Page 71 - Malay sketches

THE STORY OF MAT ARTS
the African it seems for bodies
jungle, possible large
of men and women to make their way through it at
a fair pace without great difficulty. In that respect
at least it has the advantage of the Malay forest.
To begin with there are the trees of all sizes,
from the smallest shoot to the giants of the jungle,
towering to a height of 150 feet. I know that is
not excessive, but in this forcing climate there are
an enormous number of such trees, treading on each
others roots and crowding the older and feebler out
of existence. These are nothing, they afford a
shade from the of the and
pleasant pitiless rays sun,
though this mitigated light cannot by any stretch of
imagination be called darkness, it is possible to take
off your hat without fear of sunstroke. If it were
only for the trees jungle walking would be pleasant
enough.
Under them, however, there is an undergrowth
so thick as to beggar description. Every conceiv-
able kind of palm, of bush, of creeper, flourishes
there with a luxuriance, with a prodigality of vege-
table life, that shows how richly Nature deserves
her title of Mother. It is a curious fact, remarked
by every one who has been brought in contact with
the Malay forest, that a very large number of its
shrubs, many of its palms, and most of its creepers
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