12 
On the second day, the Governor sent me a man who spoke Malay to accompany 
me anywhere I wished to go and to assist me generally. Two days I went down the 
river to the limestone hills, and on another day walked across to Pongah and slept 
there, returning by another route the following day. The distance I estimate to be 
about io or 12 miles. Pongah is not so nice a place as it was in the old Raja’s time, 
things are fast going to decay. The road from the landing which he planted up with 
shade trees and kept in good order is now almost impassable in places, and the build- 
ing in which I stayed on a previous visit and was most hospitably entertained leaks 
like a sieve, and as it rained the night I was there it was difficult to find a dry spot 
It is interesting to note that several natives have a few orchids growing around their 
houses and one has quite an interesting little collection and this, they told me, was the 
result of my previous visit. Dendrobium Farmern is evidently the kind they prize 
most, and shows good taste on their part, but it is scarce, and they set a value on them 
that prevented me from buying. This is abundant in Mergui, and Pongah is appa- 
rently about its southern limit. One very interesting dendrobium 1 saw in a garden 
which I was most anxious to get, but the owner would not part ; he, however, gave 
some flowers to dry which will 1 hope, be sufficient for determination, but I have little 
doubt it is an undescribed species. On the limestone islands I collected a great num- 
ber of interesting and some, I believe, perfectly new plants, among the latter being a 
ginger, balsam, and arum. 
Many plants were observed that it was quite impossible to get at, but, on the 
whole, I made a very satisfactory collection. The ginger which I believe to be new 
and of which I only saw a single flower, although it had been flowering freely not 
long previously grows in the chinks of the hardest rocks where it is impossible to get 
at the roots without blasting them out. I saw hundreds but only succeeded in getting 
about half-a-dozen, three of which I have sent to Kew. Of the balsam I dried a good 
series of specimens, and collected a nice lot of seeds, and of the arum tubers. 
In one place I saw enormous clumps of cypnpedium , but quite out of reach, and 
also a small growing aeridrs {/Brides affine). For miles round Rasum the virgin for- 
est have all been destroyed by the paddy planters, and the present vegetation is com- 
posed largely of bamboos, of which, three or four species are so abundant that they 
may be said to be the prevailing feature of the vegetation on all the low hills. In 
spite of this great destruction of forest, only sufficient rice for local consumption is 
produced, and the present price is about the same as in Penang. Fowls are abundant 
and cheap costing only 6 or 7 cents each ; but then these do not require much labour 
to raise. 
A lazier lot of men it would be difficult to find, and the only thing that really 
livens them up is a cock-fight, then the village turns up like one man. Before going 
across to Pono-ah, I asked the Governor of Kastim to lend me a boat to return to 
Tono-kah, butTie said he had no suitable boat and that he always went in one of the 
Chinese tongkangs that come for fire-wood. He promised to arrange for me to go 
back in the same way, but when the time for starting came, the Chinaman said he had 
not enough wood yet, but perhaps he might go to-morrow or next day. To remain 
another day meant probably missing the Petrel and having to remain a week in Tong- 
kah. so I begged them to find me a prauh of some sort, which they eventually did, 
and we got away on the ebb tide about 2 P.M. At about 7 P.M. we stopped at one of 
the islands for the men t> eat, and they were inclined to stay there all night, but we 
got them on board and hoisted sail to a fair wind; one of the two men I took from 
Penang steering, and the other looking after the sail. None of the three men I got 
from Kasum were boatmen, and they did not understand sailing a boat. By 3 A.M. 
we had rounded Pulau Sirih, and were in sight of the Tongkah light, so that in re- 
turning with a fair wind, we did in 13 hours what it took 49 to do in going. 
lt\vas fortunate it did not rain either in going or returning, for we had no cover, 
not even a kajang. I had a whole day to spare in Tongkah, but there is not much 
to collect there unless one had time to go back to the wooded hills. I here is no 
more sign of advancement here than in any of the other places. Everyone says that 
the population is diminishing rapidly. For every Chinaman that goes into Tongkah 
three or four come away. 
• • I have, &c., 
C. CURTIS, 
* Assistant Superintendent of Botanic Gardens . 
