146 COLLECTING EXPEDITION TO BATANG PADANG. 
again a careful search under it gave no results in the shape of 
cones. 
I found 4 or 5 species of Burmanniacee on Batu Puteh, at 
different elevations. They are small, mostly leafless plants, 
often parasitical on the roots of other plants. Lurmannia 
longifolia is very plentiful with pretty pale bluish flowers. 
This species is also found on the mountains of Borneo, Amboina, 
New Guinea and on Mount Ophir in Malacca. The other 
species are very much smaller and require diligent searching 
amongst the dead leaves before they are discoverable. The 
flower of one was primrose yellow, another dull crimson, one 
purple and another pale straw colour. All these latter are 
delicate, fragile, semitransparent little plants. 
On the 27th I sent down two men loaded with bundles of 
dried plants and I sent letters asking for coolies to take all the 
baggage down to Tapa on the ard or 4th of September. By 
which time I aonsiders we Bene to have about exhausted the 
place. Early on the mornings of the 26th and 27th a tiger 
was heard quite close to the camp making that peculiar noise 
which cannot be properly described as growling. I must say 
it would have been far pleasanter if the tigers had not kept 
hanging round our camps in the way they did. 
Some way below the camp I caught three specimens of a 
very handsome butterfly. It was a species of the genus 
Thaumantis. Above, it is various shades of rich brown with 
a diagonal band of azure blue on each fore wing. This lovely 
insect only frequents the forest of the higher hills as far as my 
observation goes, and like all the members of the genus 1s very 
difficult to catch, because the undersides of the wings are, 
although when e opmmined closely of singular beauty, still w hen 
seen from a little distance so like the tints of a dead leaf that 
it is usually not seen till with a flash of brilliant blue light it 
flies off perhaps from almost under your feet. There is no 
doubt that insects are well aware of the colour on which they 
will be least exposed to the observation and attacks of enemies. 
This Thaumantis always settles on dead leaves or in a posi- 
tion when it may be mistaken for one. There is a moth, very 
common in the jungle near the lower camp on Batu Puteh, 
which is of a pale fawn colour and it is perfectly astonishing 
