ch. xiii.] Kiau Village. 267 



inside the houses, a hole being made through the 

 " ataps" corresponding with the hole in the hive, so as 

 to allow of egress and ingress, a plan similar to that 

 adopted by the bee-keeping natives of Kashmir. 



August \th. I and Smith have been busy all morning, 

 overhauling our stores and goods, and getting ready for 

 our going up the mountain to-morrow. Our rice had 

 suffered from damp, but as we find we can buy some 

 here, it does not matter so much. Several fowls were 

 also brought in for sale this morning, so that we are not 

 likely to starve. Having put all our gear into order after 

 our seven days' march, we took our guns and a couple of 

 men, and took the path leading eastward, which led us 

 across one or two rice and vegetable plots, in winch 

 tobacco plants were growing freely, and at last we crossed 

 a recent clearing and reached the forest, which crests the 

 spur or hill range on which the village of Kiau stands. 

 ^Ye turned northwards and climbed the hillside, which was 

 stiff work, being in places nearly perpendicular. Here 

 1 found a pretty foliage plant, having strap-shaped leaves 

 six inches in length, glossy green, boldly variegated with 

 silver-white above, while the underside of the leaves was 

 of a deep blood colour. Of this I gathered as much as I 

 desired, and a wild plantain or banana growing near, I 

 cut one down, and packing my plants close together in 

 lamp moss and earth, I enveloped them in the cool moist 

 sheathing layers of the banana stem. Thus packed, they 

 occupy but little space, and are easily carried without risk 

 of damage by drought or friction. Saw several coelogynes 

 in flower on the surrounding trees, but other orchids 

 seemed scarce. I made a collection of ferns, mosses, &<., 

 tor drying, but nothing striking from a horticultural point 

 of view was seen. We gained the crest of the ridge after 

 an hour's hard work, and followed it eastward for two or 



