illustration]* af pi)j)tif--<!9cag.rajpl)g. 



XVll 



prevailing: vegetation of this valley, which 

 is about 5,000 feet above the sea, consists 

 of plants of the cinchonaceous order, with 

 their graceful foliage and panicles of fra- 

 grant flowers. Among them are several 

 species of the Cinchona which yields the 

 inestimable bark of commerce. It was in 

 these lovely Caravayan valleys that Mr. 

 Clements Markham made a collection of 

 cinchona plants for introduction into In- 

 dia, while he caused other collections of 

 plants and seeds to be made in Northern 

 Peru and Ecuador. Thus the cultivation 

 of those precious quinine-yielding trees, 

 which were until lately only met with 

 arrowing wild in such valleys as that of San 

 Juan delOro, is now successfully establish- 

 ed in our great Indian possessions. The 

 cascarilleros or bark collectors are repre- 

 sented in the plate as engaged in packing 

 the bark, previous to its being forwarded 

 to the nearest depot, on the hacks of In- 

 dians. [B. S.J 



VEGETATION OF JAVA. 



(Plate XIII.) 



[REFERENCE. — a. Pandanus latifolius; b. Erio- 

 dendron indicum. ] 



Perhaps one of the most singular genera 

 of plants of the eastern hemisphere is that 

 of the Screw-pines (Pandanus), go called 

 from their long narrow sword-shaped 

 leaves being arranged around the stem 

 like the windings of a screw, and their 

 fruits having the outward appearance of 

 pine cones. In many instances their stem 

 is branched and tree-like, and in several of 

 our plates specimens of this mode of 

 growth may be seen ; but in some in- 

 stances the stem is simple, and on the 

 left-hand side of our present illustration 

 will be noticed one of the finest and most 

 robust species inhabiting the island of 

 Java, the Pandayius latifolius. It grows 

 here in company with feathery palms and 

 the Eriodendron indicum ; the latter easi- 

 ly recognised by its strictly horizontal 

 branches, arranged in distinct whorls at 

 certain intervals around the stem, and im- 

 parting to it the look of a coniferous tree. 

 There are very few plants in the lower 

 coast region of the tropics that have a simi- 

 lar habit. We can only recall Terminalia 

 Catappa, and some Myristicas. [B. S.J 



MOUNTAIN VEGETATION OP JAVA. 



(Plate XIV.) 



[REFERENCE.— a. Rafflesia Rochusseni ; b. Va- 

 nilla; c. Freycinetia ; d. SelligueaS] 



Few spots on the globe support a more 

 luxuriant and diversified vegetation than 

 the island of Java. It is literally teeming 



with botanical treasures. Ferns and or- | 

 chids, palms and oaks, bananas and nut- I 

 megs, vines and convolvuli, and an end- 

 less host of other plants of which not even 

 the name has penetrated beyond the circle 

 of scientific botanists, cover its surface. 

 In the illustration before us, the artist has 

 contrived to introduce us to a genus of 

 plants which bears the most gigantic of 

 flowers, the famous Rafflesia. Nature has 

 equally divided her gifts by according to 

 the New "World the plant with the largest 

 leaves (Victoria regia), to the Old World 

 that with the largest flowers (Rafflesia Ar- 

 noldi) ; and it is not a little singular that 

 both these plants, notwithstanding their 

 prominence, have only been discovered in 

 recent times. Rafflesia Arnoldi has flowers 

 often three feet across, but, alas ! it has | 

 no leaves. The gigantic flowers are seated | 

 on the stems of vines, different, kinds of ■ 

 Vitis (Cissus), from which they draw their 

 nourishment pai-asitically. The species ; 

 figured in our illustration is Rafflesia Ro- 

 chasseni, not quite so large as the first- 

 mentioned species, surrounded by creep- 

 ing Vanillas, Freycinetias, ferns, and other 

 mountain plants. A Dutch gardener, M. 

 Teysmann,was the first who, by carefully 

 observing the way in which Rafflesias grow, 

 succeeded in cultivating and flowering 

 them in the Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg 

 in Java, and there is reason to hope that 

 at no distant day we may grow in our hot- 

 houses the largest-flowered plant of the 

 eastern, as we do the largest-leaved plant 

 of the western hemisphere. [B. S.] 



VEGETATION OF NEW HOLLAND- 

 AN ACACIA 'SCRUB. 



(Plate XV.) 



Among those plants which by beauty and 

 elegance attract our attention, the Acacias 

 occupy a prominent place. Few genera 

 are richer in singular forms, or possess a 

 greater number of truly ornamental spe- 

 cies. Their graceful branches, airy foliage, 

 and numerous often fragrant blossoms, 

 have made them favourites with all those 

 who are sensible to the charms of the ve- 

 getable kingdom. Especially the Acacias 

 called Phyllodinece, are, by their habit, 

 their curiously shaped and highly develop- 

 ed leaf-stalks, the absence of true leaves 

 in old plants, and their diversified tints, 

 even if destitute of flowers, objects of 

 particular interest; and although the spe- 

 cies with pinnated leaves do not rank so 

 high in this respect, they are nevertheless 

 not destitute of grace or beauty. The ge- 

 nus Acacia, though now considerably re- 

 duced, contains upwards of 500 species, a 

 ereat number of which are peculiar to New 

 Holland and the adjacent islands. Indeed, 

 the Phyllodinece are almost exclusively 

 Australian, only one species, Acacia Koa, 



