he great volcanic
mountain Salak, in 106 deg. 53' 5" east longitude, and 6 deg. 35' 8" south
latitude. Although the elevation is only seven hundred feet above
sea-level, the heat is never overpowering in the daytime, and the nights
are delightfully cool. The mean temperature at noon, as indicated by the
thermometer, is 82 deg. Fahrenheit; but in the dry season as much as 88 deg. is
sometimes registered. Moreover while on an average there are five months
of dry weather in Java and three in Batavia, three weeks without rain is
considered unusual in Buitenzorg. The heat of the sun, therefore, is
tempered by a rainfall which is not only very heavy, but very uniform;
and when Batavia is steaming with moist heat, and the plains of the
interior are scorched and dry, in Buitenzorg the gardens are still
verdant and the air still tonic.

Besides Salak, which rises to a height of seven thousand feet, there is
another and still loftier mountain mass in the immediate neighbourhood
of the town. This is the double-peaked Pangerango and Gede. All three
mountains are volcanic. Salak, however, has been silent since the
eruption of 1699, and the peak of Pangerango is an extinct volcanic
cone; the only sign of activity is the light wreath of smoke which is
generally to be seen hanging over the summit of Gede. The slopes of
these great mountains are clothed with a foliage which is kept
perennially fresh by the abundant rains. Seen from rising ground, they
enrich the landscape with the beauty of their graceful elevations; from
the lower levels of the town, and in contrast to the foliage of palm or
bamboo, their sheer height is manifested by the intense blueness of the
background they afford.

Buitenzorg has long been the favourite resort of the officials and
merchants of Batavia. In course of time the train service will no doubt
be improved; as it is, busy men run down to see their families, or
merely to enjoy the comparative coolness of the air for the "week end,"
or even for a single night.

The town itself contains a population of four thousand inhabitants. It
has an excellent club, a museum, a race-course, and several good hotels.
The summer residence of the Governor-General is in the centre of a large
and beautifully wooded park, in which a number of deer are kept. It is
an extensive building, consisting of an elevated central portion with
wings on either side. It is built in the usual classical style affected
by the Dutch for their