Part 19

_Climate._--Our knowledge of the climate of Batavia, and thus of that of the lowlands of western Java, is almost perfect; but, rainfall excepted, our information as to the climate of Java as a whole is extremely defective. The dominant meteorological facts are simple and obvious: Java lies in the tropics, under an almost vertical sun, and thus has a day of almost uniform length throughout the year.[6] It is also within the perpetual influence of the great atmospheric movements passing between Asia and Australia; and is affected by the neighbourhood of vast expanses of sea and land (Borneo and Sumatra). There are no such maxima of temperature as are recorded from the continents. The highest known at Batavia was 96° F. in 1877 and the lowest 66° in the same year. The mean annual temperature is 79°. The warmest months are May and October, registering 79.5° and 79.46° respectively; the coldest January and February with 77.63° and 77.7° respectively. The daily range is much greater; at one o'clock the thermometer has a mean height of 84°; after two o'clock it declines to about 73° at six o'clock; the greatest daily amplitude is in August and the least in January and February. Eastern Java and the inland plains of middle Java are said to be hotter, but scientific data are few. A very slight degree of elevation above the seaboard plains produces a remarkable difference in the climate, not so much in its mere temperature as in its influence on health. The dwellers in the coast towns are surprised at the invigorating effects of a change to health resorts from 300 to 1200 ft. above sea-level; and at greater elevations it may be uncomfortably cold at night, with chilly mists and occasional frosts. The year is divided into two seasons by the prevailing winds: the rainy season, that of the west monsoon, lasting from November to March, and the dry season, that of the east monsoon, during the rest of the year; the transition from one monsoon to another--the "canting" of the monsoons--being marked by irregularities. On the whole, the east monsoon blows steadily for a longer period than the west. The velocity of the wind is much less than in Europe--not more in the annual mean at Batavia than 3 ft. per second, against 12 to 18 ft. in Europe. The highest velocity ever observed at Batavia was 25 ft. Wind-storms are rare and hardly ever cyclonic. There are as a matter of course a large number of purely local winds, some of them of a very peculiar kind, but few of these have been scientifically dealt with. Thunder-storms are extremely frequent; but the loss of life from lightning is probably diminished by the fact that the palm-trees are excellent conductors. At night the air is almost invariably still. The average rainfall at Batavia is 72.28 in. per annum, of which 51.49 in. are contributed by the west monsoon. The amount varies considerably from year to year: in 1889, 1891 and 1897 there were about 47.24 in.; in 1868 and 1877 nearly 51.17, and in 1872 and 1882 no less than 94.8. There are no long tracts of unbroken rainfall and no long periods of continuous drought. The rainfall is heaviest in January, but it rains only for about one-seventh of the time. Next in order come February, March and December. August, the driest month, has from three to five days of rain, though the amount is usually less than an inch and not more than one and a half inches. The popular description of the rain falling not in drops but streams was proved erroneous by J. Wiesner's careful observations (see _Kais. Akad. d. Wiss. Math. Naturw. Cl._ Bd. xiv., Vienna, 1895), which have been confirmed by A. Woeikof ("Regensintensität und Regendauer in Batavia" in _Z. für Met._, 1907). The greatest rainfall recorded in an hour (4.5 in.) is enormously exceeded by records even in Europe. From observations taken for the meteorological authorities at a very considerable number of stations, J. H. Boeseken constructed a map in 1900 (_Tijdschr. v. h. Kon. Ned. Aardr. Gen._, 1900; reproduced in Veth, _Java_, iii. 1903). Among the outstanding facts are the following. The south coasts of both eastern and middle Java have a much heavier rainfall than the north. Majalenka has an annual fall of 175 in. In western Java the maximal district consists of a great ring of mountains from Salak and Gedeh in the west to Galung-gung in the east, while the enclosed plateau-region of Chanjur Bandung and Garut are not much different from the seaboard. The whole of middle Java, with the exception of the north coast, has a heavy rainfall. At Chilachap the annual rainfall is 151.43 in., 87.8 in. of which is brought by the south-east monsoon. The great belt which includes the Slamet and the Dieng, and the country on the south coast between Chilachap and Parigi, are maximal. In comparison the whole of eastern Java, with the exception of the mountains from Wilis eastward to Ijen, has a low record which reaches its lowest along the north coast.[7]

_Fauna._--In respect of its fauna Java differs from Borneo, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula far more than these differ among themselves; and, at the same time, it shows a close resemblance to the Malay Peninsula, on the one hand, and to the Himalayas on the other. Of the 176 mammals of the whole Indo-Malayan region the greater number occur in Java. Of these 41 are found on the continent of Asia, 8 are common to Java and Borneo, and 6 are common to Java and Sumatra (see M. Weber, _Das Indo-Malay Archipelago und die Geschichte seiner Thierwelt_, Jena, 1902). No genus and only a few species are confined to the island. Of the land-birds only a small proportion are peculiar. The elephant, the tapir, the bear, and various other genera found in the rest of the region are altogether absent. The Javanese rhinoceros (_Rhinoceros sundaicus_; _sarak_ in Javanese, _badak_ in Sundanese), the largest of the mammals on the island, differs from that of Sumatra in having one horn instead of two. It ranges over the highest mountains, and its regular paths, worn into deep channels, may be traced up the steepest slopes and round the rims of even active volcanoes. Two species of wild swine, _Sus vittatus_ and _Sus verrucosus_, are exceedingly abundant, the former in the hot, the latter in the temperate, region; and their depredations are the cause of much loss to the natives, who, however, being Mahommedans, to whom pork is abhorrent, do not hunt them for the sake of their flesh. Not much less than the rhinoceros is the banteng (_Bibos banteng_ or _sundaicus_) found in all the uninhabited districts between 2000 and 7000 ft. of elevation. The kidang or muntjak (_Cervulus muntjac_) and the rusa or russa (_Rusa hippelaphus_ or _Russa russa_) are the representatives of the deer kind. The former is a delicate little creature occurring singly or in pairs both in the mountains and in the coast districts; the latter lives in herds of fifty to a hundred in the grassy opens, giving excellent sport to the native hunters. Another species (_Russa kuhlii_) exists in Bavian. The kantjil (_Tragulus javanicus_) is a small creature allied to the musk-deer but forming a genus by itself. It lives in the high woods, for the most part singly, seldom in pairs. It is one of the most peculiar of the Javanese mammals. The royal tiger, the same species as that of India, is still common enough to make a tiger-hunt a characteristic Javanese scene. The leopard (_Felis pardus_) is frequent in the warm regions and often ascends to considerable altitudes. Black specimens occasionally occur, but the spots are visible on inspection; and the fact that in the Amsterdam zoological gardens a black leopard had one of its cubs black and the other normally spotted shows that this is only a case of melanism. In the tree-tops the birds find a dangerous enemy in the matjan rembak, or wild cat (_Felis minuta_), about the size of a common cat. The dog tribe is represented by the fox-like adjag (_Cuon_ or _Canis sutilans_) which hunts in ferocious packs; and by a wild dog, _Canis tenggeranus_, if this is not now exterminated. The Cheiroptera hold a prominent place in the fauna, the principal genera being _Pteropus_, _Cynonycteris_, _Cynopterus_ and _Macroglossus_. Remarkable especially for size is the kalong, or flying fox, _Pteropus edulis_, a fruit-eating bat, which may be seen hanging during the day in black clusters asleep on the trees, and in the evening hastening in long lines to the favourite feeding grounds in the forest. The damage these do to the young coco-nut trees, the maize and the sugar-palms leads the natives to snare and shoot them; and their flesh is a favourite food with Europeans, who prefer to shoot them by night as, if shot by day, they often cling after death to the branches. Smaller kinds of bats are most abundant, perhaps the commonest being _Scotophilus Temminckii_. In certain places they congregate in myriads, like sea-fowl on the cliffs, and their excrement produces extensive guano deposits utilized by the people of Surakarta and Madiun. The creature known to the Europeans as the flying-cat and to the natives as the kubin is the _Galeopithecus volans_ or _variagatus_--a sort of transition from the bats to the lemuroids. Of these last Java has several species held in awe by the natives for their supposed power of fascination. The apes are represented by the wou-wou (_Hylobates leuciscus_), the lutung, and kowi (_Semnopithecus maurus_ and _pyrrhus_), the surili (_Semnopithecus mitratus_), and the munyuk (_Cercocebus_, or _Macacus, cynamolgos_), the most generally distributed of all. From sunrise to sunset the wou-wou makes its presence known, especially in the second zone where it congregates in the trees, by its strange cry, at times harsh and cacophonous, at times weird and pathetic. The lutung or black ape also prefers the temperate region, though it is met with as high as 7000 ft. above the sea and as low as 2000. The _Cercocebus_ or grey ape keeps for the most part to the warm coast lands. Rats (including the brown Norway rat, often called _Mus javanicus_, as if it were a native; a great plague); mice in great variety; porcupines (_Acanthion javanicum_); squirrels (five species) and flying squirrels (four species) represent the rodents. A hare, _Lepus nigricollis_, originally from Ceylon, has a very limited habitat; the Insectivora comprise a shrew-mouse (_Rachyura indica_), two species of tupaya and _Hylomys suillus_ peculiar to Java and Sumatra. The nearest relation to the bears is _Arctictis binturong_. _Mydaus meliceps_ and _Helictis orientalis_ represent the badgers. In the upper part of the mountains occurs _Mustela Henrici_, and an otter (_Aonyx leptonyx_) in the streams of the hot zone. The coffee rat (_Paradoxurus hermaphroditus_), a civet cat (_Viverricida indica_), the Javanese ichneumon (_Herpestes javanicus_), and _Priodon gracilis_ may also be mentioned.

In 1820, 176 species of birds were known in Java; by 1900 Vorderman and O. Finsch knew 410. Many of these are, of course, rare and occupy a limited habitat far from the haunts of man. Others exist in myriads and are characteristic features in the landscape. Water-fowl of many kinds, ducks, geese, storks, pelicans, &c., give life to sea-shore and lake, river and marsh. Snipe-shooting is a favourite sport. Common night-birds are the owl (_Strix flammea_) and the goat-sucker (_Caprimulgus affinis_). Three species of hornbill, the year-bird of the older travellers (_Buceros plicatus_, _lunatus_ and _albirostris_) live in the tall trees of the forest zone. The Javanese peacock is a distinct species (_Pavo muticus_ or _spiciferus_), and even exceeds the well-known Indian species in the splendour of its plumage. _Gallus Bankiva_ is famous as the reputed parent of all barn-door fowls; _Gallus furcatus_ is an exquisitely beautiful bird and can be trained for cock-fighting. Of parrots two species only are known: _Palaeornis Alexandri_ or _javanicus_ and the pretty little grass-green _Curyllis pusilla_, peculiar to Java. As talkers and mimics they are beaten by the _Gracula javanensis_, a favourite cage-bird with the natives. A cuckoo, _Chrysococcyx basalis_, may be heard in the second zone. The grass-fields are the foraging-grounds of swarms of weaver-birds (_Plocula javanensis_ and _Ploccus baya_). They lay nearly as heavy a toll on the rice-fields as the gelatiks (_Munia oryzivora_), which are everywhere the rice-growers' principal foe. Hawks and falcons make both an easy prey. The _Nictuarinas_ or honey-birds (eight species) take the place of the humming-bird, which they rival in beauty and diminutiveness, ranging from the lowlands to an altitude of 4000 ft. In the upper regions the birds, like the plants, are more like those of Europe, and some of them--notably the kanchilan (_Hyloterpe Philomela_)--are remarkable for their song. The edible-nest swallow (_Collocalia fuciphaga_) builds in caves in many parts of the island.[8]

As far back as 1859 P. Bleeker credited Java with eleven hundred species of fish; and naturalists are perpetually adding to the number.[9] In splendour and grotesqueness of colouring many kinds, as is well known, look rather like birds than fish. In the neighbourhood of Batavia about three hundred and eighty species are used as food by the natives and the Chinese, who have added to the number by the introduction of the goldfish, which reaches a great size. The sea fish most prized by Europeans is _Lates calcarifer_ (a perch). Of more than one hundred species of snakes about twenty-four species (including the cobra di capella) are poisonous and these are responsible for the deaths of between one hundred and two hundred persons per annum. Adders and lizards are abundant. Geckos are familiar visitants in the houses of the natives. There are two species of crocodiles.

As in other tropical-rain forest lands the variety and abundance of insects are amazing. At sundown the air becomes resonant for hours with their myriad voices. The _Coleoptera_ and the _Lepidoptera_ form the glory of all great collections for their size and magnificence. Of butterflies proper five hundred species are known. Of the beetles one of the largest and handsomest is _Chalcosoma atlas_. Among the spiders (a numerously represented order) the most notable is a bird-killing species, _Selene scomia javanensis_. In many parts the island is plagued with ants, termites and mosquitoes. Crops of all kinds are subject to disastrous attacks of creeping and winged foes--many still unidentified (see especially Snellen van Hollenhoven, _Essai d'une faune entomologique de l'Archipel Indo-néerlandais_). Of still lower forms of life the profusion is no less perplexing. Among the worms the _Perichaeta musica_ reaches a length of about twenty inches and produces musical sounds. The shell of the _Tridacna gigas_ is the largest anywhere known.

_Flora._--For the botanist Java is a natural paradise, affording him the means of studying the effects of moisture and heat, of air-currents and altitudes, without the interference of superincumbent arctic conditions. The botanic gardens of Buitenzorg have long been famous for their wealth of material, the ability with which their treasures have been accumulated and displayed, their value in connexion with the economic development of the island and the extensive scientific literature published by their directors.[10] There is a special establishment at Chibodas open to students of all nations for the investigation on the spot of the conditions of the primeval forest. Hardly any similar area in the world has a flora of richer variety than Java. It is estimated that the total number of the species of plants is about 5000; but this is probably under the mark (De Candolle knew of 2605 phanerogamous species), and new genera and species of an unexpected character are from time to time discovered. The lower parts of the island are always in the height of summer. The villages and even the smaller towns are in great measure concealed by the abundant and abiding verdure; and their position in the landscape is to be recognized mainly by their groves, orchards and cultivated fields. The amount and distribution of heat and moisture at the various seasons of the year form the dominant factors in determining the character of the vegetation. Thus trees which are evergreen in west Java are deciduous in the east of the island, some dropping their leaves (e.g. _Tetrameles nudiflora_) at the very time they are in bloom or ripening their fruit. This and other contrasts are graphically described from personal observation by A. F. W. Schimper in his _Pflanzen-Geographie auf physiologischer Grundlage_ (Jena, 1898). The abundance of epiphytes, orchids, pitcher-plants, mosses and fungi is a striking result of the prevalent humidity; and many trees and plants indeed, which in drier climates root in the soil, derive sufficient moisture from their stronger neighbours. Of orchids J. J. Smith records 562 species (100 genera), but the flowers of all except about a score are inconspicuous. This last fact is the more remarkable because, taken generally, the Javanese vegetation differs from that of many other tropical countries by being abundantly and often gorgeously floriferous. Many of the loftiest trees crown themselves with blossoms and require no assistance from the climbing plants that seek, as it were, to rival them in their display of colour. Shrubs, too, and herbaceous plants often give brilliant effects in the savannahs, the deserted clearings, the edges of the forest and the sides of the highways. The _lantana_, a verbenaceous alien introduced, it is said, from Jamaica by Lady Raffles, has made itself aggressively conspicuous in many parts of the island, more especially in the Preanger and middle Java, where it occupies areas of hundreds of acres.