They Are
Beautiful And Appropriate, And Food Is Above Them And Around Them.
"The Primal Curse" Can Hardly Be Known.
A very little labor provides
all that the Malay desires, and if the tenure of the land be secure
(and the lack of security is one of the great evils), and he be not
over-taxed, his life must be calm and easy, if not happy.
The people
were always courteous, and my Singhalese escort held long conversations
in every kampong. These jungle dwellers raise their houses on very high
posts, partly because tigers abound. The jak trees (artocarpus incisa),
near of kin to the bread-fruit, and the durion, flourish round all the
dwellings. The jak fruit, which may be called food rather than fruit,
grows without a visible stem from the trunk and branches of the very
handsome tree which bears it, and weighs from sixty to seventy pounds.
The durion grows to the size of a man's head, and is covered closely
with hard, sharp spines. The fall of either on one's head or shoulder
is much to be deprecated, and the Malays stretch strong nets above
their houses to secure themselves from accidents.
I saw for the first time the nutmeg growing in perfection. It was a
great delight, as is the first sight of any tree or flower well known
from description. It is a beautiful tree, from forty to fifty feet high
when full grown, with shining foliage, somewhat resembling that of the
bay, and its fruit looks like a very large nectarine.
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