116 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TKAVEL 



Observatory at Batavia show an extreme range of only 

 30° Fahr. during that period. The monthly mean tem- 

 peratures do not differ more than 2°, that of January 

 being 77°-48, and that of May 7 9 '-5 9. The usual daily 

 range is from about 74° to 84°, and during the whole 

 year the temperature seldom falls much below 70° or 

 rises above 90°. At elevations of from 3000 to 5000 

 feet above the sea the thermometer is usually about 20° 

 lower than the figures above given, producing a climate 

 very agreeable to European constitutions, and suitable to 

 the corn, fruits, flowers, and vegetables of the temperate 

 zone, which have long been acclimatised. Java may be 

 said on the whole to be very fairly healthy. The 

 malarial fevers are milder and less common than in the 

 other great islands of the archipelago, and diseases of the 

 lungs are rare. But on the other hand zymotic disorders 

 are prevalent, beri-beri and smallpox are very fatal, and 

 the towns are ravaged from time to time with severe 

 epidemics of cholera. In 1889 no less than 16,000 

 persons fell victims to this scourge of the East. 



5. Flora and Fauna. 



The botany of Java is exceedingly rich and diversified, 

 and the peculiar Malayan flora is here developed in its 

 highest luxuriance and beauty; over 9000 phanerogamous 

 plants being known to exist in the island. The villages, and 

 even the towns are in great part concealed from view by the 

 luxuriant abundance and perpetual verdure of the vege- 

 tation. Patches of sandy shore or of bare lava-coloured 

 peaks are the exception, and quite one-fifth of the island 

 is still covered with forest, despite the denseness of the 

 population. The vegetation varies with the soil, whether 



