Monkeys were plentiful
and of several kinds. I was very fond of wandering amongst the high-tree
jungle and quietly watching their antics. In the dense forest there is
little undergrowth, so that one can move about freely and study the
extraordinary forms of vegetation displayed. Ticks and leeches are to
be dreaded--a perfect nuisance. If you sit down or pause for a few
moments where no leeches are in sight, suddenly and quickly they will
appear marching on you, or at you, at a gallop.

The popular idea of a wealth of flowers in tropical jungles is a
misconception. In tree jungle no flowers are to be found, or at any rate
they are not visible. But if one can by some means attain an elevation
and so be able to overlook the tree-tops, he will probably be rewarded
with a wonderful display, as many jungle trees are glorified with crowns
of gorgeous colours. There will he also discover the honey-suckers,
moths, butterflies, the beetles, and all the other insect brood which he
had also vainly looked for before. The fruits are likewise borne aloft,
and therefore at the proper time these tree-tops will be the haunt of
the monkeys, the parrots, the bats, the toucans, and all frugivorous
creation.

Of all fruits the durian is the most delicious. Such is the universal
opinion of men, including A. R. Wallace, who have had the opportunity of
becoming familiar with it. It is purely tropical, grows on a lofty tree,
is round and nearly as large as a cocoanut. A thick and tough rind
protects the delicacy contained within. When opened five cells are
revealed, satiny white, containing masses of cream-coloured pulp. This
pulp is the edible portion and has an indescribable flavour and
consistence. You can safely eat all you want of it, and the more you eat
the more you will want. To eat durian, as Mr Wallace says, is alone
worth a voyage to the East. But it has one strange quality--it smells so
badly as to be at first almost nauseating; some people even can never
bring themselves to touch it. Once this repulsion is mastered the fruit
will probably be preferred to all other foods. The natives give it
honourable titles, exalt it, and even wax poetical over it.

Of course we all know the multitudinous uses of the bamboo. This grass
is one of the most wonderful, beautiful and useful of Nature's gifts to
uncivilized man. And yet one more use has been found for it. In the East
a new industry has sprung up, viz., the making of "Panama" hats of
b