264 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. xm, 



slightly to drink, and water-vessels are readily replenished. 

 The whole hillside is dotted with flat-roofed field-huts of 

 clean yellow bamboo. These afford shelter during the 

 mid-day siesta enjoyed by the workers in the field, who 

 are for the most part women and children. Tiny stream- 

 lets are met with now and then, and in favourable spots 

 the most graceful tree-ferns of the primaeval jungle still 

 linger, although fully exposed to the hot sun. The lower 

 parts of their black trunks, however, are shaded by coarse 

 herbage, and their roots revel among the earth, debris, 

 and wet stones below. In some places the wet earth and 

 stones beside these streams were carpeted with lovely 

 mosses, and of these several rare kinds in good condition 

 were obtained. We met one of my old guides, " Kurow'' 

 (see p. 97), this morning as we came along. He came 

 up to me laughing and vociferating loudly. " Soung,'' 

 who interprets Dusun for me, says that he wants me to 

 understand that he, "Kurow," is glad to see me again, 

 and that he wiU do all he can to help me. We reached 

 the village about three o'clock in a dense white mist, and 

 it commenced raining heavily a few minutes after our 

 arrival. Among the plants we saw to-day was a splendid 

 large bolbophyllum {B. Petreianwn). A vanda grew on 

 the trees overhanging the river, but was not in bloom. 

 The deliciously-perfumed snow-white flowers of Dend/ro- 

 bium crumenatwm, which were especially beautiful on the 

 immense boulders of granite on the green at Koung, was 

 also often met with to-day, and at one of the fords 

 a large- growing ccelogyne {C. racemosa) bore drooping 

 spikes of yeUow and white flowers, the entire inflorescence 

 being nearly a yard in length. While my boy was cook- 

 ing dinner I made, sketches of the most peculiar plants 

 of botanical interest met with en route, much to the sur- 

 prise — I might almost say awe — of the natives, who 



