FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166  
167   168   169   170   171   >>  
ot quickly initiated. The fever of colonization has attacked the forest and here and there it rages; for certain it will not be a long time before that vast extension of tropical vegetation with the extraordinary fertility of its soil will give place to plantations of Parah-rubber, gutta-percha, coffee, sugar, rice, tobacco, etc. For this reason I shall be very pleased to give what aid I can to the cause of Science by means of notes, collections and specimens of paints and animals not yet thoroughly known or studied, should anyone feel inclined to respond to the offer before it is too late. Such help would seem to me a sweet chain of thought, linking the mind of the colonist in the remote depths of the Malay Forest, to the Mother Country and that civilization from which he has withdrawn himself. * * * * * The "_giu u toalang_" is one of the colossal trees of the Jungle for it reaches from 40 to 46 yards in height. It may be said that its whole organism is poisonous because its deadly properties have the same force in the juice under the bark as in the leaves, when they are rubbed or broken. If this sap finds its way under the skin, in contact with the flesh or blood-vessels it has a quick and mortal effect. It seems to me that even the smell might produce fatal consequences but of this I am not sure, although it is a certain fact that it makes one feel very ill and the indisposition can only be cured by keeping the patient in a high temperature. Almost the same poisonous power has the "_giu u rangas_", a tree of more modest dimensions, and the "_giu u sagol_" smaller still. It is dangerous to touch the leaves of these two plants because they bring about a severe irritation of the skin, covering it with pimples and little bladders, that itch intolerably, whilst the body becomes swollen. And yet the temptation to scratch must be resisted or ulceration follows with the probability of gangrene. When one is able to renounce the momentary relief procured by rubbing or scratching the inconvenience passes in a couple of days. The _toalang_, _rengas_, and _sagol_ are to be found scattered profusely over the forest but the Sakai does not interest himself in their venomous properties because he finds that those of which he already knows the secret fully satisfy his wants in promptness and effect. On the contrary he wages a continual war against these noxious plants beating them down and
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166  
167   168   169   170   171   >>  



Top keywords:
effect
 

properties

 

poisonous

 

forest

 

plants

 
toalang
 
leaves
 

dangerous

 
severe
 

dimensions


smaller

 

consequences

 
produce
 

indisposition

 
Almost
 

rangas

 
temperature
 
irritation
 

keeping

 

patient


modest

 

scratch

 

venomous

 

secret

 

interest

 

scattered

 

profusely

 

satisfy

 

noxious

 

beating


continual

 
promptness
 

contrary

 

rengas

 

swollen

 
temptation
 

resisted

 
whilst
 

pimples

 
bladders

intolerably
 

ulceration

 
rubbing
 
procured
 

scratching

 

inconvenience

 
couple
 

passes

 
relief
 

momentary