
residents; he will notice, too, that the streets and open spaces are
planted with waringin and tamarind trees, and when he travels into the
interior he will find that the roads which traverse the island are still
lined by the same trees. Of these the former is a species of _ficus_;
the latter, the tamarind, has been introduced from Madagascar. Towards
the end of the year it is covered with orange blossoms, which finally
develop into a somewhat acid fruit. In the country the dwellings of the
Javan peasants are almost universally surrounded by palms, bananas, and
bamboos. While the palms and bananas supply the native with fruit, from
the bamboo he has learnt to make numberless useful articles, ranging
from a house or a boat to a drinking-vessel or a musical instrument.
Cooking-utensils, baskets, hats, and all manner of tools are constructed
out of the material provided by this useful tree. While I was staying at
a friend's house at Weltevreden I had a singular illustration of the
variety of uses to which the bamboo could be put by observing the method
of cutting the grass adopted by a native gardener. He was squatting on
the ground, and had by his side about half a dozen sections into which
he had split some bamboo rods about two feet in length. These he rapidly
passed over the grass backwards and forwards with a semicircular sweep,
and their sharp edges mowed the grass down as cleanly as the blade of a
scythe. In this way he cleared a space around him, and, gradually
advancing, eventually trimmed off the whole plot of grass.
The tropical forests, again, are characterized by a remarkable
uniformity and sombreness which gives them an aspect quite unlike that
of European woods. The vast cylindrical trunks of the great forest
trees, rising like pillars from the midst of ferns and lesser growths,
support a lofty roof of leaves. Beneath this screen innumerable forms of
plant-life develop without let or hindrance, and the whole abundant
foliage is bound into an inextricable mass by parasites and creepers.
On every side the eye is met by one monotonous tone of verdure, for the
supremely favourable conditions for plant-life which obtains tend to
produce a total effect, not of variety, but of sameness.
One of the most interesting facts connected with the Javan flora is the
appearance of European flowers upon the higher levels of the mountains.
The phenomenon is the more remarkable in the face of the consideration
that the seeds of such flowers are so heavy, and the distance from their
present habitat so great, as to negative the supposition that they have
been carried by the wind; nor can their presence be satisfactorily
referred to the agency of birds.
At first sight, therefore, the existence of flowers such as the violet,
the buttercup, and the honeysuckle in an island south of the equator,
and surrounded by vegetation of a totally different order, appeared to
be so inexplicable that the hypothesis of a separate and distinct origin
was advanced. A more satisfactory explanation has, however, been
furnished by Darwin, which is now generally accepted. Very briefly,
this is as follows. It is supposed that at the time of the glacial epoch
the depression of temperature was so great as to admit of the prevalence
in the tropics of forms of plants now peculiar to the temperate regions
of the north. As the heat increased, such plants retreated from the
tropics, for the most part northwards, but not exclusively. Following
the snow-line, they also climbed to the cool heights of the lofty
mountains of Central India and of Abyssinia, and even crossed the
equator. They now linger upon the summits of the Javan mountains, and
furnish by their presence an additional proof of the original union of
the western islands of the Archipelago with the continent of Asia.
During his stay at Buitenzorg, Mr. Wallace ascended the mountains
Pangerango and Gedé. He describes this expedition as "by far the most
interesting incident" of his visit to Java, and gives a full account of
the various European plants which he found growing at different
altitudes. In particular he mentions the royal cowslip (_Primula
imperialis_), "which is said to be found nowhere else in the world but
on this solitary mountain summit," and the stem of which he found
sometimes growing to a height of over three feet. The list of families
of European plants growing upon Pangerango and Gedé given by another
scientific traveller, Mr. Motley, includes, among others, such familiar
names as the violet, the buttercup, the primula, the lily of the valley,
the honeysuckle and the wood-sorrel. I have already mentioned the fact
that it is found possible to grow all European plants (but not fruits)
in the mountain garden which is established on the slopes of Gedé, and
which forms part of the Government gardens.
Of the tropical fruits in general I am inclined to think that their
excellences have been very much over-estimated. There is nothing to
equal or approach a fine jargonelle pear, a peach, or hothouse grapes.
The orange, cocoanut, banana, and mango are so well known as to need no
special description. In addition to these, the commonest fruit are the
pomelo, the mangosteen, the duku, the rambutan, and the durian. The
pomelo is six or seven inches in diameter, with a smooth green exterior,
not unlike that of a water-melon; the fruit is pink in colour, and
easily breaks up into sections. It tastes like a very dry and rather
acid orange, and the peel makes an excellent bitter in sherry. The
rambutan resembles a horse-chestnut in size and appearance, except that
its shaggy exterior is red instead of green. The duku and mangosteen, on
the other hand, are smooth and green, and in other respects resemble a
walnut. All three, rambutan, duku, and mangosteen, provide a gelatinous
substance with a delicate acid flavour. The durian is as large as a
cocoa-nut, and its exterior is armed with spikes; the fruit is soft and
pulpy, tasting like a custard in flavour, but it has a horrible smell,
and possesses strong laxative qualities. Mr. Wallace devotes several
pages to a description of its various qualities, remarking that "to eat
durians is a new sensation, worth a voyage to the East to experience."
_Credat Judæus non ego._ There is also a species of green orange, with a
very thin skin and fine acid flavour, to be obtained in Java.
A general view of the products of the island has already been given in
Junghuhn's table in Chapter II., and some of the more important have
been subsequently described at length. Any account of the plants of Java
would, however, be incomplete without a narrative of the introduction of
cinchona into the East Indies.
This plant, from the bark of which quinine is obtained, is a native of
Peru, and for a long time the Peruvian Government jealously maintained
exclusive possession of it. Forty years ago, the Dutch Colonial
Government despatched Haskarl, one of the officials of the Buitenzorg
gardens, to Peru for the purpose of procuring cinchona seed. He
succeeded in obtaining some seed of a very inferior quality, and the
plantations produced from it were practically useless. In 1866, however,
both the British and Dutch Indian Governments purchased small
quantities of seed from Mr. Charles Ledger. From this seed the very
valuable plantations of Java and Ceylon have been propagated. I have
already described the method of cultivating _Cinchona Ledgeriana_
adopted by the planters, and how advantage is taken of the extreme
liability of the cinchona plant to hybridization. The manner in which
the seed was secured forms an interesting episode in the history of
scientific botany. The story is told by Mr. Ledger in a letter to his
brother published in the _Field_ of Feb. 5, 1881, in which it will be
seen that these seeds were obtained at the cost of the life of Manuel,
the naturalist's faithful Indian servant.
"While engaged in my alpaca enterprise of 1856, a Bolivian
Indian, Manuel Tucra Mamami, formerly and afterwards a cinchona
bark-cutter, was accompanying me with two of his sons. He
accompanied me in almost all my frequent journeys into the
interior, and was very useful in examining the large quantities
of cinchona bark and alpaca wool I was constantly purchasing. He
and his sons were very much attached to me, and I placed every
confidence in them. Sitting round our camp-fire one evening, as
was our custom after dinner, conversing on all sorts of topics,
I mentioned what I had read as to Mr. Clement R. Markham's
mission in search of cinchona seeds. Now, Manuel had been with
me in three of my journeys into the cinchona districts of the
Yungas of Bolivia, where I had to go looking after laggard
contractors for delivery of bark. It was while conversing on the
subject of Mr. Markham's journey, and wondering which route he
would take, etc., that Manuel greatly surprised me by saying,
'The gentleman will not leave the Yungas in good health if he
really obtains the _rogo_ plants and seeds.' Manuel was always
very taciturn and reserved. I said nothing at the time, there
being some thirty more of my Indians sitting round the large
fire. The next day he reluctantly told me how every stranger on
entering the Yungas was closely watched unobserved by himself;
how several seed-collectors had their seed changed; how their
germinating power was destroyed by their own guides, servants,
etc. He also showed me how all the Indians most implicitly
believe, if, by plants or seeds from the Yungas, the cinchonas
are successfully propagated in other countries, all their own
trees will perish. Such, I assure you, is their superstition.
Although there are no laws prohibiting the cinchona seed or
plants being taken out of the country, I have seen private
instructions from the prefect in La Paz ordering strictest
vigilance to prevent any person taking seed or plants out of
the country. More than half a dozen times I have had my luggage,
bedding, etc., searched when coming out of the valley of the
Yungas.
"You are aware how I am looked upon as a doctor by the Indians.
Well, one day I said, 'Manuel, I may some day require some seed
and flowers of the famous white flower, _Rogo cascarrilla_, as a
remedy; and I shall rely upon you not deceiving me in the way
you have told me.' He merely said, 'Patron, if you ever require
such seed and flowers, I will not deceive you. And I thought no
more about it.
"Manuel was never aware of my requiring seed and leaves for
propagating purposes; he was always told they were wanted to
make a special remedy for a special illness. For many years,
since 1844, I had felt deeply interested in seeing Europe, and
my own dear country in particular, free from being dependent on
Peru or Bolivia for its supply of life-giving quinine.
Remembering and relying on Manuel's promise to me in 1856, I
resolved to do all in my power to obtain the very best cinchona
seed produced in Bolivia.
"His son Santiago went to Australia with me in 1858. In 1861,
the day before sending back to South America Santiago and the
other Indians who had accompanied me there as shepherds of the
alpacas, I bought 200 Spanish dollars, and said to him, 'You
will give these to your father. Tell him I count on his keeping
his promise to get me forty to fifty pounds of rogo cinchona
(white flower) seed. He must get it from trees we had sat under
together when trying to reach the Mamore river in 1851: to meet
me at Tacna (Peru) by May, 1863. If not bringing pure, ripe
rogo seed, flowers, and leaves, never to look for me again.'
"I arrived back in Tacna on the 5th of January, 1865. I at once
sent a message to Manuel, informing him of my arrival. At the
end of May he arrived with his precious seed. It is only now,
some twenty-four years after poor Manuel promised not to deceive
me, manifest how faithfully and loyally he kept his promise. I
say _poor_ Manuel, because, as you know, he lost his life while
trying to get another supply of the same class of seed for me in
1872-3. You are aware, too, how later on I lost another old
Indian friend, poor Poli, when bringing seed and flowers in
1877.
"I feel thoroughly convinced in my own mind that such
astonishingly rich quinine-yielding trees as those in Java are
not known to exist (in any quantity) in Bolivia. These wonderful
trees are only to be found in the Caupolican district in Eastern
Yungas. The white flower is specially belonging to the cinchona
'rogo' of Apolo.
"You will call to mind, no doubt, the very great difficulties
you had to get this wonderful 'seed' looked at, even; how a part
was purchased by Mr. Money for account of our East Indian
Government for £50 under condition of 10,000 germinating. Though
60,000 plants were successfully raised from it by the late Mr.
McIver, I only received the £50.
"The seed taken by the Netherlands Government cost it barely
£50.
"Such, then, is the story attaching to the now famous _Cinchona
Ledgeriana_, the source of untold wealth to Java, Ceylon, and, I
hope, to India and elsewhere. I am proud to see my dream of
close on forty years ago is realized; Europe is no longer
dependent on Peru or Bolivia for its supply of life-giving
quinine."
Before closing this chapter I may mention that there is a considerable
plantation of gutta-percha trees in the horticultural garden at
Buitenzorg. The best producer of gutta-percha, _Pelaguium_ (_isonandra_)
_Gutta_, grows nowhere on the island naturally, but seeds were obtained
from two specimens of this plant which had been placed in the botanical
garden, and the plantation was established some years ago at the
suggestion of Dr. Treub. In view of the recent development of electrical
engineering and the increased demand for indiarubber generally which has
arisen in the last few years, the fact that an unlimited supply of this
valuable plant can be obtained in Java is one of some importance to the
commercial world.