A PLATEAU BBNEATH THE SEA. 



Hie royal tiger of Sumatra and Java is also found 

 on tliat part of Bali neai'est Java, but neither this 

 nor any other feline animal exists ou Lombok, 



MonteySj squirrels, civets, and others are seen 

 west of this dividing line, but not east of it. Wild 

 hogs are distributed over all the larger islands from 

 Sumatra to New Guinea, and even occur as far east- 

 ward as Ceram. The flora of these islands is not 

 divided in this manner, but maintains quite the same 

 character from the northern end of Timur to the 

 eastern end of Java. 



In 1845 Mr. Earl pointed out the fact that Java, 

 Sumatra, and Borneo, all stand on a plateau which 

 is only covered by a shallow sea. They therefore 

 uot only were formerly connected, as the similarity 

 of their faunae shows, but are at the present day, 

 and a line on the map, which indicates where the sea 

 reaches a depth of one hundred fathoms, shows exact- 

 ly where the great basins of the Pacific and Indian 

 Oceans really begin. Northward this line unites the 

 Philippines to Asia, and also proves that Foraiosa, 

 the Lew-Chew and Japanese Islands, and the Kiuiles, 

 are all parts of the same great continent. Jndging 

 from what is known of their fauna, IVIi*. Wallace 

 thinks the sepai'ation of the Philippines from the 

 continent occurred before that of Java, and since that 

 epoch they have undergone very considerable changes 

 in their physical geography. 



In 1478, when the Hindu religion was driven 

 out of Java, it took refuge in Bali, where it exists 

 to the present day. The natives here, as in India, 

 are divided into fonr castes. The first and high- 



