J" 



580 GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES IN MALAYSIA AND ASIA, 



other trees, as useful or as ornamental, the profusion of fruits and 

 flowers, the shrubs and feins, make it a I'egion which stands alone 

 amongst the wonders of nature. But when we add to this the 

 beauties and vaiieties of the wild animals, the birds, the insects 

 and the denizens of the seas and rivers, Java becomes almost a 

 fairy-land to the traveller. On the slopes of Mount Lawu at a 

 height of 3,600 feet, and again on another spur at over 4,000 feet 

 are the I'uins of the temples of Suku and Cliato respectively. These 

 are Hindoo in character, though from their rude and jjrimitive 

 structure, they would seem to have belonged to much less civilized 

 times. However, any speculation is set at rest by an inscription 

 with the date of 1301 of the year of Salivana which is A.D. 

 1439. The whole of this locality may be said to be the historical 

 land of Java. It is here that the ancient empire of Suracata still 

 exists. The traveller is at once struck in visiting this region with 

 the ancient aspect of things. The costume of the people difters 

 little, and that of the princes and nobles seems to have undergone 

 little alteration since the days in which they were carved in stone 

 on the trachyte walls of Boro-budor. 



The valley of the Solo river is bounded on the west by the twin 

 volcanoes of Merapi and Merabu, the first nearly 9,000 and the 

 second nearly 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. The city of 

 Jokiakarta lies on the southern slopes of Merapi, or rather on the 

 jilain at the foot of the mountains, and a stream which comes 

 from its summit almost, empties itself on the south coast. From 

 the city, which boasts of being the residence of the sultan or king 

 of the province of Jokiakarta, there is a good road of 17 miles 

 length to Galur, an important campong, on the few lowlands of 

 the south coast, formed by the alluvium of the river Songo with 

 its tributaries Krasac, Progo, Tangsie and Ello. This was the only 

 time I was on the southern waters of the island, 



Jokiakarta. — Jokiakarta is especially interesting to geologists, 

 because of its beds of tertiary marl with fossils. On the river 

 Songo, near Nangulan, about 8 miles west-by-north of the city of 

 Jokiakarta, are beds of marl or limestone associated with Horn- 



