1 697-] ^ SUPPORTABLE CLIMATE. 227 



time fifteen or twenty little Islands always cover'd with 

 green Trees. 



The Cofnpanij builds its Ships at a small Island call'd 

 Onrut} about two Leagues from Batavia. It is well fur- 

 nisli'd, and provided with a good Artillery. 



Altho' Batavia be far in tlie Torrid Zone, the Heats there 

 are very Supportable, because the Sea-Winds, of which I 

 have already spoken, refresh the Air extreamly, and render 

 it temperate even at Noon-day.^ 



The Eains also are very frequent from the Month of 

 Novemhcr, to that of April, which is the time the Heats 

 ought to be most Violent, because they are the six Summer 

 Months of this Country.^ In truth, the Days being almost 

 equal to the Niglits all the year round, and the Cold being 

 in a manner unknown, we may say the Summer here is 

 Perpetual, One judges of the Harvest by the Eain that 

 falls more or less during these six Months ; for when it does 



^ The works on the island of Onrust for building and repairing ships 

 of all sizes were destroyed by Sir Edward Pellew ; but previously ships 

 were here hove down by cranes erected upon the wharves, when they 

 required repairs. This little island was strongly fortified, and had a 

 handsome church and large warehouses, being the great marine depot ; 

 it was crowded with inhabitants, and was celebrated in Dutch poetry as 

 one of the wonders of the Eastern world. (Cf. Thorn's Conquest of 

 Java, p. 254:.) 



2 Admiral Stavorinus writes : " What, however, is the most disagree- 

 able circumstance attending a residence at Batavia, is the insalubrity of 

 the climate, and the great degree of mortality which prevails there." 

 Stavorinus goes on to attribute this uuhealthiness to the low, swampy 

 land, overgrown with trees and underwood, the neighbourhood of 

 morasses and stagnant water, the " stinking mud-banks", " filthy bogs", 

 and the slime, moUusca, dead fish, mud, and weeds thrown up along the 

 shore, which, putrifyiug with the utmost rapidity, load the air with 

 miasmata. Already in the time of Stavorinus all who could afford it had 

 deserted the town to reside in the country higher up, whilst the numerous 

 canals by neglect had become mere sewers. {Op. cit., vol. iii, chap, vi.) 



3 From October to April the north-west monsoon of the Indian 

 Ocean prevails on the coasts of Java and Sumatra, with bad weather 

 and heavy rains. 



q2 



