146 VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MALACCA. 



seminaries of Talapoins were situated. In one of these temples 

 I was shown two pictures of the giants, or Adamans, which are 

 said to rise from out the earth in the month of November to kill 

 all Siamese. Their figures were indeed horrible enough to 

 frighten simple-minded people ; the idols which were to be found 

 at one end of the temple were represented in standing postures. 



From here I went again across a swamp to a little hill, 

 which was closely overgrown with trees, specially with Ovieda 

 viitis of Burman, which however had long big' pods and with 

 the Mimosa bige/nina. There was a ruined temple here, the 

 the idols of which were made of gilt, brass, or tin. They were 

 however all scattered over the floor, and most of them had 

 lost their heads and arms. In front of this temple a very large 

 swamp expanded, wherein some elephants were grazing, and 

 behind this swamp I perceived a very big forest. My curiosity 

 impelled me to inspect them both, and at the same time to exa- 

 mine the Florades swamps, in which so many kinds of Carices 

 Jiinci, Sctrpi Potentikis, and Eriophori usually grow in Europe, 

 but here I found in the deeper places Utricularia major and 

 Impa/iens triflora. In all the other places there grew nothing 

 but a wild shrub, with far, spreading panicles ; in dryer places 

 was some Panicuin grossarium intermixed with the former, and 

 higher still some Melochia corchorifo'ia some Pentapetes phmncea 

 and among' them Panicum colonum and Agrostis cruciata, I 

 reached the wood, which lies somewhat hig'her, but has many 

 ditches and pools. The soil consisted here of a fine grey clay, 

 with some j^ellow veins containing iron. The trees were mostly 

 bamboo, a few Tamarind trees, p^nd another kind of hig'h trees as 

 yet unknown to me ; they had simply pinnate leaves. The 

 brushwood consisted of Mimosa higemina, of different kinds of 

 Capparifis, and the Oxgaantha Zanonica, Rumph, Hort Amboin^ 

 Auctuar, pag. 38. tab. 19 (Carissa spiiiarum, Linn.^ There was 

 a new species of Pavetta, the leaves were lancet-shaped, smooth, 

 and shiny, and had strongly curved prickles growing in opposite 

 directions, and the blossoms had a very sweet perfume ; they grew 

 several together in the angle of the leaves. I obtained both 

 blossoms and fruits of this tree, but the latter were not yet ripe. 

 Towards two o'clock in the afternoon I returned to my boat; 

 we had no wind at all to-day; the thermometer showed twenty 

 egrees of Keaumur. After a little rest, I went back to the town, 



