did Sumatra, Java, and Borneo once form part of the
continent of Asia, but the subsidence of land which caused their
separation from the continent, and from each other, is of very recent
date--recent, that is, in the scale of geological eras. This is shown by
the fact that the separating seas are so shallow that to-day ships can
anchor anywhere in them. We shall, therefore, expect a strong
similarity, almost amounting to a complete identity, to exist between
the animals and plants of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo and those of
Southern India, Burmah, and the Malay Peninsular. Such, according to Mr.
Wallace, is the fact.

"The elephant and tapir of Sumatra and Borneo, the rhinoceros of Sumatra
and the allied species of Java, the wild cattle of Borneo, and the kind
long supposed to be peculiar to Java, are now all known to inhabit some
part or other of Southern Asia.... Birds and insects illustrate the same
view, for every family and almost every genus of these groups found in
any of the islands occurs also in the Asiatic continent, and in a great
number of cases the species are exactly identical."

In addition to the rhinoceros and wild cattle mentioned above, the wild
animals of Java include the jackal, the tiger, and several species of
monkeys. Snakes and alligators are also to be found in the island. There
is a good supply of domestic animals with the exception of sheep. This
useful animal was so entirely unknown to the natives, that when the
Dutch attempted to introduce it into the island it was necessary to find
a name for it. It was accordingly called a "Dutch goat;" nor is there at
the present time any other term in the Malay language by which the
animal can be designated. I have already spoken of the utility of the
Javan horses. They are imported in large numbers from the neighbouring
island of Sandalwood, and great attention is being paid to the
production of country-breds. An attempt is also being made to improve
the breed by the importation of English and Australian thoroughbreds. I
was also informed that in recent years a number of cattle had been
introduced from India. As in most Eastern countries, the ox is used in
Java for drawing carts and for other agricultural purposes; but the
buffalo is the most valuable of all animals to the natives, by whom it
is especially employed in the cultivation of the ricefields. The only
dangerous animal is the tiger, and the sport of tiger-hunting still
forms one of the recrea