Nov. 12, 1885] 



NATURE 



eucalypti, wattle, and musk trees, and covered with a dense 

 undergrowth of ferns and creepers, the gullies being filled with 

 tree ferns. Generally speaking there is a noticeable abence of 

 game, but at certain seasons the forest resounds with the varied 

 cries of the male lyre bird. The hen builds her nest at the foot 

 of a trunk of a tree, of twigs and bark, lining it with dried feins 

 and grass, and leaving an opening in the front of the top. Here- 

 in she deposits the one egg on which she sits to incubation (for, 

 as an Irish friend said, "she only lays one egg at a time"), 

 leaving the nest daily for food. The country abounds in the 

 hills of ants, from those of the large bull-dog ant, an inch long, 

 to those of a small black variety, and it is upon these insects 

 and their larva; that the lyre bird chiefly subsists. The bird is 

 of a sooty black colour, with a body somewhat larger than that 

 of a pigeon, but has a tail of graceful form and beautifully 

 marked. Ordinarily, this tail is simply carried behind like a 

 peacock's in repose, but if found upon their " dancing beds " 

 with head erect and tail expanded over the back they are 

 decidedly handsome. These "dancing beds" are patches of 

 comparatively clear ground, from one to two yards in diameter, 

 with the ferns trodden smoothly upon the surface, upon which 

 tile birds assemble, and dance and strut to their apparent great 

 delight. The original cry or call of the lyre bird is a very 

 simple one, but his adopted one partakes of that of every sound 

 he hears ; for he is a most wonderful mocker, not only of other 

 birds, such as the parrot, cockatoo, yang yang, or magpie, but 

 he will imitate, to the life, the bullock driver with his whip, the 

 step of the teamster's horses, the rasping of the cross-cut saw, 

 and the blows of the axe and tomahawk, and more wonderful 

 still, more than one of these at the same time, so that the 

 solitary explorer is led to believe he has suddenly come upon 

 pioneers of civilisation in the heart of the forest. 



The male bird is exceedingly pugnacious, and this fact is 

 made use of by the settlers to his destruction, for his tail is worth 

 $3. By imitating one of his prominent calls, the hunter can 

 lure him within gun-shot, although naturally very shy ; 

 he comes to repel a fancied intruder into his domain. His 

 flesh is very dark-coloured and coarse, and only used as food in 

 cases of necessity. Many attempts have been made to rear 

 the birds in captivity, and there is a report that one has been 

 successful. With this exception, which I cannot authenticate, 

 I never heard of any result but failure. 



The sound of his call so alters in proportion as his tail is in 

 full feather or indififerently ornamented, that hunters can judge 

 from that whether or no any individual bird is worth pursuit. 



My apology for asking for so much of your valuable space 

 must be in the fact that until I set myself the task of getting the 

 above information, I could not obtain it from published accounts. 



Alfred IvIorris 



Railway Survey Camp, Manaro, New South Wales, 

 September i 



Blackberry Blossoms in November 



I HAVE this day seen blackberry blossoms in a hedge on this 

 road, and yet the autumn has been rainy and inclement. 



JosEVH John Murphy 

 Osborne Park, Belfast, November 10 



EXPLORATIONS IN PAHANG 



pAHANG is a small state in the Malay peninsula on 

 •'■ the eastern side of the dividing range, with a coast- 

 line on the China Sea. The territory is almost exclusively 

 occupied by Malays, who live on the banks of the rivers ; 

 but in the unexplored forests of the interior near the 

 mountains there are a few tribes of wild aboriginal Sakeis. 

 Though Pekan, the capital, is not quite 200 miles from 

 Singapore, it is rarely visited by Europeans. It is 

 situated at the mouth of the river Pahang, and on this 

 stream the bulk of the population is to be found. The 

 Pahang is the main artery of communication with the 

 interior. Its course is inaccurately laid down on the map 

 published by the Straits Government in 1879. Quite 

 recently, however, Mr. W. Cameron, a surveyor, has by 

 his own efforts, unassisted by the Government, mapped 

 the whole course of the stream, and his map, not yet 

 published, is in the hands of the Straits branch of the Royal 



Asiatic Society. Recently also the river was ascended 

 by Mr. G. Scaife. He went up by the Semanten River 

 and one of its tributaries to the dividing range, and then, 

 accompanied by Malays only, he crossed to Klang, in 

 Selangor, in three days, and so reached the western 

 coast. In May of this year Mr. Swettenham, the Govern- 

 ment Resident in Selangor, succeeded in passing the 

 dividing range fiom Perak by ascending the River Slim. 

 Having descended on the eastern side of the mountains 

 he reached the Lipis River, down which he came on rafts 

 to the Pahang, and so on to Pekan. The whole journey 

 occupied one month. 



It may seem strange that a territory so near Singapore 

 should be so little known. The reasons for this are that 

 on the land side its jungles and forests are very inac- 

 cessible, and that for si.x months of the year, when the 

 north-east monsoon is blowing, the rivers and coast-line 

 can scarcely be approached from the sea. Pahang has 

 always had a peculiar interest because of the large and 

 rich gold mines said to exist within its limits. Curious 

 specimens of nuggets are constantly reaching the British 

 settlements from this locality. 



In July last I started from Singapore with the intention 

 of seeing some of the gold fields and generally to examine 

 the geology of the river and some of its tributaries. I 

 was accompanied by Mr. H. G. James and Mr. Scaife. A 

 small steam lauirch had been sent on previously, and we 

 hoped by its means to save time and the inconvenience 

 of depending on native boatmen. 



Pekan, the capital, lies about six miles above the 

 mouth of the river. It is a small town of perhaps 1500 

 inhabitants. It is well laid out in rectangular grassy 

 streets. The sides of these are formed of high bertane 

 fences, within which, buried in tropical foliage, are the 

 detached bungalows of the inhabitants ; the houses are 

 built high off the ground with attop roofs. There is one 

 street of wretched Chinese shops called the market. In 

 the midst of this is a somewhat pretentious two-story 

 palace for the Sultan. Close by are many sheds built for 

 games for royal diversion, amid which is a conspicuous 

 inclosure covered in, where for many hours almost daily 

 his Highness plays at top-spinning with his nobility and 

 gentry. 



He received us courteously at midnight (a common 

 hour for receptions) and seemed quite pleased to have 

 his country visited by Europeans. He gave us a letter 

 commanding all chiefs (Datus) to give us any help we 

 might require. He does not affect any royal splendour, 

 but is very simple in his habits. He is a liberal-minded 

 man, who might do inuch but for his indolence. 



We started with a party of thirteen in a large river 

 prahm, in case the launch should fail us, which it 

 promptly did. Though only drawing 2 feet S inches we 

 lost four days in advancing fifteen miles. At last the 

 shallows stopped us altogether, and we had to take to the 

 prahm. The Pahang drains an immense basin and is fed 

 by innumerable tributaries, so that it is rather disappoint- 

 ing to hnd that unless in times of flood it is only 

 navigable for the small prahm of the Malay. The largest 

 of these scarcely draws two feet of water. 



The channel is from 300 to 600 )-ards wide, interrupted 

 continually by jmigle islands and large sandbanks. On 

 the latter pea-fowl {Pavo javaiuciis) are commonly seen. 

 The banks are lined at intervals with small villages. 

 They may be known at a distance by the clumps of cocoa- 

 nut and betel palm. On our approach we frequently 

 heard the wooden gong or drum echoing with singular 

 clearness through the forest. It reminded one of what 

 Stanley tells us of the River Congo, except that the 

 Pahang natives are very peaceable. The vegetation was 

 of the usual Malay character. The common trees were 

 Ficus, Phyllanthus, Vitex, Castanopsis, Garcinia, Diptero- 

 carpus, Fagrffia, Hibiscus, c&c, with creepers and vines 

 innumerable, especially Bauhinia, Vitis, Ipomtea, Entada, 



