(termed Sirang by the natives), a large and beautiful island, forming part of the government of the Moluccas, and situated between 3° 20' and 3° 40' S. Lat., and 127° 59' and 130° 45' E. Long. Its superficial extent is 5500 square miles. A vast chain of mountains, varying in elevation from 6000 to 8000 feet, but with several peaks of even greater altitude, whose height has not been exactly ascertained, extends from the western to the eastern point of the island. A great number of rivers and torrents flow from these heights towards the southern coast, which is the most accessible to commerce. Ceram enjoys a most salubrious climate, and is remarkable for the great fertility of its soil. It is covered with a luxuriant vegetation; with spice trees of all kinds, which grow without culture; and with various descriptions of useful and ornamental wood. Ceram is divided among several chiefs; those in the north being governed by the resident of Amboyna, and those in the east by the resident of Banda. A considerable portion of the central district is held by the Sultan Djalalo, a native prince, who was at one time a stipendiary of the Dutch government; but, having engaged in piracy, was seized with his accomplices in 1832 and carried to Java. The population consists of the aboriginal Alfores, who inhabit the interior and northern districts, and of the Malays, who are settled upon the coast. The former are described as savage and ignorant idolaters, whose principal object of worship is an evil genius whom they little regard, and who band together in frequent incursions against the Mohammedan and Christian tribes on the coast. Their houses are of wood, elevated on posts about six feet high, and surrounded by an external gallery. A Dutch resident who visited the interior describes one of their bialos, in which the tribe meets to deliberate upon its affairs, as adorned with sacred stones and other objects of veneration, and also with a trophy of thirty-six human skulls, the common property of the tribe. The Malays inhabiting the coast are intrepid sailors, and undertake voyages in their large vessels, which are propelled by 30, 40, or even 60 rowers, to the isles of Soende, Singapore, and Australia. Many of the natives who have come in contact with the agents of the Dutch East India Company have been nominally converted to Christianity. Its resources have not been sufficiently developed by the East India Company, but are likely eventually to prove a valuable source of profit to the Dutch. A cluster of small islands, called Ceram Lant, lies off the east end of Ceram.