by a much more serious object.  We remarked in the branches of one of the trees a dark body, which, on nearer inspection, we found to be that of a large serpent, lying coiled up, and waiting, probably, to dart upon its prey.  We ventured pretty near, but it remained quite motionless without turning its eyes from us, and little thinking how near its death was.  One of the gentlemen fired, and hit it in the side.  As quick as lightning, and with the greatest fury, it darted from the tree, but remained fast, with its tail entangled in a bough.  It kept making springs at us, with its forked tongue exposed to view, but all in vain, as we kept at a respectable distance.  A few more shots put an end to its existence, and we then pulled up under the bough on which it was hanging.  One of the boatmen, a Malay, made a small noose of strong, tough grass, which he threw round the head of the serpent, and thus dragged it into the boat.  He also told us that we should be sure to find a second not far off, as serpents of this kind always go in pairs, and, true enough, the gentlemen in the other boat had already shot the second, which was also coiled up on the branch of a large tree.

These serpents were of a dark green colour, with beautiful yellow streaks, and about twelve feet in length.  I was told that they belonged to the boa species.

After having proceeded eight English miles in four hours, we left the boats, and following a narrow footpath, soon reached a number of plots of ground, cleared from trees, and planted with pepper and gambir.

The pepper-tree is a tall bush-like plant, that, when trained and supported with props, will attain a height varying from fifteen to eighteen feet.  The pepper grows in small, grape-like bunches, which are first red, then green, and lastly, nearly black.  The plant begins to bear in the second year.

White pepper is not a natural production, but is obtained by dipping the black pepper several times in sea-water:  this causes it to lose its colour, and become a dirty white.  The price of a pikul of white pepper is six dollars (24s.), whereas that of a pikul of black is only three dollars (12s.).

The greatest height attained by the gambir plant is eight feet.  The leaves alone are used in trade:  they are first stripped off the stalk, and then boiled down in large coppers.  The thick juice is placed in wide wooden vessels, and dried in the sun; it is then cut into slips three inches long and packed up.  Gambir is an article that is very useful in dyeing, and hence is frequently exported to Europe.  Pepper plantations are always to be found near a plantation of the gambir plant, as the former are always manured with the boiled leaves of the latter.