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required more than six hours. At two o'clock the descent began, which was 

 finished by four o'clock. No fewer than 50 species of plants had been found, 

 nearly all of them undiscovered in previous explorations. 5 u n i e r had col- 

 lected (where?) many animals, Mr. Bartels had found the birds to be 

 extremely timid. 



Mr. Handl Jr. who during his long stay on the island had 

 succeeded, after several fruitless attempts, in finding a way to the 

 top and who that day guided the party, informed me through the 

 medium of Dr. O- Arrhenius, that the ascent took place from the 

 north-eastern angle, which can be very easily reached from the 

 south-eastern point by following the beach. The steep acclivities 

 the explorers had to ascend shortly after having set out on their trip 

 were not the gentle slopes of the lower part of the vulcanic mantle 

 itself but steep parts of the bottoms or the sides of the eroded 

 ravines. Such ravines are in Java very frequently found quite near 

 the coast, but may be not recognized as such, because, as a rule, 

 a river flows through them and often nearly fills them up. Such is 

 not the case on Krakatao. In basing conclusions on the botanical 

 results of this trip one should bear in mind that the vegetation of 

 only a very small section of the higher parts of the mountain was 

 examined, viz. the margins of the path followed, and that it is quite 

 possible that in ravines on the other side of the mountain the vege- 

 tation differed very much. Furthermore, that a period of six hours 

 was much too short for a thorough investigation of the dense vege- 

 tation along the way; very many plants must have been overlooked; 

 the data acquired cannot but be very incomplete. Yet a great many 

 valuable observations might have been made by an able botanist. It is 

 much to be regretted that Mr. Docters van Leeuvven gives 

 so very few details on the composition of the vegetation seen by 

 him. He mentions few plants and on these he procures but very 

 scanty data, often not even the vertical range of distribution. In 

 Appendix III to his paper one finds, it is true, a list of forest-plants 

 (afterwards to be discussed) and to most of the names contained in 

 that list the altitude is added, but the height given apparently often 

 bears only on the spot where a specimen was collected. The list 

 would be much more useful if it contained the vertical range of 

 each of the species found. Now one is not even able to form 

 an idea of the distribution of the plants along the path and 

 these form but an infinitesimal fraction of the whole. Of the 

 distribution of species over the rest of the mountain we know nothing 

 at all. 



