236 BALL [chap. x. 



During the two days that we remained here, I walked 

 out into the surrounding country to catch insects, shoot 

 birds, and spy out the nakedness or fertility of the land. 

 I was both astonished and delighted ; for as my visit to 

 Java was some years later, I had never beheld so beautiful 

 and well cultivated a district out of Europe. A slightly 

 undulating plain extends from the sea-coast about ten 

 or twelve miles inland, where it is bounded by a fine 

 range of wooded and cultivated hdls. Houses and villages, 

 marked out by dense clumps of cocoa-nut palms, tamarind 

 and other fruit trees, are dotted about in every direction ; 

 while between them extend luxuriant rice-grounds, watered 

 by an elaborate system of irrigation that would be the 

 pride of the best cultivated parts of Europe. The whole 

 surface of the country is divided into irregular patches, 

 following the undulations of the ground, from many acres 

 to a few perches in extent, each of which is itself perfectly 

 level, but stands a few inches or several feet above or below 

 those adjacent to it. Every one of these patches can be 

 flooded or drained at will, by means of a system of ditches 

 and small channels, into which are diverted the whole of 

 the streams that descend from the mountains. Every patch 

 now bore crops in various stages of growth, some almost 

 ready for cutting, and all in the most flourishing condition 

 and of the most exquisite green tints. 



The sides of the lanes and bridle roads were often edged 



