698 ON THE VOLCANO OF TAAL, 



conical extinct crater about 850 ft. aVjove the level of the lake at 

 its highest part. Inside the truncated cone there is a well-formed 

 crater about 500 ft. deep. There are no further observations to 

 be made on the structure of this hill, except that it is very 

 steep because it is densely clothed with vegetation. The abrupt 

 sides though deeply scarred by ravines dip into the lake at a 

 steep incline. It is hei'e that I made the best portion of my 

 botanical collection. The tangled thicket was principally com- 

 posed of fig-trees belonging to three or four species, Tahernoe- 

 'inontana sphcerocarpa, Mussaenda frondosa, Acacia farnesiana, 

 Canavalia, Vitis, Leea, Hibiscus, Ahutilon, Mucuna, Oroxylum, d-c, 

 with a host of escapes from cultivation to be described hereafter. 



The point to the south-west is named Binintiang Munti, a 

 much smaller crater with less ve£;etation. The basin inside the 

 cone is imperfectly defined, and only about 250 ft. above the level 

 of the lake. Fi-om the edge of this crater there is a ridge pur- 

 suing a north-east direction towards the volcano. This ridge ter- 

 minates at a dome-shaped hill called Mount Tabaro, which is about 

 500 ft. high. This mountain has a special interest, for the sides 

 are scored with deep furrows giving it an appearance as if it had 

 been grooved all round. It exactly resembled a dome in the 

 Sand-See in the island of Java, and like it is placed close beside 

 an active volcano, that of the well-known crater of Bromo. Senor 

 Centeno does not regard this as a crater, but rather an accumula- 

 tion of ashes around an original nucleus. There is no trace of a 

 basin on the summit. The distance between Binintiang Malaki 

 and Binintiang Munti is something over four miles, and from the 

 first-named point to Pirac Piraso a little over three. 



In proceeding to summarize the results of my observations it 

 must be distinctly understood that I do not lay any claim to 

 originality in this matter. The observations of Senor Centeno 

 have been so full and exact that I am but following his footsteps 

 in giving the details of the orography and geology of the volcano. 



As already stated the upper border of the crater is oval, with 

 a major diameter from east to west, and a minor diameter very 

 slightly less in size nearly at right angles. The highest point is 



