THE SOrrnEASTEItN ISLANDa 



243 



Bui'u, Batcliianj tlie Obi Islands, and Gilolo, also on 

 the islands east of the latter^ and on the northern 

 coast of the westem part of New Guinea, This fruit 

 is widely planted by the nut-crackers," two large 

 species of doves^ Cohtmha W7iea, Tern., and Colwmba 

 perspiciMata^ Teni., which swallow the nnts covered 

 with the mace, the only part digested. The kernel 

 enclosed in its hard, polished shell is soon voided, 

 while it yet retains the germinating power, and a 

 young tree sjirings up far from its parent. 



East of this group is that of Goram, composed of 

 three islands, inhabited by natives who are Moham- 

 medans. Southeast of Goram is the Matabella group. 

 Indeed, these groups ai-e so united that they form but 

 one archipelago. The Ceram-laut Islands are low, but 

 those of Goram and Matabella are high. On the isl- 

 and Teor, or Tewer, in the last group, there is a vol- 

 cano which suiFered a great ei-uption in 1650. Mi'. 

 Wallace describes the Matabellas as partly composed 

 of coral reefs raised from thi'ee to four hundred feet. 

 Sometimes these people go as far west as Sum- 

 bawa and Bali. The Southeastern Islands begin 

 on the north with the Ki group, ten in number, south 

 of the former archipelago. Three of the Kis are large 

 islands and two are high, a peak on one being esti- 

 mated at about three thousand feet. They are so 

 well peopled that they ai*e supposed to contain over 

 twenty thousand souls. The natives are very in- 

 dustrious, and famous as boat-builders. The wood 

 they use comes from their own hill-sides, and they 

 need no iron to complete boats of considerable size, 

 which they sell to the inhabitants of all that part of 



