New Butterfly — Mount Ophir. 41 



sitting on the same piece of dung, and succeeded in captur- 

 ing it. It was an entirely new species of great beauty, and 

 has been named by Mr. Hewitson Nymphalis calydona. I 

 never saw another specimen of it, and it was only after 

 twelve years had elapsed that a second individual reached 

 this country from the north-western part of Borneo. 



Having determined to visit Mount Ophir, which is situated 

 in the middle of the peninsula about fifty miles east of Ma- 

 lacca, we engaged six Malays to accompany us and carry our 

 baggage. As we meant to stay at least a week at the 

 mountain, we took with us a good supply of rice, a little 

 biscuit, butter, and coiFee, some dried fish and a little brandy, 

 with blankets, a change of clothes, insect and bird boxes, 

 nets, guns, and ammunition. The distance from Ayer-panas 

 was supposed to be about thirty miles. Our first day's march 

 lay through patches of forest, clearings, and Malay villages, 

 and was pleasant enough. At night we slept at the house 

 of a Malay chief, who lent us a veranda, and gave us a fowl 

 and some eggs. The next day the country got wilder and 

 more hilly. We passed through extensive forests, along 

 paths often up to our knees in mud, and were much annoyed 

 by the leeches, for Avhich this district is famous. These little 

 creatures mfest the leaves and herbage by the side of the paths, 

 and when a passenger comes along they stretch themselves 

 out at full length, and if they touch any part of his dress or 

 body, quit their leaf and adhere to it. They then creep on 

 to his feet, legs, or other part of his body and suck their fill, 

 the first puncture being rarely felt during the excitement of 

 walking. On bathing in the evening, we generally found 

 half a dozen or a dozen on each of us, most frequently on our 

 legs, but sometimes on our bodies, and I had one who sucked 

 his fill from the side of my neck, but Avho luckily missed the 

 jugular vein. There are many species of these forest-leeches. 

 All are small, but some are beautifully marked with stripes 

 of bright yellow. They probably attach themselves to deer 

 or other animals which frequent the forest-paths, and have 

 thus acquired the singular habit of stretching themselves out 

 at the sound of a footstep or of rustling foliage. Early iii 

 the afternoon we reached tlie foot of the mountain, and en- 

 camped by the side of a fine stream, whose rocky banks 



