ISO VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MALACCA, 



the gate, which consisted of low straw huts with open walls, built 

 at half a man's height on bamboo poles. They sold only fruit, as 

 some kinds of Musa Chauneris, Radices art exulenti and others 

 of the same common kinds. 



By chance I found to-day many Pholades with animals, 

 which are said to be fetched from the sea near Parlys when the 

 tide is low and the water only three feet deep. The neck of 

 this animal is like that of an ascidian, but the rest of the body 

 resembles a zethis. 



These animals were boiled like the other Mytyli and are used 

 here in curries and stews. On our table the neck was prepared 

 separately. In the same way Sepia officinalis is used here for 

 eating- purposes ; the smaller ones are generally preferred, and 

 the bladder with the ink is removed and they are well washed. 

 I went along the way I discovered yesterday as far as possible ; 

 it really leads to a newly planted rice-field, lying about a good 

 quarter of a mile from the town. 



I passed two muddy streams with great difficulty, as there 

 were only two small sticks laid across upright poles which stood 

 about one man's height above the mud and this primitive bridge 

 was sixteen or twenty steps long. The bridge was enclosed bj' 

 dense shrubs on either side, consisting mostly of Gmelina en- 

 twined with a new Phijllanthus Verhesina Fcederia, Ceitoria Convol- 

 vii/i, Dioscoreus ; these shrubs were a resort for many animals, 

 because they both sheltered them and provided them with food, 

 among them was the small Capulla. Before I reached the field 

 I had to pass a place which was overgrown with the Saccherum 

 diandrum growing to half a man's height ; among them were some 

 Triumjetta Hedijsamm Coreopsis, etc. ; they grew close to the path. 



The rice was very good, had rather large ears, and was 

 almost ripe ; it was of the kind which has the black-brown husks. 

 There was a great number of birds invading this field, they 

 seemed to be of the Loxia kind; their bills were very big and 

 well built to crunch the rice. They flew about in great swarms. 

 There were many small huts built on high poles in this field, 

 which was scarcely one-third of a German mile long. A row of 

 sticks had been planted amongst the rice, and they were connected 

 by a kind of coarse string, which caused them to make a noise 

 when this string was pulled. They were pulled whenever a 

 swarm of birds wanted to settle. 



