OF MT. KINABALU AND BRITISH NORTH BORNEO. 21 
The rest-house consisted of a comfortable structure of bamboo, with another 
for the coolies, situated by the river, with a lovely view over a series of 
forest-clad ridges. Triumfetta suffruticosa luxuriated on cleared gravelly 
banks, and fruit-trees of lanzarts, coco-nuts, and oranges were in abundance. 
Leaving Apin Apin for Tambunan, the “rentis” crosses some hills and 
then follows the crest of a sandstone-range, where I lost my escort by riding 
on, expecting to find them in front of me; however, they preferred the 
native tracks, which are considerably shorter. They succeeded in turning up 
next day, having taken upon themselves to pass the night at Parotan. 
A lot of clearing had taken place on this range, where Litsea citrata was 
in full flower, and also Jambosa rujfo-tomentosa, with white flowers and 
peculiar red-brown hairs covering the flowering rhachis. Beside the latter 
species, which, judging from Haviland’s material, is also very common in 
Sarawak, Carallia lucida, Masa ramentacea, Acalypha Caturus and Tetra- 
stigma papillosum were abundant. 
At Parotan, 2000’, in a clearing wildly overgrown with young jungle, 
was a new rest-house, the old one lying crushed under an endless ** Tapang " 
or beeswax-tree, which had fallen over it. Another “ Tapang” was standing 
alone, in whose tapering branches, almost lost to view, hung bees’ nests, 
rendered accessible by a row of fragile spikes inserted up the trunk. Beccari 
describes these trees (17. 109) in Sarawak, the species generally being 
Abauria excelsa, Becc., and St. John (7. 75) mentions them in Brunei. 
The natives mount by the fragile steps, which they bind on the outside with 
rotan as they ascend, often carrying torches for smoking out the bees. 
Rubus roswfolius hung in luxuriant masses over a bank in a river, covered 
with its disappointing luscious-looking fruit. 
Fordia Gibbsic was growing in one place off the * rentis," which otherwise 
ran through perpetual clearing in weedy young jungle stage. The late 
Mr. R. V. L. Pritchard, then Mr. Weedon's assistant, stationed at Tambunan, 
met me just before the hills sloped down to the fertile plain. 
The Tambunan Plain * is a fine expanse, at an altitude of about 2000', 
about 12 miles across, and bounded by hills. To the east the Trusmandi 
range rises above them, while Kinabalu should have dominated to the north, 
but was shrouded in cloud during the whole of my stay. 
Cantering across the plain to the station, I noticed a stretch of Backea 
frutescens on some sandy soil, and a small plant of Bauhinia Kochana 
trailing over a “Tapang,” with only one shoot which, flowering freely, 
showed the ease with which the forest types can reassert themselves. The 
soil seems of a marly consistency where the padi is grown, alternating with 
stretches of sand. Tambunan Station is finely situated on a rise about the 
middle of the plain, whicb, being about 2000' above sea-level, is very healthy, 
* Tambunan, height 1870 ft. ; lat. 5° 40' 0" N., long. 116? 21' 30" E. 
