Northern Portion of the Malay Peninsula. GG5 



did not ourselves visit, but where our collectors stopped for 

 some time. Elsewhere the country is very mountainous, the 

 highest hill, Gunong Raya, rising to nearly three thousand 

 feet, while there is a range of precipitous mountains in the 

 north-west corner well over two thousand feet. 



The geological formation is in the main limestone, though 

 schists and probably granites occur. In many places the 

 rocks come sheer down into the water and are much under- 

 cut hy the waves, forming small caves and recesses overhung 

 by the most luxuriant vegetation. The flora of the island is 

 very peculiar and markedly different from that of the more 

 southern parts of the Peninsula and is extremely rich in 

 orchids, among which may be mentioned a very beautiful 

 C\ pripedium, snow-white in colour (Cypripedium niveum). A 

 handsome yellow Balsam (Impatiens mirabilis) is also met 

 with here. 



Being separated from the mainland by a strait only some 

 ten miles in breadth, which nowhere exceeds ten fathoms in 

 depth, neither Langkawi nor Terutau harbour any peculiar 

 species of birds, though a Hawk (Spizaetus nipalensis) was 

 obtained which has not as yet occurred on the adjacent main- 

 land. The mammals, however, shew a slight amount of 

 differentiation from the continental forms and have therefore 

 attained the honour of names of their own. Of these the 

 most interesting perhaps is a small Pig (Sus jubatulus Miller), 

 which is very abundant and causes much damage to the rice- 

 fields and plantations. 



One of the most famous features of the Langkawi group is 

 a lake of fresh water some forty or fifty feet deep, which is 

 found on one of the smaller islands to the south-west. It 

 is an almost circular piece of water perhaps a quarter or a 

 third of a mile in diameter, lying in a cup-shaped hollow 

 at the top of a small hill, and probably owes its origin to the 

 subsidence of the roof of one of the caves with which the 

 limestone formation is always honeycombed. The water is 

 of a translucent milky-blue, contrasting well with the deep 

 green of the jungle by which the lake is surrounded, and 

 making a scene of extreme beauty, which is worth travelling 



