76 



BORSEO. 



them orange-coloured inside; and these are pi-nljably the 

 origm of the latge and fine Durians, wldch arc never found 

 wikl It woidd not, perhaps, be correct to say that the 

 Dmian is the best oi" ell h'uits, because it cannot supply 

 the phice of the subacid juicy kinds* such as the oiunge, 

 unipe, miingo, and luiiugnstten, whose i-efreshing and cool- 

 ieg <|uahtie3 are so wiiolesome and grateful j but as pro- 

 duciug a Ibodof the most exi[uisite tlavour it is unsurpassed. 

 If I had to tix on two only, as i-epresanting the perfection 

 of the two classes, I should certainly choose the Diu-ian 

 !iiid the Orange as the king and queen of fruits. 



The Duriau is, however, soinetimes dangerous. "When 

 the fruit begins to ripen it fulls daily and idmost hourly, 

 and acLdduuts not unfre<|uent]y hai»peu to pei-sons walking 

 or working uudtjr the iiwaa. When a Duiian strikes a 

 rnau in iu fall, it produces a dreadi'ul wound, the strcjng 

 spines teariiig open the tlesh, while the blow itself is very 

 lieavy ; but from this very circumstance death rai-ely 

 ensues, the copious effusion of blood preventing the in- 

 tlanimatinn whieli might otherwise take place, A Uyak 

 eldef infoniu^d nie that he had lieen struck down by a 

 lJui'ian falling on his head, which he thought woidd 

 certainly have caused his death, yet he recovered in a 

 very short time. 



Poets and nioitdists, judging from our English trees and 

 fruits, have thought tliat small I'ruits always grew on lofty 

 trees, so tiu\t their fall shoukl be harmless to man^ while 

 the huge ones trailed on the ground. Two of the lai^e.st 

 antl heaviest fruits known, however^ tlie Bmzil-nut friut 

 (Bertholletia) and Duriau, grow on lofty forest trees, from 

 which they fall as soon as they are ripe, and often wound 

 or kill the native inhabitants. From this we may learn 

 two things 1 first, not to draw general conclusions from a 

 very partial view of nature ; and secondly, that trees and 

 Fruits, no less than the varied productions of the animal 

 kingdom, do not appear to be oiganisied with exclusive 

 reference to the uae and convenience of man. 



During my many journeys in Borneo, and especially 

 tluring my various residences among the Dyaks, I first 

 came to appreciate the admh-aljle qualities of the Bamboo. 

 In those part^ of South America which I had previously 



