or the construction of huts and the manufacture of the
various articles which they use. While the greatest care is necessary
to make those growing further inland bear even a little fruit, the
palm-trees close to the shore, even when planted on wretched soil,
grow plentiful crops without the slightest trouble. Has a palm-tree
ever been made to blossom in a hothouse? Thomson [56] mentions that
coco-trees growing by the sea-side are wont to incline their stems over
the ocean, the waters of which bear their fruit to desert shores and
islands, and render them habitable for mankind. Thus the coco-tree
would seem to play an essential part in the ocean vagabondage of
Malaysia and Polynesia.

[Nipa-palms.] Close to the coco-trees grow clumps of the stunted
nipa-palms, which only flourish in brackish waters; [57] their
leaves furnish the best roof-thatching. Sugar, brandy, and vinegar
are manufactured from their sap. Three hundred and fifty years ago
Pigafetta found these manufactures in full swing, but nowadays
they seem to be limited to the Philippines. Besides these, the
pandanus-tree, from the leaves of which the softest mats are woven,
is always found in near proximity to the shore.

[Fertile fields.] Towards the interior the landscape is covered with
rice-fields, which yearly receive a fresh layer of fertile soil,
washed down from the mountains by the river, and spread over their
surface by the overflowing of its waters; and which in consequence
never require any fertilizer. [The carabao.] The carabao, the favorite
domestic animal of the Malays, and which they keep especially for
agricultural purposes, prefers these regions to all others. It loves
to wallow in the mud, and is not fit for work unless permitted to
frequent the water.

[Bamboo.] Bamboos with luxuriant leafy tops grow plentifully by the
huts in the rice-fields which fringe the banks of the river. In my
former sketches of travel I have endeavored to describe how much
this gigantic plant contributes to the comfort and convenience of
tropical life. Since then I have become acquainted with many curious
purposes to which it is turned, but to describe them here would be
out of place. [58] I may be allowed, however, to briefly cite a
few examples showing what numerous results are obtained from simple
means. Nature has endowed these splendid plants, which perhaps surpass
all others in beauty, with so many useful qualities, and delivered
them into the hands of mank