414 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



ZOOLOGICAL NOTES ON A COLLECTING 



EXPEDITION IN BORNEO. 



By J. C. Moulton, F.Z.S., Curator of the Sarawak Museum. 



(Concluded from p. 374.) 



Mt. Merinjak. 



As far as I know, Merinjak is not to be found on any map 

 of Borneo, and this is probably the first time that its name has 

 appeared in print. It was in fact — till our visit — an unknown 

 mountain, in the heart of Borneo, on the very border be- 

 tween Sarawak and Dutch Borneo, and, according to the 

 natives of Temong, never before visited by ivhite men ! Our 

 natural thrill of exploring pride was somewhat lessened when 

 we came to consider that, after all, there was no particular 

 reason why any white man should take the trouble to visit the 

 mountain, except to collect natural history specimens, for which 

 purpose, moreover, there are plenty of more likely mountains in 

 Sarawak, and those more easily reached. The height too could 

 be no great attraction, being but 2220 ft., which compares 

 unfavourably with its near neighbour, Mt. Penrissen (4180 ft.). 

 We ought also to confess that the Dutch border in this part 

 of Sarawak is not much more than sixty miles from the north 

 coast, so we were not really so very far in the interior. 



However, that flat top, the comparatively easy slopes, all 

 clothed in fine tall jungle, with here and there a small plateau 

 whereon one might ramble without great risk of accident, looked 

 promising for collecting, and so we were well content to forget 

 our diminished fame as explorers and attend to business. 



The first thing to do was to fell the jungle round our hut and 

 so make a small clearing, where we could catch insects and dry 

 clothes. Into the depths of this old jungle the sun never 

 penetrates, but once you find a small open space caused by the 

 fall of some monarch of the forest, there one may be sure of 

 finding a variety of insects disporting themselves in the sun, 



