228 THE BAMBOO AND DURIAN OF BOBNEO. 



cended by both methods, and admired the excellent qualities of bamboo, 

 as well as the ingenuity of the Dyaks ia taking advantage of them. 



Split and shaved thin, bamboo is the strongest material for baskets ; 

 conical fish-traps, hencoops, and birdcages are made by splitting a 

 piece up to the joint which forms the top, gradually-increasing circles 

 of rattan being inserted below ; rough fruit-baskets are also rapidly 

 made in this manner. Aqueducts are formed by large bamboos split 

 in half, supported on crossed poles of various heights. They are the 

 Dyaks' only water-vessels, and are in fact superior to earthen vessels, 

 being clean, light, and easily carried. A dozen water-bamboos stand 

 in the comer of every Dyak house. They also make excellent cooking 

 ntensils; vegetables and rice are often boiled in them. They are 

 used to preserve sugar, vinegar, honey, salted fruit or fish, — in fact, 

 they answer every purpose for which jars and bottles are used by us. 

 In a small bamboo case, prettily carved and ornamented, the Dyak 

 carries his sirih and Urae for betel-chewing, and his little long-bladed 

 knife has a bamboo sheath. His favourite pipe is a huge hubble- 

 bubble, which he will construct in a few minutes by inserting a small 

 piece of bamboo for a bowl, at an acute angle, into a large cylinder, 

 about six inches from the bottom, which contains water through which 

 the smoke passes. In many other small matters the bamboo is of 

 daily use, but enough has been here mentioned to show its value, as a 

 substitute in many cases for iron, and in enabling the natives to dis- 

 pense with a variety of tools and utensils. 



The second object of my especial admiration is the Durian, a fruit 

 of which w^e hear little in England, where all praise is given to the 

 Mangosteen, while the Durian is generally mentioned as a fruit much 

 liked by natives, but whose offensive smell renders it disagreeable to 

 Europeans. There is however no comparison between them; the 

 Mangosteen resembles a peach or a grape, and can hardly be said to 

 be superior, if equal, to either : the Durian, on the other hand, is a 

 fruit of a perfectly unique character ; we have nothing with which it 

 can be compared, and it is therefore the more difficult to judge whether 

 it is or is not superior to all other fruits. 



The Durian grows on a large and lofty forest-tree, something resem- 

 bling an Elm in character, but with a more smooth and scaly bark. 

 The fruit is round or slightly oval, about the size of a small melon, of 

 a greeu colour, and covered with strong spines, the bases of which 



