Vlakke Hoeli (Sumatra) 15 



on Edam. Some of these, as Stereulia foct tela, Phyllanthns EmbUca, 

 PhyUanthus simpler, Leucaena glauca, Sehleichera trijuga, Ricinus 

 communis, and Indigo/era tinctoria, have been introduced by man ; 

 others, such as SynedreUa nod [flora, Anisomeles edbiflora, Leucas 

 lini/olia, Lcmtcma Camara, and Stachytarpheta indica, owe their 

 introduction partly to man and possibly to some extent to birds. The 

 two ferns, Poly podium acrostiehmdes and Drymogtossum sp., some 

 of the Composites, Bidens pilosus, Trida.a procmnbens, and Vernonia 

 einerea, the fruits of the grasses Andropogon eontortus, Eleusine 

 aegyptiaea, Eragrostis tenella, Imperata arundinacea, Paspalum 

 distich urn, and Paspcdum sanguincde were carried by wind from the 

 neighbouring- mainland of Java. The flora of the other formerly 

 inhabited islands off the harbour of Batavia, like that of Edam, is 

 probably composed of typical strand-plants and introduced inland 

 species ; while in the case of the more distant islands, like that of the 

 Thousand Islands, some of which were visited by Schimper, the whole 

 flora has been built up of species from the strand-formation of Java. 

 The next stage of our voyage lay in the region of the Thousand 

 Islands. Our steamer touched at the island of Pajoeng, 2."5 kilometres 

 [15^ miles] distant, surrounded by the islands of Horn and Agenieten 

 and situated about 20 kilometres from the coast of Java. On the most 

 easterly of the three islands, which is encircled by a coral reef 100 

 metres [328 ft.] wide, there is a lighthouse and some dwellinghouses. 

 A low mangrove swamp, which reaches into the water, stretches 

 along the coast in an easterly direction ; towards the west, the dark 

 Barringtonia forest, diversified by grey-green Casuarinas, forms a 

 background to the sandy shore overgrown with Ipomaea, Spiuifex, 

 and Yigna lutea, which afforded a rich harvest of large and many 

 coloured shells. 



2. On the beach at Viable Hoeli (Sumatra). 



Before nightfall we reached Poeloe Babi, a larger island with a 

 wooded coast, and during the night the steamer passed between the 

 islands of Sebesi and Seboekoe towards the coast of Sumatra. On the 

 following morning before sunrise the " Snip " lay off the lighthouse- 

 station Ylakke Hoek on the southern point of the most westerly of the 

 three Southern Sumatran peninsulas. The iron tower, GO metres in 

 height, rose above the sombre forest fringing the coast line. When 

 the flood of August 2/th, 1883, swept over the flat beach, 103 kilo- 

 metres [64 miles] distant from Krakatau, to a depth of 15 metres, 

 the tower withstood the force of the waves ; the neighbouring 

 structures of stone and iron were on the other hand destroyed, 



