68 VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MALACCA. 



The nails of the front feet were round and flat at the end ; 

 the hind feet had also the same kind of nails, only the hindmost 

 toe had a pointed bent nail, which was rather long- and black. 

 The hind paws were longer and stronger than the front ones. The 

 whole body was covered with soft, rust-coloured hair, which was 

 white at the ends. The hair underneath was woolly and grey. 

 From the forehead ran a dark brown line, ending gradually at 

 the hindmost haunches. The tail ends abruptly and is quite 

 short. The animal has a creeping walk and always bends the 

 head. 



It climbs, or better, creeps up, with great agility. When 

 it is skinned the body looks long and thin. 



8-9. — I went out botanize and to search for insects. I des- 

 cribed a Contorta and a peculiar kind of JEjndendron, with awl- 

 shaped long leaves and a fruit which had almost the same shape 

 as the leaves. Early this morning- my boy chanced to come 

 across the haunt of a big tiger, but the animal seeing himself 

 between my boy and myself with my companions ran away from 

 us in great haste. 



10. — We had violent rain and a thunderstorm, which ceased 

 in the afternoon ; the air was hot and oppressive. 



11. — I obtained a Monandria, very much like the Globba, 

 which Mr. Rumph describes in his 6th part. I frequently found 

 blossoms and fruits of the same and described it as minutely as 

 as possible among my monandrists, page. 16. The fruits are 

 almost ball-shaped and as big as ablue plum ; the surface is smooth, 

 fleshy, and blood-red. Inside the fruit has three divisions ; none 

 of the fruits were ripe as yet. The blossoms are the smallest 

 among the monandrists of Junk Ceylon, which I have described 

 hitherto ; they are not longer than the Lamium album, but much 

 wider. 



The blossoms and calix decay on the ovary, therefore the 

 whole bundle of blossoms has always a decaying appearance, 

 except when they are just in full bloom, or have not attained 

 that stage yet. 



12. — At breakfast I was treated to some rhinoceros hide; 

 I tasted some of it for curiosity's sake, but there was little taste 

 in it beside that of the manifold spices, which are used in its 

 preparation. It gets quite soft by being boiled for a long time. 

 It is brown and half transparent and has been cut into long 



