262 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



was repaired in a couple of minutes. The rest of 

 the day was spent in unpacking our gear, in build- 

 ing a lankau for our hunters and a kitchen for our 

 servants, and in damming the brook to make a 

 bathing-pool. 



Towards evening the rain came on, and very shortly 

 all round our hut numbers of enormous earth-worms, 

 ij to 2 feet long and very thick, made their appear- 

 ance ; the Dayaks showed the utmost horror of these 

 creatures and could not be induced to touch them 

 with their fingers ; we collected a good many 

 specimens but found that considerable care had to 

 be taken in preserving them, as many specimens 

 divided up into short segments when immersed in 

 spirit. After dinner we sat listening to the din of 

 insects around us, and rigged a reflecting lamp with 

 a sheet behind it in the hopes of attracting moths, but 

 without much success. Dr. Wallace has expressed the 

 opinion that moths do not come to light in jungle 

 stations until the light has been shown for many 

 nights, and this I can fully confirm. I never reaped 

 such harvests of moths on Penrisen as I did many 

 times on Mt. Matang when I used to stay with a 

 friend in charge of the Government coffee estate 

 there ; two or even three hundred specimens was no 

 unusual haul in four hours ; on suitable nights the 

 moths simply streamed into the house, attracted by 

 the bright lights which, of course, were visible every 

 night. 



On the following day we dismissed our train of 

 coolies after giving them the promised guerdon of 

 tobacco, and retained with us, in addition to our own 

 servants and hunters, three of the Sennah men who 



