Page:EB1911 - Volume 26.djvu/1030

Rh for 300 m. between 8° 40' and 10° 40' S., and between 123 30' and 127 E. It has a mean breadth of 60 m., and an area of about 12,500 sq. m. Politically its north-eastern half is Portuguese, as are two small enclaves in the south-western half, the remainder being Dutch. Timor lies in deep water a little to the west of the hundred fathom line, which marks in this direction the proper limit of the shallow Arafura Sea, extending between it and northern Australia. It differs considerably from the other members of the Sundanese group both in the direction of its main axis and in the prevalence of old rocks and slighter volcanic •character. It comes, however, within the great volcanic zone which stretches from the north of Sumatra, through Java and the other Sundanese islands, round to Amboyna, Tidore, Ternate, Halmahera and the Philippines. There appear to be volcanic centres in both the east and the west of the island, and the surface is everywhere extremely rugged, with ridges from 4000 to 8000 ft. high, forming a confused orographic system, which is by no means fully understood. Mount Kabalaki in the north rises above 10,000 ft.; the culminating point appears to be Mt Alas (over 12,000 ft.) near the east coast. Owing to the prevalent dry easterly winds from the arid plains of north Australia, Timor, like Ombay, Flores and other neighbouring islands, has a much drier climate, and a poorer vegetation, than islands further west, and has few perennial streams and no considerable rivers. Hence, apart from almost untouched mineral wealth, such as iron, copper and gold, the island is poor in natural resources. Coal and petroleum have been found. At Kupang, on the south coast, the number of rainy days per month in the six months May to October dwindles from 4 to o, while the monthly rainfall gradually sinks from a little less than 2 in. to nil; the northern districts are better watered. Though the mineral products are varied, the supply of ores has hitherto proved scanty; besides which»their exploitation is rendered •difficult by the lack of labourers, water and wood. The uplands yield fairly under cultivation, while the woodlands, which nowhere form true forests, contain much excellent sandalwood. This and a noted breed of hardy ponies form the chief articles •of export.' Owing to the deep water between Timor and the Arafura Sea, the fauna of Timor presents scarcely any Australian types beyond a marsupial cuscus. The few mammals; such as deer, civet, pigs, shrews and monkeys, as well as the birds and insects, resemble ordinary Malayan forms.

TIMOR LAUT ("Seaweed Timor"; Dutch, Timor Laoet), or, a group of islands in the Malay Archipelago, S.W. of the Aru Islands, between 6° 20' and 8° 30' S., and 130° 40' and 132° 5' E. By the Dutch, in whose residency of Amboyna they are included, they are politically divided into two districts; Larat, including the inhabited islands of Larat, Vordate, Molu, and Maro, together with many uninhabited islands; and Sera, including the Sera Islands, Selaru, and the southern part of Yamdena, all inhabited. 1 Only Yamdena and Selaru are by the natives called Timor Laut; all the others they call Tenimbar. The group is in the main, coralline. Vordate, Molu and south-eastern Yamdena have a maximum height of 820 ft.; the rest are low and flat, except Laibobar, apparently a volcanic islet on the west, which has an extinct crater 2000 ft. high. Yamdena, the largest island, has an area of about 1100 sq. m.; the rest together about 1000. Ritabel in Larat is the only safe roadstead during the east and west monsoons. The fauna includes buffaloes, a marsupial cuscus, some bats, the beautiful scarlet lory, rare varieties of the ground-thrush, honey-eater and oriole. The population is estimated at about 19,000. The aborigines are Papuans, but much mixed with Malayan and perhaps Polynesian elements. They are a fine race, often over 6 ft. tall, noted for their artistic sense. In other respects they are pagans in a low state of culture, mostly divided into hostile communities and addicted to piracy. The only means of subsistence is primitive agriculture