366 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



expressed bis surprise at finding the customs and language of 

 his hosts so like his own. The Sea-Dayak are, of course, a very 

 different race, more nearly akin to the Malays. They are of a 

 more restless, go-ahead disposition, and in the early days of the 

 Brooke rale gave much trouble. 



We had hoped to stay some days at Tabekang collecting 

 natural history specimens while C. collected the tax, but a view 

 from a neighbouring hill soon showed us that it wo aid be mere 

 waste of time. With the exception of one or two steep lime- 

 stone crags supporting a thin scrub, the whole country had 

 been cleared by the Dayaks for their paddi farms. Portions 

 which were not then in use had reverted to jungle, but so far 

 only a useless secondary growth had appeared. 



It takes years for this to give way to big " primeval " jungle 

 again, although in course of time it becomes impossible to tell 

 whether such land had ever been cleared or not. On the west 

 coast of British North Borneo there are big stretches of coarse 

 grassland, where the soil seems too poor to support any luxuriant 

 vegetation. I doubt whether it ever has, although I have been 

 told that it is land that has never recovered from native clearing. 



In the palm groves we found the common Fulgorid Aphana 

 farinosa; its colouring was certainly procryptic, as it continu- 

 ally chose the light trunk of a coconut or nibong palm for its 

 usual resting-place. One could catch them in the hand on such 

 places, though they often jumped clear in time. 



Among other insects taken at Tabekang were the bright 

 little Cassidae, Aspidomorpha fuscopunctata, Metriona catenata — 

 both common species — and the rare Chirida scalaris, the big 

 Elaterid Alaus putridus, while two uncommon Passalids, Tanio- 

 cerus bicanthatus, were about the only other beetles of any size 

 or colour. Stripping off the bark of an old stump disclosed 

 a family of flat brown Bhynchota, which Mr. Distant kindly 

 identifies as Acantharadus giganteus, Banks; their colour and 

 flatness made them particularly hard to distinguish. With them 

 was a pretty little Tenebrionid, metallic purple and green. 



The only Odonata obtained here were the two small 

 Agrionids identified by Dr. Laidlaw as Agriocnemis sp. and 

 Aciagrion bomeense, the rather rare Amphilestes macrocephala 

 (Agrionid), and a big JEschnine Gynacantha, sp. 



