ged by a variety of trees and plants which only a
botanist would attempt to describe. Colour is given to this fringe by
the magenta bougainvillea, the red hibiscus, the pale blue convolvulus,
the variegated crotons, and the orange and red of the lantana, and at
places the poinsettia provides a predominating red head to the
hedge-like greenery. Palms and tree ferns and feathery clumps of young
bamboo are called to aid by Nature's landscape gardener; but they do not
shut out the verdure-clad ravines that mark a waterway or the terraced
rice-fields which climb almost to the top of the highest summits.

We thought we had seen the acme of perfection in rice cultivation and
irrigation in China and Japan. But here in Java, we have seen more to
excite the admiration in this respect than in either of these countries.
One can only marvel at the completeness of the system of irrigation.
Rice is in all stages of cultivation, from the flooded paddy field to
the grain in the ear being reaped by the gaily coloured butterflies of
women. Water buffaloes drag a primitive plough through the drenched
soil, while the bright-faced young ploughboy, by what appears to be a
superhuman effort, balances himself precariously on the implement.

On the left, we pass tea gardens, the tufty bushes low to the ground.
What strikes us first is the amazing regularity of the rows and the
cleanness of the ground. An aroma of tea in the making escapes from the
roadside factory and agreeably assails our sense of smell as we jolt
past in our kreta.

We reached Kampong Toegoe at nine o'clock, refreshed both men and
beasts, and harnessed two more ponies with long rope traces to help us
to the summit of the Pass, which was reached at eleven o'clock. Here we
made a deviation on foot to the Telega Warna (Colour-changing Lake)
while the ponies rested for the downward journey. The path is a
difficult one, and the lake itself is less interesting than the lovely
vegetation by which it is surrounded. Ferns and bracken cover the
hillside, pollipods predominating, orchids cling to tree stems, and
higher up, the curious nest-fern and various forms of plant life attract
attention. Tree is woven to tree by a network of mighty lianas.

The lake itself lies in what must have been the crater in the
prehistoric period of activity of Megamendoeng. It is 100 metres in
width, circular in shape, and about 100 fathoms deep. Fish are found in
the lake, and they are regarded with ve