The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

X.] BALI AXD LOMBOCK. 117for cutting, and all iu the nio^ t flourishing condition and of themost exquisite green tints.Tlie sides of the lanes and L;'idle roads were often edged withprickly Cacti and a leafless Eui^horbia, but tlie country l)eing soliighly cultivated there was not much room for indigenousvegetation, except upon the sea-beach. We saw plenty of thetine race of domestic cattle descended from the Bos sondaicus ofJava, driven by half-naked boys, or tethered in pasture-grounds.They are large and handsome animals, of a light brown colour,with white legs, and a conspicuous oval patcli behind of the samecoloui'. Wild cattle of the same race are said to be still found inthe mountains. In so well-cultivated a country it was not to beexpected that T could do much in natural history, and myignorance of how important a locality this was for the elucidationof the geographical disti'ibution of animals, caused n)e to neglectobtaining some specimens which I never met with again. Oneof these was a weaver bird with a bright yellow head, whichbuilt its bottle-shaped nests by dozens on some trees near thebeach. It was the Ploceus hj-poxanthus, a native of Java ; andhere at the extreme limits of its range westerly. I shot andpreserved specimens of a wagtail-thrush, an oriole, and somestarlings, all species found in Java, and some of them peculiar tothat i.sland. I also obtained some beautiful butterflies, richlymarked with black and orange on a white ground, and whichwere the most abundant insects in the country lanes. Amongthese was a new species, which I have named Pieris tamai*.Leaving Bileling, a pleasant sail of two days brought us toAmpanam in the island of Lombock, where I proposed to remaintill I could obtain a passage to Macassar. We enjoyed superbviews of the twin volcanoes of Bali and Lombock, each abouteight thousand feet high, which form magnificent objects at sunriseand sunset, when they rise out of the mists and clouds thatsurround their bases, glowing with the rich and changmg tintsof these the most charming moments in a tropical day.The bay or roadstead of Ampanam is extensive, and being atthis season sheltered from the prevalent south-easterly winds,was as smooth as a lake. The beach of black volcanic sand isvery steep, and there is at all times a heavy sui'f upon it, whichduring spi'ing-tides increases to sucli an extent that it is oftenimpossible for boats to land, and many sei'ious accidents haveoccurred. Where we lay anchored, about a quarter of a milefrom the shore, not the slightest swell was perceptible, but onapproaching nearer undulations began, which rapidly increased,so as to form rollers which toppled over on to the beach at regularintervals with a noise like thunder. Sometimes this surf increasessuddenly during perfect calms, to as great a force and fury aswhen a gale of wind is blowing, beating to pieces all boats thatmay not have been hauled sutliciently high upon the beach, andcarrying away incautious natives. This violent surf is probablyin some way clependent on the swell of the great southern ocean,