xiii.] FRESHWATER ALGM 



As we again entered the Umpanang, I stopped to collect speci- 

 mens of all the plants in blossom which I could find. The waters 

 must have been extraordinarily high for a long while, for I found 

 that the leaves of the submerged trees were covered by a thin coat- 

 ing of alga?, probably Diatomaceae. In the vicinity of Segrat 

 I stopped at a mattang. on which grew a species of Eugeissonia 

 (E. ambigua 1 ). I at first thought that this palm was the same 

 as one which grows in the Malay Peninsula, but most probably 

 it must be considered as a distinct species. The mattang on which 

 it grew was hardly six feet above the actual level of the water ; 

 it was, indeed, the only dry bit of land for miles around. It was 

 also marked by the presence of the umbrella casuarina (" Ru 

 ronan " or " Ru umbon " of the Malays). I have already stated 

 that I consider these isolated spots of raised land sticking up from 

 the surrounding plain to have been ancient islands of the sea. 

 The one on which I found the Eugeissonia is a remarkable and 

 instructive instance to the point. 



We once more passed a night at Segrat, even a more miserable 

 one than before, with the dogs and the swarms of mosquitoes. It was 

 insupportably hot. To add to our discomfort the hut was now 

 hardly habitable, for the streaming rain came through the rotten 

 old attaps in torrents. All night it fell, and the incessant roar on 

 the roof, combined with the other local amenities, entirely prevented 

 me from getting any sleep. I was tormented, too, with the idea 

 'that the waters would rise so as to prevent our being able to ascend 

 the Kantu on our way back. At dawn next morning, although it 

 was still raining, I gave the order to start. Even my men were 

 heartily glad to get away from the place, and they paddled away 

 with a will, notwithstanding the pouring rain, which fell on their 

 naked shoulders, while I tried my best to obtain what shelter 

 I could crouched up under a kadjan mat in the middle of my boat. 

 At last, when it pleased heaven, the sun peeped out. 



On the way we made frequent stoppages, for I wished to secure 

 specimens of all the flowering plants which I had not collected 

 elsewhere. Partly on this account, and partly because the current 

 against us was growing stronger, we hardly succeeded during the 

 day in getting over half the distance we had managed on our out- 

 ward, down-stream journey. We halted at Ampar, a small Dyak 

 village, when the sun was low, and my men completely tired out. 

 The bad weather followed us, and we had hardly got into the 

 house when the rain, which had ceased awhile, came down again 



the Tomistoma has the same habits as the former, and is not dangerous 

 to man. Fossil Tomistomas, or alhed forms, have been found in miocene 

 deposits in Malta and Sardinia. 



1 Cf. Beccari. Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italiano, vol. hi. p. 28. 



189 



