VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MAiiACCA. 75 



touched by the msects. The stalks or roots which climbed upon 

 the trees had not those burning- fibres, which Eumph mentions. 

 I only fornd cones which had already fruits but no blossoms. 



As we were descending the mountain I found a small shrub, 

 about as hig-h as a finger ; the stems are woody and the blossoms 

 grew in a corepub. The corolla was funnel-shaped, divided into 

 five small pointed lobes: the mouth was bare, deeper, inside the 

 tube there w^ere five authera. The tyle was divided at the 

 end : it just began to bloom and had no fruits yet. 



About midda}- we turned back to our ship, and I tried to 

 arrange my conquests as best I could. 



In the afternoon I sent my boy and some of the Siamese to 

 fetch me some beetles of which they had spoken. They said 

 that this beetle builds its nest one foot deep in the ground, by 

 preference in such places where the wild elephants have left their 

 dung. In the evening they came back with fifteen beetles of a 

 very large kind, which resemble the Scarahoa actecn. The 

 Siamese wash these insects, fry them, and eat them with great 

 appetite : they assured me that they had an excellent taste, 

 which opinion my captain confirmed, who had himself eaten them, 

 prepared in some other manner. I am convinced that they contain 

 many particles of fat, and that they decay with the most deadly 

 of smells. I am equally convinced, that they are eaten by 

 monkeys and other quadrupeds, which fact I conclude from 

 observing their dung. 



The Siamese call these insects Fhu-zi vel Tzuh-tzhl 



The weather had continued dr}^ for eight days, the air was 

 cool, and we had east wind, circumstances which much favoured 

 my researches. 



20. — I went again to the large Pullu Lalang, to enrich the 

 collection of my beautiful Pcpilia, which I found here on the 

 Cordia, but I was not as lucky as I wished. The weather 

 changed to-day and we had strong westerly winds with rain, 

 and the beautiful Papilions flew so high, that it was not possible 

 to catch any. So I continued to botanize and went across the 

 forest to the other side of the island, where I found a bay far 

 reaching into the land. There was very little water in this bay 

 and as all was very quiet 1 saw many Scolopaces Pheopi and 

 monkeys searching for food in the muddy ground, which contained 

 many shells and small fishes. 



