this belief rests will be found in the latter part of CHAPTER II. of the
"Origin of Species"; and, accepting it for the present as an hypothesis,
it enables us to account for the presence of a flora of European type on
the volcanoes of Java.
It will, however, naturally be objected that there is a wide expanse
of sea between Java and the continent, which would have effectually
prevented the immigration of temperate forms of plants during the
glacial epoch. This would undoubtedly be a fatal objection, were there
not abundant evidence to show that Java has been formerly connected with
Asia, and that the union must have occurred at about the epoch required.
The most striking proof of such a junction is, that the great Mammalia
of Java, the rhinoceros, the tiger, and the Banteng or wild ox, occur
also in Siam and Burmah, and these would certainly not have been
introduced by man. The Javanese peacock and several other birds are
also common to these two countries; but, in the majority of cases,
the species are distinct, though closely allied, indicating that a
considerable time (required for such modification) has elapsed since the
separation, while it has not been so long as to cause an entire change.
Now this exactly corresponds with the time we should require since the
temperate forms of plants entered Java. These are now almost distinct
species, but the changed conditions under which they are now forced to
exist, and the probability of some of them having since died out on the
continent of India, sufficiently accounts for the Javanese species being
different.
In my more special pursuits, I had very little success upon the
mountain--owing, perhaps, to the excessively unpropitious weather and
the shortness of my stay. At from 7,000 to 8,000 feet elevation, I
obtained one of the most lovely of the small Fruit pigeons (Ptilonopus
roseicollis), whose entire head and neck are of an exquisite rosy pink
colour, contrasting finely with its otherwise green plumage; and on the
very summit, feeding on the ground among the strawberries that have
been planted there, I obtained a dull-coloured thrush, with the form
and habits of a starling (Turdus fumidus). Insects were almost entirely
absent, owing no doubt to the extreme dampness, and I did not get a
single butterfly the whole trip; yet I feel sure that, during the
dry season, a week's residence on this mountain would well repay the
collector in every department of natural history.
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