130 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
ISIS. 
June 
5 — 13 . 
species of hibiscus, were observed. The principal 
street, as is common in most Dutch towns, is 
shaded by an avenue of trees, which forms an 
agreeable walk, and is a great ornament to the 
place : at the upper end of this street is the 
Company’s garden, but its ruinous state shews 
that it has long since ceased to be cultivated for 
the purpose for which it was originally intended. 
From the crowds of people in the streets, a 
stranger would imagine it to be a place of great 
trade, but the only employments of the inhabi- 
tants seem to be those of fishing, making straw 
hats and carrying water; the last occupation 
is principally performed by the women, who 
convey it in vessels made of the broad part 
of the leaf of the fan palm, each containing from 
two to three gallons. At the door of every house 
was seen either a man or a woman plaiting straw 
hats, but this might only have been occasioned by 
our great demand for them, for we purchased all 
that could be made whilst we remained. 
The detail of the coasts of the island, particu- 
larly of its south-eastern side, on which there are 
many indentations and bays, is very little known ; 
the natives are reported generally to be favourably 
inclined to Europeans, but it would be dangerous 
for an unarmed vessel to place too much reliance 
upon the faith of a Timorean, whose thirst for 
