New volumes of the Encyclopædia Britannica > Volume 30, K-MOR

492
MALAY PENINSULA
range on the eastern side, between Pahang and Kelantan, and is
estimated at about 8000 feet. The west coast throughout its
whole length is covered to a depth of some miles with mangrove
swamps, with only a few isolated stretches of sandy beach, the dim
foliage of the mangroves and the hideous mud flats presenting a
depressing spectacle. On the east coast the force of the north-east
monsoon, which beats upon the shores of the China Sea annually
from November to February, has kept the land for the most part
free from mangroves, and the sands, broken here and there by rocky
headlands thickly wooded, and fringed by casuarina trees, stretch
for miles without interruption. The islands on each coast present
the features of the shores to which they are adjacent. On both the
east and the west coast the islands are thickly wooded, but whereas
the former are surrounded by beautiful sands and beaches, the latter
are fringed by mangrove-swamps. The whole peninsula may be
described as one vast forest, intersected in every direction by count¬
less streams and rivers which together form the most lavish water-
system in the world. Only an insignificant fraction of these
forests has ever been visited by human beings, the Malays and even
the aboriginal tribe having their homes on the banks of the rivers,
and never, even when travelling from one part of the country to
another, leaving the banks of a stream except for a short time when
passing from one river-system to another. The bulk of the jungle,
therefore, which lies between stream and stream, has never been
trodden by the foot of man. The principal rivers on the west coast
are the P&rak, the Bernam, and the Muar. The first-named is far
finer than its fellows, and is navigable for steamers for about 40
miles from its mouth, and for native craft for over 250 miles. It is
exceedingly shallow, however, and is not of much importance as a
waterway. The Bernam runs through flat swampy country for the
greater part of its course, and steam-launches can penetrate to a
distance of over 100 miles from its mouth, and it is therefore prob¬
ably the deepest river. The country which it waters, however, is
not of any value, and it is not much used. The Muar waters a very
fertile valley, and is navigable for native boats for over 150 miles. On
the east coast the principal streams are the Petani, Telubin, Kelantan,
Besut, Trengganu, Dungun, Kemaman, Kuantan, Pahang, Rompin,
Endau, and Sedeli, all guarded by difficult bars at their mouths,
and dangerous during the continuance of the north-east monsoon.
The deepest rivers are the Kuantan and Rompin ; the largest are
the Kelantan and the Pahang, both of which are navigable for
native boats for a distance of over 250 miles. The Trengganu river
is obstructed by impassable rapids at a distance of about 30 miles
from its mouth. The rivers on the east coast are practically the
only highways, the Malays always travelling by boat in preference
to walking, but they serve their purpose very indifferently, and
their great beauty is their chief claim to distinction. Magnificent
caves are found on both slopes of the peninsula, those at Batu in
Selangor being the finest on the west coast, while those of Chadu
and K6to Glanggi in Pahang are the most extensive yet visited, by
Europeans on the east coast. They are all of limestone formation.
The minerals produced are tin, gold, iron, galena, and others in
insignificant quantities. Only two tin lodes are being worked,
however, and both are situated on the east coast, the one at
Kuantan in Pahang, the other at Bandi in Trengganu territory.
On the west coast no true lode has yet been discovered, though the
vast alluvial deposits of tin found there seem to make such a dis¬
covery probable in the future. Since 1890 the tin produced from
these alluvial beds has supplied between 50 and 75 per cent, of
the tin of the world. Gold is being worked with success in
Pahang, and has been exploited from time immemorial by the
natives of that state and of Kelantan. Small quantities have also
been found on the western slope in Perak.
It was formerly the custom to speak of the Malay Peninsula as an
unhealthy climate, and even to compare it with the west coast of
Africa. It is now generally admitted, however, that,
Meteoro- though hot, it compares favourably with that of Burma.
Io%y’ The chief complaint which Europeans make concerning
climate, &c. -g ^le extreme humidity, which causes the heat to be
more oppressive than is the case where the air is dry. On the other
hand, the thermometer, even at Singapore on the southern coast,
which is the hottest portion of the peninsula, seldom rises above
98° in the shade, whereas the mean for the year at that place is
generally below 80°. On the mainland, and more especially on the
eastern slope, the temperature is cooler, the thermometer seldom rising
above 93° in the shade, and falling at night below 70°. On an
average day in this part of the peninsula the temperature in a
European house ranged from 88° to 68°. The number .of rainy days
throughout the peninsula varies from 160 to over 200 in each year,
but violent gusts of wind, called “ Sumatras, ” accompanied by a
heavy downpour of short duration, are more common than persistent
rain. The rainfall on the west coast varies from 75 to 120 inches
per annum, and that of the east coast, where the north-east
monsoon breaks with all its fury, is usually about 155 inches per
annum. Malarial fevers make their appearance in places where the
forest has been recently felled, or where the surface earth has been
disturbed. It is noticed that labourers employed in deep mines
worked by shafts suffer less from fever than do those who are
engaged in stripping the alluvial deposits. This, of course, means
that a new station, where clearing, digging, and building are in pro¬
gress, is often unhealthy for a time, and to this must be attributed
the evil reputation which the peninsula formerly enjoyed, lo
Europeans the climate is found to be relaxing and enervating, but
if, in spite of some disinclination for exertion, regular exercise is
taken from the beginning, and ordinary precautions against chills,
more especially to the stomach, are adopted, a European has almost
as good a chance of remaining in good health in the peninsula as in
Europe. A change of climate, however, is imperatively necessary
every five or six years, and the children of European parents should
not be kept in the peninsula after they have attained the age of
four or five years. The Chinese immigrants suffer chiefly from fever
of a malarial type, from beri-beri, a species of tropical dropsy, and
from dysentery. The Malays formerly suffered severely from small¬
pox epidemics, but in the portion of the peninsula under British
rule vaccination has been introduced, and the ravages of the disease
no longer assume serious dimensions. Occasional outbreaks of
cholera occur from time to time, and in the independent states
these cause terrible loss of life, as the natives fly from the disease
and spread the infection in every direction. As a whole, the
Malays are, however, a remarkably healthy people, and deformity
and hereditary disease are rare among them. There is little leprosy
in the peninsula, but there is a leper hospital near Penang on Pula
Deraja, and another is about to be formed on an island on the west
coast for the reception of lepers from the Federated Malay States.
The soil of the peninsula is remarkably fertile both in the plains
and on the mountain slopes. In the vast forests the decay of
vegetable matter during countless ages has enriched the pjora an(f
soil to the depth of many feet, and from it springs the faunam
most marvellous tangle of huge trees, shrubs, bushes,
underwood, creepers, climbing plants, and trailing vines, the whole
hung with ferns, mosses, and parasitic growths, and bound together
by rattans and huge rope-like trailers. In most places the jungle
is so dense that it is impossible to force a way through it without
the aid of a wood-knife, and even the wild beasts use well-worn
game-tracks through the forest. In the interior brakes of bamboos
are found, many of which spread for miles along the river banks.
Good hard-wood timber is found in plenty, the best being the
tnerobau, penak, rasok, and cMngal. Orchids of countless varieties
abound. The principal fruit trees are the ddri-an, mangosteen,
custard-apple, pomegranate, rambut-an, pdlas-an, langsat, rambai,
jack-fruit, cocoanut, areca nut, sugar-palm, and banana. Coffee,
tobacco, sugar-cane, rice, pepper, gambier, cotton, and sago are culti¬
vated with success. The principal jungle products are gutta and
rubber of several varieties, and many kind.s of rattan. The mangrove
grows on the shores of the west coast in profusion. Agila-wood,
the camphor tree, and ebony are also founcl in smaller quantities..
The fauna of the peninsula is varied and no less profuse than is
the vegetable life. The Asiatic elephant; the selddang, a bison of
a larger type than the Indian gaur ; two varieties of rhinoceros ; the
honey bear (brtiang), the sambhur (rdsci); the speckled deer (kijang),
three varieties of mouse-deer (n&poh, pldndok, and kanchil)', the
gibbon (fingka or wawa’), the siamang, another species of anthro¬
poid ape, the brok or cocoanut monkey, so called because it is
trained by the Malays to gather the nuts from the cocoanut trees,
the Ibtong, kra, and at least twenty other kinds of monkey; the
binturong (arctictis binturong), the lemur; the Asiatic tiger, the
black panther, the leopard, the large wild cat {harimau dkar),
several varieties of jungle cat; the wild boar, the wild dog; the
flying squirrel, the flying fox; the python, the cobra, and many
other varieties of snake, including the hamadryad; the alligator, the
otter, and the gavial, as well as countless kinds of squirrel, rat, &c.,
are found throughout the jungles of the peninsula in great numbers.
On the east coast peafowl are found, and throughout the interior
the argus pheasant, the firebacked pheasant, the blue partridge, the
adjutant-bird, several kinds of heron and crane, duck, teal, cotton-
teal, snipe, wood-pigeon, green-pigeon of several varieties, swifts„
swallows, pied-robins, hornbills, paroquets, flycatchers, nightjars,
and many other kinds of bird are met with frequently. A few
specimens of solitary goose have been procured, but the bird is.
rarely met with. The forests literally swarm with insects of all
kinds, from cicadce to beautiful butterflies, and from stick- and leaf-
insects to endless varieties of ants. The scorpion and the centipede
are both common. The study of the insect life of the peninsula
opens a splendid field for scientific research, and the profusion and
variety of insects found in these forests probably exceed those to be
met with anywhere else in the world.
Politically the Malay Peninsula is divided into three sections :—
1. The Federated Malay States ; 2. The Independent State of
Johor, which is within the British sphere of influence ; poJ]t]cai
3. The Independent States of the Peninsula which are rf/-v/-s/oflS
actually or nominally under the dominion of Siam. an(1 popu.
The Federated Malay States, under British protec- lationm
tion, are four in number, viz., Perak, Selangor, and the
Negri Sembilan on the west coast, and Pahang on the east coast.