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to kill animals traversing it. Here may be found the 
bodies of civet-cats, squirrels, birds, etc., and, at the time 
when Junghuhn wrote, of tigers and rhinoceroses. The 
fabulous stories of the deadly “ Upas tree,” which was 
said to destroy all creatures which slept beneath its 
shade, or any birds which flew over it, have originated 
in the word “ upas ” (poison) being applied to these 
places, and also to a tree —Antiaris toxicaria —which, 
though poisonous, has none of the deadly properties 
above mentioned. An analogous phenomenon is a lake 
in the crater of Taschem, in eastern Java, which is so 
strongly impregnated with sulphuric acid that no fish 
can live in it, or in the river which flows from it, and 
where the river empties itself into the sea it destroys or 
drives away all fish for a considerable distance. Jets or 
fountains of inflammable gas in one locality, at least, 
point to the existence of considerable quantities of 
petroleum. Brine springs are very numerous, especially 
in the province of Japara, where they are dispersed 
through a district several miles in circumference, forcing 
themselves upwards through apertures in the rocks with 
some violence and ebullition. The salt obtained by 
evaporation from these springs is of very fair quality. 
In this same district of Grobogan are some curious mud 
volcanoes which have been described by Dr. Horsfield as 
follows :— 
“ About the centre of this limestone district is found 
an extraordinary volcanic phenomenon. On approaching 
it from a distance, it is first discovered by large volumes 
of smoke rising and disappearing at intervals of a few 
seconds, resembling the vapours arising from a violent 
surf, while a dull noise is heard like that of distant 
thunder. Having advanced so near that the vision is no 
longer impeded by the smoke, a large hemispherical mass 
