THE PALAEOTROPICS 219 



The cultivated districts are mostly in the fertile eastern plains, 

 but extensive areas still await development. Although nearly 

 four times the area of its neighbor Java, it has only about one 

 sixth the population, and like Borneo, the development of its 

 immense resources has only begun. 



In the northern part the mountains approach the eastern coast 

 so that the coastal plain is much narrower than further south, and 

 in this region, the original forest has pretty well disappeared from 

 the lowlands which are largely under cultivation. Tobacco is the 

 chief crop, for which this Deli district is famous. 



The most important town, Medan, is some distance inland, the 

 immediate coast being occupied by extensive mangrove forma- 

 tions, composed of several species. There are also Nipa swamps, 

 with the big fern, Acrostichum aureum, and back of this the grace- 

 ful Oncosperma palms, as in Borneo. 



Between the swamps of the coast and Medan, is a cultivated 

 region, with the usual tropical growths, and in places, extensive teak 



forests. 



This region is a rich alluvial plain presumably covered, originally, 

 by heavy forest, now destroyed ; but much of the land is covered 

 with second growth jungle. Tobacco, which is most carefully 

 handled and transplanted, is grown only for a short time on the 

 same ground, which is then allowed to grow up to jungle for several 

 years when it is again cleared for tobacco; so that only a fraction 

 of the arable land is in use at one time. 



The soil is very rich, and the jungle springs up quickly and com- 

 prises a great variety of trees and shrubs, as well as herbaceous 

 flowering plants and ferns. 



The writer had an opportunity of making a brief sojourn in the 

 mountains west of Medan. Bandar Baroe, at an elevation of 866 

 metres has still some remains of the original forest, which has prac- 

 tically disappeared from the adjacent lowlands. At this elevation it 

 is noticeably cooler than at Medan, and there is evidently a fairly 

 heavy rainfall, although decidedly less than on the western side 

 of the mountains; and the forest was much less luxuriant than at 

 similar elevations in western Java, Borneo, and the Malay Pen- 

 insula. . Some of the trees, however, were very large, especially 

 some gigantic figs of the banyan type. 



In general the vegetation of this part of Sumatra, is quite 



