62 A NATUBALIST IN CELEBES ch. iv 



strong for a hungry person. Bats, when thoroughly imbued 

 with Spanish pepper (chiUies) so as to disguise completely 

 their own peculiar flavour, are excellent, but great care is 

 required in the cooking of them. The wild bronze-winged 

 pigeons {Carpophaga paulina) are very good, and so are the 

 sandpipers. They can be made palatable even by an inex- 

 perienced cook ; but parrots are inferior as an article of food. 

 The bivalves are not very bad, but, like the fish, are quite 

 inferior to those of colder climates. 



The natives spoke very highly of the quality of the 

 cuttlefish, but from the specimen I tried — it may have 

 been improperly cooked or of inferior quality, it is true — 

 I should think that first-class india-rubber would be more 

 palatable and digestible. I was not always so badly off 

 as this, however ; for after my visit to Manado at the 

 beginning of October I had a supply of tinned soups and 

 vegetables, and a large sack of potatoes, which enabled me 

 to add considerable variety to my table. After lunch was 

 cleared away I often followed the custom of the colonial 

 Dutchman, and turned into bed for a good midday sleep. 

 I found this rest a useful and refreshing one when I 

 was not on any of my expeditions, for it was an excellent 

 way of getting through the hottest and quietest hours of the 

 day, and at the same time a valuable stimulus to the 

 exertions of the afternoon and evening. 



I spoke just now of the ' hottest part ' of the day. 

 Perhaps I ought to explain this more accurately. It would 

 never be considered very hot in Talisse by those who are 

 accustomed to the heat of Egypt, British India, or even 

 Java. The average temperature in my hut in the middle 

 of the day was 85°-5 F.— that it is to say, about as warm 

 as it is in England on an exceptionally hot summer's day. 

 I kept regular records of both temperature and barometric 

 pressure, but there is so very little change from day to 



