a pulp of the consistency and colour of thick custard. A big
seed is embedded in the centre of each egg, almond-like in size and
form, although not so flat.

I cannot describe in any way the flavour of this fruit which the real
Sakai calls _sumpa_. I can but repeat that it is exquisite and far
superior to any sweet dainty prepared by cook or confectioner. There is
nothing to equal it, and in eating one does not discern the least smell
as the disagreeable stench comes from the husk alone and the worse it
is, the more delicate is the taste of the pulp.

This fruit is too perishable for it to be exported to far countries even
if there was any chance of its finding favour in European markets, in
consequence of its horrible smell, which does not however protect it
from the voracity of the monkeys and their rodent companions--especially
the squirrels--that manage, in spite of its formidable prickles, to make
a hole in the husk and nibble out some of its contents leaving the rest
to rot inside.

To my knowledge the durian is not subject to any malady which might
effect the annual quantity of fruit to be gathered, this depending
entirely upon whether the wind has blown violently, or not, during the
time it was in flower.

This King of Trees, as it is called by the Sakai, will grow and prosper
nearly to the height of a thousand metres, and its fruit is preserved by
pressing it into large tubes of bamboo after the seeds have been picked
out.

The Sakais frequently exchange these original pots of jam for other
articles equally prized by them, such as tobacco and beads.

Another fruit, so delicious that it may almost be said to rival the
durian, is the _ple lok_.

The tree on which it grows cannot be ranked amongst the giants of the
forest. It has big and long leaves something like those of the orange
but whilst on the top they are a glossy black in under they are of a
still glossier green.

The fruit, that ripens between September and November, is the size of a
peach but it is covered with a very thick husk (nearly black outside,
and a rusty red inside) after the sort of our walnuts. The pulp is
divided into a lot of quarters each one enclosed in a very thin skin. It
looks like snow-white Jelly and in fact melts in the mouth at once,
leaving only a little kernel. The flavour is sweet and exceedingly
pleasant.

The husk is utilized by the Sakais for producing a dye with which to
paint their faces and also for making a d