IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap. 



species. These are simply the roots of the seeds, which having 

 germinated whilst yet adherent to the involucra of the flower, as 

 I have stated, sprout out, lengthen, grow, and enlarge in the air 

 till at the right moment the future plant gets detached. On account 

 of its weight and vertical position, it sticks in the soil on falhng, 

 where it at once begins to grow, developing leaves from the apex. 

 Thus in a very short time the transformation is accomplished, and 

 a new treelet is coming up. The Rhizophorce may thus be con- 

 sidered viviparous plants. 



Whilst my men were engaged in constructing the ataps, I went 

 again to Salak, where there is a small hill which rises in the estuary 

 of Mattang, and is partly washed by the sea. It was of special 

 interest to me, for its geological formation, in a small area, is more 

 varied than I have seen anywhere else in Borneo. The central 

 mass is granite, overlaid on the one side by metamorphic silicious 

 rocks, and on the other by sandstone. Near the landing-place at 

 the foot of the hill, I found two other kinds of rock, both apparently 

 ferruginous, but one stratified, and the other honeycombed and some- 

 what similar, apparently, to what is called laterite, so abundant at 

 Singapore. Unhappily the samples I collected were lost and thus 

 their determination is uncertain. 



On the top of Salak grow in abundance huge trees of "mengka- 



bang (or engkabang) pinang," a Dipterocarp (Shorea falcifera, Dyer), 



noted for the excellence of its timber, and useful besides, as are 



other trees of the same genus, for the oil which is extracted from 



its seeds. This oil, " mignah mengkabang" is solid at the usual 



local temperature, and is highly prized for cooking purposes. I 



was unable to ascertain whether these trees were remains of the 



forest or whether they were planted by man, like others of the same 



kind which I had observed near Malay houses in Kuching. 



On Salak I saw another gigantic tree, which grew isolated in a 



plantation at the foot of the hill ; it was a " minuang " of immense 



proportions (Octomeles sumatrana, Miq.), with enormous root 



expansions. The gigantic trunk, straight, with white smooth bark, 



rose without branches to a great height, and supported a huge 



crown of foliage. The " minuang " is one of those trees adapted 



for isolated growth, and I have never met with it in the primeval 



forest. Its wood is very light, and it must grow rapidly. I did 



not measure this specimen, but it was certainly over 200 feet high. 



As the ataps were finished I returned to Mattang and 



thence to Singhi, to get the Dyaks to come and help carry them 



up the mountain. But the Dyaks showed themselves unwilling 



to move, and I was obliged to ask the Tuan Muda to order them out. 



They obeyed, and by the beginning of February all the materials 



had been conveyed up the mountain, and my house, which I had 



named " Vallombrosa," was soon finished. I had hoped to have 



84 



