BOTANIZING EXCURSIONS IN BORNEO 195 



blue crabs are also extremely common, and scuttle away to their holes 

 as the boat approaches the shore. 



Further up the river and along the narrow channels the bank is 

 often fringed with dense masses of the Nipa palm, whose long, graceful 

 leaves are extensively used throughout the Malayan region for thatch, 

 and also for covering the sides of the native houses. Another palm, the 

 Nibong (Oncosperma filamentosa) , may often be seen forming groves 

 behind the Nipa zone. This beautiful palm has a tall, slender stem and 

 a crown of extremely graceful feathery leaves. 



As the saltness of the water decreases, in ascending the river, the 

 mangroves give way gradually to a variety of other shrubs and trees, 

 supporting many climbing plants and with their branches often loaded 

 with epiphytes. These epiphjrtic growths, comprising an astonishing 

 variety of ferns and orchids, and other less familiar types, are a marked 

 feature of this intensely humid region. 



Back of the belt of shrubs and low trees immediately bordering the 

 river the tall trees of the forest proper now appear, the outposts of the 

 prodigious forests which still cover most of the wet lowlands of Borneo. 



Most of the native settlements are along the rivers, which are almost 

 the only avenues of communication except narrow forest trails. These 

 river-people are Malays and the little thatched houses, raised on posts 

 well above the ground, or actually over the water, are much like those 

 one sees everywhere throughout the whole Malayan region. Plying up 

 and down the river may be seen the picturesque native boats, usually 

 having a thatched shelter, which not infrequently serves as a dwelling 

 for these aquatic people. Squatted at the bow, dressed in a gay sarong, 

 and often with a brightly painted sun hat, the owner may be seen pro- 

 pelling his gondola-like craft rapidly and gracefully along the stream. 



Kuching, like all of the larger settlements of Malaya, is essentially 

 a Chinese town. Much of the business of the place is in the hands of 

 Chinese, and, except for the government buildings and the dwellings of 

 the Europeans, the architecture is characteristically Chinese. Some of 

 these structures, including several temples, are excellent samples of 

 Chinese architecture, and are very picturesque, the ornamentation often 

 being really admirable in its details. Highly colored glazed pottery in 

 elaborate and often attractive designs is used lavishly in the decoration 

 of the more pretentious Chinese buildings. 



The water front is crowded with Chinese and Malay craft, among 

 which the Singapore steamer and the Eajah's yacht seem rather out of 

 place. 



Opposite the town, on a sightly hill, lies the Astana, the Eajah's 

 palace, an attractive but quite unpretentious building surrounded by 

 beautiful gardens. Adjoining it is a picturesque but not especially 

 formidable-looking fort. This structure, with the buildings of the 



