t,/

See sir SF
aan te

Tijling the sawahs (ricefields).

—
-

on :
Sf amtaten we eee eee

Inundating the sawahs before tilling.

THE GREAT (CULTURES

Or THE ISLE OF JAVA

BY

F. FOKKENS,

RESIDENT OF MADURA.
30 PHoTOGRAPHS.

WITH A PREFACE BY PROF. DR. TREUB, DIRECTOR OF
THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT AND OF THE BOTANIC
GARDEN IN THE DUTCH EAST INDIES. : :

UR

LEIDEN
BJ BRIEL- Lr;
1910

Preface.

Being considered somewhat legendary and mysterious, the
remote tropical colonies were very little known for a long time.
Although reputed sources of considerable riches, very vague notions
of them, mostly far from correct, were generally known.

At the present day all this has much changed. The colonies
and particularly those situated in the intertropical zone are at
present every-where the subject of serious and thorough studies. Inte-
rest is taken in their history, organization and administration.
Researches and investigations are being made in regard to their
flora and fauna, as well as into the numerous problems which they
present from an ethnologic and anthropologic point of view.

Large associations have been formed with the purpose of
encouraging and directing these studies, and many a periodical, in
several languages, is devoted excluswely to colonial questions.

In these questions the interest by preference relates to the
political economy of the colonies and to their commercial impor-

tance. In this respect the mining resources are mentioned by some,

the conditions very often |
essentially favorable to the

Among those favoured
hold a first place. Their
the excesses of ae

cially, add another, not less i se

labourers. eee es
With its thirty millions in}

Junctions of the Government of the ae ater than :

ee
>
-_
’

Rice.

§ 1. Rice ') is cultivated in two ways: I. after
the so-called dry method; II. in fields which are almost
constantly kept under water. As regards the production,
the latter method affords the best results.

The first-named method is generally only applied
in places where there is not enough spring-water and where
sufficiently abundant rains cannot be relied upon.

The grounds where rice is cultivated after the last-
named method, are called ,sawahs’ or rice-fields, i. e.:
plots surrounded by small dikes between which water can
be retained or stream away at discretion. Where the
ground slopes, a succession of terraces is constructed, from
which the water passes from one into the other.

Rice is cultivated at a height of 0 to 4000 feet
on the most varied grounds, on vegetable-mould as well
as on clay and sand-soil, in marshes and on a soil mixed

with lime, and even on salt-grounds near the sea.

1) The plant which produces rice is called in Malay: ,padi’’.

this end a small surface (su
closed by a hedge) that has.
‘undated until it becomes a
which takes from 3 to 4 we
are deposited in the mud :
The latter method is the bet

ched to the old customs, I
sowing whole ears.

§ 3. The seed-plot. is
drained (first inundating du
dating by day and draining b
months, (according to the kin
ground) the seed has grown to plat
high, after which they are transpor
which generally takes place in th
December or, at latest, in January. |
in the fair season, sufficient springwater
may be planted at any time of the

Planting the padi (rice).

The ricefields after planting the padi.

yee TL ee er Te ee

Ti ch ee eae ee Rae ee Ce ee

is usually subject to attacks of insects, diseases and other
calamities.

In some regions seed-plots are not made, but the
seed is immediately deposited in the ,sawahs’; in that
case it is necessary for the upper surface to be very level
and -everywhere equally muddy, otherwise many grains
would be lost and would not germinate. Because this way
of cultivating the plots involves much labour, it is but
seldom adopted.

There are also regions where rice is sown in well
tilled plots, but in a dry condition. Moreover, in certain
regions, deprived of springwater, where the ,sawahs”’ are
only watered by rain, rice is cultivated as follows:

The seed is sown without repairing the dikes before-
hand over their entire length. The water, if too abundant,
can then escape; when, on the contrary, there is no rain-
fall or it is very slight, the dikes are repaired over a more
or less considerable length and shut completely if there
is a scarcity of water. If later on the rain should fall more
abundantly, the dikes are partly destroyed to let the su-
perfluous water escape.

§ 4. When the young plants have to be transported,
they are plucked out of the seed-plots, then they are bound
up in little bundles, the tops are cut, and they are
conveyed to the ,sawahs’”. There they are laid — one,
two or three at a time — in the muddy soil, the number

depending on the size of the young plants; as much as

the same rate.

After the planting the soil i
3 days in order to allow the plants
inundated again and then the qu 1
by little diminished until the soil -

three times is necessary — an 0
place before the florescence — ¢
has to be eee as much as:

higher regions a longer time is |

7 months. a.
§ 5. For the so-called ,dry”
the planting is done in two ways, Bes

ata it
TA:
oo Was

at

io

eds

ae
nt

¥8 CORNY
ne, -

Cropping the padi,

eee

ati

Bundling and stacking the padi.

is only adopted on original ground and only ,Oriza mon-
tana” and not ,Oriza sativa” is used in this case.

§ 6. Rice is highly susceptible to diseases and has
much to suffer from vermin. Sometimes the plant seems
sound and fresh, whilst the ears remain empty.

During heavy rains, when the water cannot run away,
a kind of caterpillar makes its way through the stalk and
kills the plant.

An insect, the ,walang sangit’” (Leptocorisa acuta)
abstracts the sap from the newly-budded ear and so
prevents the fruit from forming. In a short time the whole
crop is entirely destroyed in this way.

Of late years a disease has been made a subject of
study, which the natives call: méntek, méndézk, dédét, omo
merah, etc. The parasite, which causes this disease, is a ne-
matode, known under the name of ,Tyleachus Oryzea”’; it
attacks the root. The more or less bad quality of the soil
has a great influence on the development of this disease.

Mice are not less destructive for in a single night
they can destroy a whole rice-field.

§ 7. The off-shoots are not lopped by means of a
scythe, but one by one cut with a small crooked knife,
that is held between the fingers. Knife and offshoot are
held in the same hand and then the latter is cut; with the
other hand, the ears are gathered, The cut-off rice is made
into bundles in the field and then stacked. If the weather

is favourable, it is dried in the field.

In order to remove the grain from ‘a sta
rice is put into a kind of trough in which it”
with a pestle.

To remove the husk from the grain, tikes rol
also used; moreover mills of very simple con ruc eae
trough in which disks of wood, iron or stone, are propelled > . ; .
by buffalos or by water. There are but bf few mills in :
Java after the model used in Sues | os

§ 8. After the rice-crop “— if the oil be in
enough — the ,sawahs” are used for the cultivation -
of different kinds of vegetables which do not require ue
more than 2 or 3 months to fructify, such as: batates,
viqua sinensis, Soya Hispida, Capsicum, Solanum, Cucumis, — s
Arachis, Voandzeia subterrana, &c. — In the Preanger,
in Bantam and in some other regions, where there is suffi-
cient springwater during the wole year, the »sawahs” are. =e
also used for cultivating a kind of fish, which ie bs aes ia |
2 to 3 months to be fit for food. - . :

§ 9. The production amounts on an average to ne : 3
or 30 picols (62'/2 K°S) dry ,padi” per baoe of 1500 square : 2 :
metres (1'/: H.A.), yielding, after being husked, 15 picols
rice. The total production of the isle of Java was in i a

1895 36.702.450
1896 33.354.200
1897 35.194.600
1898 35.935.550

1899 — 87,500.000

Coffee.

§ 1. Kind of soil.

The coffee-tree flourishes in the isle of Java at any
height under 4000 feet, although the elevation, best suitable
for it, varies between 1500 to 3000 feet. This regards the
ordinary Java coffee-tree, the Liberia coffee-tree, on the
contrary, grows best in level grounds.

Too heavy clay-grounds are not at all suited for
the coffee-culture, neither is sandy soil generally; however,
very fine plantations are found on the sand-grounds of
the Kloet. Mixed grounds, not too firm, of a dark colour
and full of vegetable-mould are the best. Stony ground
must not always be rejected and certainly not when the
stones are so mixed with the ground as to form a natural

drainage, which generally assures good vegetation.

§ 2. Reclaiming and arranging the plantations.
The reclaiming of the grounds takes place in the

beginning of the dry season and is done in several ways.

10

In places where there are forests, these are completely
cleared, avoiding, however, the destruction the wood by fire

so as to prevent burning the vegetable-mould at. the same Phe

time. Some people burn the wood as much as possible and
mix the ash with the soil; others again — although
rarely — leave part of the forest, pull down the rest, clean
the ground and then set the plants, so securing them a
little shade.

Those who destroy the forest entirely do not negleet
to leave some rows of trees on the windward side, in order
to protect the young trees.

The level grounds are cleared of all sorts of wild
grass, and sometimes they are then tilled by means Be
ypatjol”, seldom with the plough.

On the slopes, clearing is only done by the hand or
by means of the ,arit” (a kind of bent knife), as the patjol

makes the mould too loose, so that, in the time of heavy —

rains, it would be washed down to the plains. To prevent
the latter inconvenience terraces are formed; these can
be tilled with the patjol without harm. ;

In no lands whatever is ,alang-alang” (a ind of .
long grass) allowed to remain; this injurious weed must
be uprooted, dried and destroyed by fire. |

Generally, in Java, holes are made before putting the
plants into the ground. To this eud, in the cleaned ground
holes are made of 2 feet diametre and 2 feet depth, which
are left open to the air for two months, after which period

11

they are filled with good soil, or soil mixed with manure.
It is however scarcely ever possible to obtain manure in
sufficient quantity. Besides in fallow grounds this would
mean a superfluous expense.

The young plant, thus placed in good ground, grows
rapidly and soon bears fruit, but as soon as the root touches
the harder and less fertile soil at the bottom and at the
sides of the hole, the tree commences to languish and often
dies shortly afterwards. To avoid this evil the hole is en-
larged by means of the patjol before filling.

When the grounds are prepared in the above-men-
tioned way, paths are traced in them and, in the plains ditches
are made for draining purpose; next, trees are planted to
obtain the shade required, whenever the trees which have

been left intact are not sufficient.

§ 3. Trees for giving shade.

The ,dadap” (hypophorus subumbrans) and the
,Albizzia molucana” are commonly used in order to en-
sure shade.

Of late very successful experiments have been made
with the ,Pithe colobium saman’”. This tree, being of a
very vigorous growth and affording dense shade the
trimming thereof is very expensive, consequently the
tree is rarely used. For some years past the ,Déguelia
microphylia’” has been used; it soon shoots, does not

become too tall'and does not give too much shade. The

,dadap” however is to be
tering-trees; unfortunately d

cessarily to be replaced by an
es, The more elevated the

3000 feet high, the dal
12 by 12 feet (1 feet = 3_
upwards of 3000 feet it
12 feet; provided the .
6 by Z feet; in ie

preferred, however, because it has.
the drawback of being very frail.
which in their fall break the coff

1) The distance between the sheltering-trees dined

=

tion, but also on the climate. In a rainy climate be plants ae
‘as in a dry climate.

Seed-plots for the coffee-tree.

Plantation of Liberia coffee.

Soe ee ee Pee A ee

13

length are used, which, at a slight incline, are put into
the ground. The ,Albizzia’, on the contrary, is sown. The
seed is left in luke-warm water for one night and then
sown in seed-plots. The sheltering-trees are planted at
the same time or some months before the young coffee-
trees, as the latter want light and a certain quantity of
sunshine during the first year. If there is too much shade,

the young coffee-tree grows to too great a height.

§ 4. The planting of the coffee-tree.

The coffee-tree is sown. The ripe berry, after having
been freed from its husk and washed with water mixed
with ash, to take off the slimy substance surrounding the
grain, leaves a bean composed of two parts (the so-called
masculine coffee-bean forms one whole) in a husk. These
parts are sown separately In the beginning of the year,
from January to April, according to the height in question
(in high grounds earlier), the grains, so prepared, are planted
a little under the surface, at a distance of 15 cm. apart,
in well (artificially) shaded seed-plots. 3

Twice as many grains are sown as the number
of trees required, because the grains do not all thrive
equally well and also to reserve plants for replacing the
dead ones.

As the plant develops the cover of the seed-plots
is partly removed, and this is done entirely, as soon as
the plant has reached a height of */s feet (20 to 25 cM.)

14

Care should be taken that the young plants are always ce
watered, the ground cleared of the wild grass and loosen- eo

ed from time to time.

In the beginning of the ain vei dt a. a

of December, the plants are transferred from the seed-plot

to the plantations, the roots covered with a layer of earth. 3 oo.

Many people neglect this last precaution and transport the
plants in bundles.

In the plantation grown-up plants are not always” :
used; oftentimes young off-shoots which have grown. up |

from fallen grains, are taken from under the old trees.

§ 5. Transport of the young plants.

On the spot, destined for the plant, a hole is made
by means of a stick, or also a ,patjol”; the plant is put
in it, care being taken not to bend the root; then the
hole is filled and the soil around stamped. The distance
between the plants must be from 6 to 8 feet for trees of i.
say 10 years old; from 8 to 8 feet for trees of from ito -
15 years, and of from 6 to 10 feet for trees of more than —

15 years of age.

§ 6. Maintenance of the Plantation.

When the plants are in the soil, the plantation
should be cared for, i.e: it must be kept clean. ‘The
grass which is not harmful, can be left, but that which
multiplies at the roots must be plucked out and then

spread out over the ground. In level grounds and ter-
races the soil is made loose, by means of the ,patjol”,
once before and once after the rain-season, until the fourth
year; then this operation is effected once a year or once
every two years. On slopes, this method cannot be followed,
lest too much vegetable-mould should be lost in the heavy
rains. Next, the young off-shoots which continually grow
up at the foot of the plants must be carefully removed
and the ,dadap” or the ,Albizzia” lopped, so that it grows
more rapidly and does not produce too much shade.

During the first two years languishing and dead
plants or trees are to be regularly replaced.

Many people remove the young off-shoots at the top
of the tree, as soon as this has reached a height of 5 to 6
feet (the Liberia 8 to 10 feet), in order to force the tree to
grow in width. In this way the coffee-tree can be better
maintained and also the fruit is easy of access.

For the growth of the trees this process is not ne-
cessary; coffee-trees are found of from 40 to 60 years old,
which have never undergone it, but it is very difficult to
gather the fruit when the trees have reached a height of
from 15 to 20 feet. In such case ladders are required or the
branches are bent down by means of cramp-irons fastened
to sticks, often to the great detriment of the trees. Because
of the disease which has prevailed for some years in
coffee-trees, the method of lopping the top has much de-

minished for fear of weakening the trees too much, which

16

lose many leaves and off-shoots through the disease. Ttis ce
very difficult to remove continually the young | off-shoots, 3
which unceasingly shoot out at the foot of the: trees i

nae i

the tops are lopped. Nevertheless, here sd ‘there: this a

method is still followed.

Manure, is only used in barren eee and had
most often around languishing trees. Stable-manure or dry
leaves are placed with care so as not to touch the roots. A
trench of a foot deep is dug, the manure is put in and
covered with soil.

§ 7. The crop and the preparation.

At the end of 2 to 3 years already is, tree com- con.

mences to bear fruit. However, only after 5 to 6 years ie

are abundant crops gathered, which on an average continue bs

until the 15 year. Plantations of 40 years old and more are
found, but this is an exception. The coffee-tree blossoms
in the beginning of the rain-season; the crop-gathering takes |
place about six or seven months after the blossoming. |

The fruit is prepared in the — way or in that
known as ,the West Indian way”. The latter method is
at present mostly adopted, because the coffee prepared in
this way is most sought on the European markets. —

The first method consists of letting the fruit dry in
the sun and taking off the covering by beating them with
a pestle, or by letting them pass between wooden or iron
disks. After this the coffee is cleared by means of a fan

17

and sorted, either by the hand or by means of a cylinder
provided of wire gauze with meshes of different sizes.

The method, known as the West Indian, consists of
husking the fruit directly after harvest. To this end, cy-
linders are used propelled by steam or water. Next the
grain, thus discharged from the pulp, is washed in order
to remove the slimy matter, and is then dried in a drying
apparatus or thrashed and fanned to remove the last
husk.

The ordinary Java-coffee can be prepared in both
ways. The latter makes the bean shiny and ensures higher
prices on the European markets. For the Liberia-coffee the
last-named method is the only good one; without this the

coffee would have a bitter and disagreeable taste.

§ 8. Sorts of Coffee.

Several sorts of coffee are cultivated in the isle of
Java, such as: ordinary Java, Liberia, Mocca, Margogype
and for 3 or 4 years past Robusta. The last 3 sorts are
only found in some small plantations: ordinary Java-coffee
is best represented. However, of late years, Liberia is
planted more and more as it is stronger and can resist
disease better than the ordinary Java which has been so
popular here for a long time.

It has been tried to graft the Java-coffee on the
,Liberia’, up till now however there is but one plantation

where this operation is carried out on a large scale.

The so-called ,masculine” coffee is aie ab,
but a casuality, the fruit containing only one ee pee:

of two.

§ 9. The disease of the coffee-tree.

Tt is a known fact that for 17 years oe the coffee-
culture has much to suffer from a diseasé, called the , He-
mileia vastatrix”, a mildew which attacks first the leaves.

This mildew is to be recognized by an orange-coloured.
matter that appears itself at the baek side of the leaves’

and can be removed by the hand. When the disease con-
tinues, the attacked leaf falls, the branches and the fruit
grow black and the fruit decays: Large plantations have

hereby been completely destroyed in a few months; no

disease has ever caused such disaster to the culture.
Numerous eflorts have been made to prevent the disease.

First it was believed that it was better to. make ee 3 oe
the soil loose and manure it more. |The trees grew es
stronger and could better resist the disease, bes ote - the Se:

evil continued to propagate.

Then antiseptic remedies were applied to combat it |
and preservatives to prevent the disease. Trials have been

made on a large scale in watering the plants with an in-

fusion of tobacco or with Bouillon Bordelaise. The attacked — Pe

parts of the young leaves have been pricked with sulphuric
acid, or the plantations have been protected on the wind-
side by growing hedges to prevent the germs in the air,

19

from penetrating into the plantations. For a long time it
was believed that the best results were obtained by water-
ing the seed-plots and the young plants with an infusion
of tobacco and by the growing hedges around the plan-
tations in the plains (on slopes it is difficult to protect
the plants by hedges), but this method has been abandoued
and strongly manuring the coffee-trees has been tried.

However, none of those remedies has been of much
avail; the disease continues to destroy plantations and
many a planter has been ruined, especially those who
have their plantations in poorer grounds and in the
plains. Trees in the mountains, and planted in plots full
of vegetable-mould, resist the disease, and if they are at-
tacked, they do not suffer so much.

Coffee-trees have also much to endure from a louse
which causes leaves and branches to turn black, this
being the origin of the name of ,,black rust” given to this
disease.

A disease caused by miscroscopic insects which
attack the roots of the coffee-trees, and in a short time
do considerable damage is called the , Aaltjesziekte.” The
»konuk” and the ,Ooret’’, a kind of scaraboes that attacks
‘the roots of the coffee-trees, is another insect, called the

,koffieborer’’, which destroys the trunk.

§ 10. Productions.

The coffee-culture in the isle of Java is practised

a forced,

the latter a free cu
The Government-c
dozen years, as follows:

in 1895

”

”

”

”

”

”

”

#3

”

”

”

”

1896

1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904

1905

1906
1907

21

Sugar.

§ 1. In the isle of Java different sorts of sugar-cane
are cultivated, especially one, known as the black Cheribon-
cane which is ofa red or brown colour. The natives, however,
cultivate preferentially a kind of white cane for the inte-
rior market because it develops more amply. At one time
the white cane was also used by manufacturers, because
it was believed that it was less subject to the prevailing
disease, viz.: the ,,sereh”, which proved, nevertheless, to
be an error.

With a view to this disease several sorts of sugar-
cane have been tried, such as the Madagascar, the Mauritia,
the Sandwich, Borneo and New-Zealand, but none of them
could resist it. The Fidji-cane is very hardy, but it con-
tains but little sugar and therefore is rarely cultivated.

§ 2. In Java the sugar-cane is cultivated according to
two methods, called the ,,broedjoelan” and the ,,Reynoso”
system. For the first-named method the soil is completely
tilled and trenches are dug at an equal distance of from
three feet (1 ft. = 31 cM.); in these trenches at a distance

ae

12 ft. im de

Z
Pe

3 to 5. ft. ae The soil is on ;
then holes, as mentioned @
§ 3. For the shoots, '

water and then are laa
in the holes. ‘Sometimes
in seed-plots.

(rice-fields) and on grounds serving fo
as rice (this very seldom occurs), Clay-, as

Plantation of sugarcane.

Sugarcane, attacked by the disease, calle ,sereh’’,

Fi a arias |

23

are made use of to a height of 2000 feet. In the irrigation
and drainage great care must be taken. As a rule, the
ground is tilled about the months of March and April
and planting is commenced in the month of July. This
month falling in the middle of the dry-season the young
plants are watered. Before and after the planting, the soil
is manured with ammoniac sulphate and carvi cakes. The
cane ripens within ten to fourteen months in the plains;
in higher grounds it takes not less than 18 months. The
crop is gathered from June till October.

§ 5. When the cane is ripe, it must be cut as soon
as possible, as otherwise the sap diminishes in quantity
and also diminishes in quality. It is cut off level with the
ground or plucked out by the roots. In the fields the leaves

are taken off and the tops are cut to serve for the new

planting.

§ 6. After the crop the cane is transported to the
mill to be crushed. The wood, dry leaves and ground cane
are used as fuel. The average production of cane of one baoe
(0,709649 Hectare) amounts to 900 picols (= 56000 K®s);
sometimes double this quantity is reached.

As soon as the cane has been cut and transported
to the mill, it is pressed between cylinders, two of which
are placed horizontally and another above them. By this
simple operation about 65 to 70 per cent of the weight
of the cane is reduced to sap. Much sugar is still left in

the remainders (called the ,ampas”) and, for this reason

manufacturers endeavour to e@

cutting it in slices, which were ;
is no longer applied. set

but on the other hand better. It
bonisation-method. The sap is s .
then precipitated with carbonic
it is pressed in filters.

The purified sap is then tre

Transporting the sugarcane to the fabric.
g g

Interior of a sugarfabric (engines of triple or four fold power and vacuums).

25

vacuum. The sugar thus obtained — after having been
cooled — is then put into centrifugal machines to eliminate
the molasses. In order to remove the last trace and so
to get very white sugar, the product is finally exposed to
a fine spray of water or steam.

The sugar, on leaving these machines, is dried in the
sun or artificially and then packed in ,,krandjangs” (kind
of basket) of about 2 picols. =: gt

The molasses obtained by the centrifugal machine
still contain sugar. Therefore, they are once more boiled in
the vacuum to pass for the second time through the cen-
trifugal machine after having been cooled. However, even
then they still contain sugar, but it is very difficult to extract
it. For this reason, the manufacturers let the molasses run
into the rivers or distil, like the Tjomal-mill, alcohol (arrack)
from them.

As said above, dry leaves or the ,ampas’”’ which leaves
the mills is used as fuel for the machines; sometimes also
wood (seldom coal). In the ovens, specially constructed for
this purpose, the wet ampas is used, but mostly it is dried
in advance in the sun.

§ 7. The sugar-manufacturers in Java have two
experimental stations where trials are continually made
upon the culture and production of sugar by specialists and
learned men in the sphere of tropical agriculture.

§ 8. On an average 115 picols of sugar are produced

per baoe (0,709649 Ha); there are.
picols. ea : Ce
The total sugar production in the
in 1895: 9454441 (195

, 1896 3697000

, 1897 9471249

, 1898 11175280

» 1899 12301689 os

, 1900 12031987

, 1901 13091388

, 1902 14435138 «(J

, 1908 14921096

, 1904 17037313

» 1905 16834180

, 1906 16041195
, 1907 18138304 (

AEE Re

Seed-plots for the Peruvian bark.

Preparing the grounds for planting the Peruvian bark.

— es

ae a

BD ete es ee RE eee ee eee

Aa 3

ita
WT

27

Peruvian bark.

§ 1. The sorts of Peruvian bark mostly planted in
the isle of Java are the Ledgeriana, the Officinales, and
the Succirubra; especially the Ledgeriana, because of its
great intrinsic value. This value is inferior in other sorts,
which are however greatly appreciated for their pharma-
ceutic bark. The demand for this bark being limited and
the planters fearing to keep an article without value in
case of overproduction, these trees are only planted in
small numbers. The same is true of the Officinales, as it
grows slowly and best in high regions, which are avoided,
however, being less appropriate for the Ledgeriana.

§ 2. The favourite sort is consequently the Ledge-
riana. However, as this tree does not grow so quickly as
the Succirubra, because of its being more susceptible to
disease, many planters have been endeavouring of late years
to graft the Ledgeriana on the Succirubra and with success,
for experience has proved that the trunk below the graft
effects but very little the value of the Ledgeriana.

The grafting is done in the open air, generally after

reached a height of ‘from 10
‘tance is then 15 cM. ee

may be left to grow. The « t
under ferns, which have ee

square feet of ground each; it is better, i :
until the plants have reached a height of 11

Seed-plots for the Peruvian bark.

Joung Peruvian barks.

Pe CPO TT eee re ee

Fe en ee ee

‘g

29

§ 5. The maintenance of a Peruvian bark-plantation
is very similar to that of a coffee-plantation. As the plants
grow closer together, the weeds do not grow so abun-
dantly, giving rise to less labour. As seen above, when
dealing with the coffee-culture, there are people who make
holes in the ground to put the plants in, and others trench
the soil.

§ 6. The Peruvian bark is subject to different kinds
of disease:

1. The disease of the roots, which rots them for the
greater part. The only method to expel the fungi which
attack the roots, is to pull out the infected plants and
disinfect the soil. The uprooted plants must be burnt on
the spot. .

2. The rust, a mildew which attacks the branches
and kills them. The diseased branches are cut off, the
bark is collected and the affected parts are burnt.

3. The ,Helopeltis” is the worse disease of the Peru-
vian barks. It is caused by insects, called Helopeltis Brodii.
They prick their way across the surface of the leaves of
the young branches and suck out the sup. The pricked
spot blackens, the other part of the leaf and the young
branohes curl up. As yet there is no any other remedy known
against the disease but to lop off the attacked parts and

burn them, while the insects are caught and destroyed.

§ 7. When 6 to 8 years old, the Peruvian barks
are fit to be gathered. At first this is only a thinning

rity and is fit to be cut ae
The crop is gathered in

clusively to the first mentioned,
whole tree. a
§ 8. The gathered bark is

of the plates, which rest on little walls,
at the other side the chimney so as
and smoke to pass under the plates. V
drying-apparatus is the Jackson’s siroccos
fire itself causes the air-circulation. |

Peruvian barks still young.

Plantation of Peruvian bark.

——E————

TET nn TE OE

Cropping the Peruvian bark.
An establishment on a Peruvian bark plantation.

31

§ 9. The sorting and packing of the Peruvian bark
must be carefully carried out.

In commerce the Peruvian barks are distinguished
in two principal classes, viz. I. those destined for manu-
facturing sulfate of quinine, and 2. those for the use of
pharmacy for extracts, colours, wines, &c. In sorting the
barks for the manufacturing of sulfate of quinine care
must be paid to have barks of an equally intrinsic value
of quinine; while in the sorting for the use of pharmacy a
good appearance should especially be considered.

§ 10. The production of Peruvian bark in the isle

of Java was in:

1895 3950667 Kes
1896 3826085 ,
1897 3403102 ,
1898 4513815 ,
1899 5092608 ,
1900 5668795,
1901 6316090 Kes
1902 6433421 ,
1903 7122589 ,
1904 8652954 ,
1905 8052648,
1906 5972550 ,

1907 8985816,

Drying-apparatus for Peruvian bark,

eruvian bark.

acking the Pe

%
[

33

Tobacco.

§ 1. Tobacco flourishes from the sea-shore to a
height of 6000 Metres up the mountains; nevertheless,
the lower regions must be preferred, as the manufacturing
can be done with less trouble on account of great damp-
ness or heavy winds.

The crops from the higher grounds dry but slowly
and sometimes only on the outside, so that the product
gets mouldy and often becomes quite valueless.

Soil composed of a mixture of clay with sand (es-
pecially when it contains vegetable-mould) is most adap-
ted to the tobacco-culture; the situation and the climate
are also of great importance. It must be possible to draiu
the plots and the plants must from time to time be wat-
ered by rain.

§ 2. To obtain good tabacco, it is necessary to use
good seed. This is taken from the best developed plants,
and only those grains the development of which can be

relied upon are plucked.

34

Towards the ‘time that the tobacco-plants are_ 5 toy
ped, the planter selects on his field those parts where the
plants are best developed and are sine to veo of

good seed. : SS rctgey

These parts are then surrounded by hedges na
are very carefully tended until the tiny fruit is ripe. When.
the ripe fruit has been plucked, they are dried in the |
sun; the husks burst and the grains fall. a are —
served in hermetically closed bottles.

§ 3. Formerly sorts of tobacco, originally from a
were planted. The leaves were too small and not broad —
enough, they were not in demand in Europe, 80. ‘that
other sorts were used. At first Dutch tobacco’ was taken,
it grew very well, but soon degenerated. Then ‘Havanna- |
and Manilla-tobacco were tried. The trials. with Havanna-
tobacco did not answer. The quality changed e1 ntir
and saumecaee became unfit for commercial ee ie Bee

treatment. It lost its taste and partite pee p Se!

its original flexibility, so that it could be used for :

all kinds of tobacco. ae
Plants of Deli-tobacco have also been tried with

good results. Wr eae
§ 4. The grains are directly sown in ‘the plots

mixed with wood-ash. Also, but more rarely, the grains |

Plantation of tabacco.

Pressing tabacco to bales.

35

before being sown, are germinated on moistened sheets,
which became necessary to protect the grains in the plots
from injury caused by ants.

When the grains have germinated, which is to be
seen by their changing of colour, they are removed from
the sheets, mixed with ash and then sown on the plots.

The seed-plots are similar to those used for the
cultivation of coffee, only instead of fixed coverings,
they are adjustable to permit the regulating of the
light.

Much care must be taken of the grains in the
plots. At first they should be watered at least twice a
day; the sun is only allowed to penetrate in the morning.
After some time one watering suffices, and only the after-
noon-sun should be avoided.

§ 5. When the plants are about 40 or 50 days old,
they may be transplanted in the prepared grounds. It is
necessary also to protect them during the early days
against the sun, which is done by covering each plant
with a bent leaf fixed in the soil, or the plants are cov-
ered with a little rice-straw. At the very first they also
need to be watered. |

After two weeks the covering is taken away and
the ground around the plants made loose. Later on this
process is repeated by means of the patjol (a kind of
spade).

Generally the plants are set at a distance of from

— 86

1/2 to 3 feet. As soon as the plants have reached a
height of one foot, the lower leaves are taken off and the
trunks covered with clods. The latter manipulation is
repeated once or twice. When the plants have nearly
reached their complete development, they ate topped in
order to prevent the blossoming and to accelerate hereby
the development of the leaves.

This topping demands much care. If too many
leaves are removed, the remaining ones become thick and
heavy; if, on the other hand, not enough are lopped, the
leaves remain small.

After the topping the tobacco is left to develop _
for two weeks more until complete maturity, so that it
may benefit, if possible, from some showers which take
away a kind of fat from the leaves, increasing hereby their
inflammability.

§ 6. Within 65 to 90 days the tobacco is ripe,
which is evident from the fact that the leaves begin to.
droop. The leaves are then plucked one by one, strung
and then hung up in the drying-shed; or the plant is cut
off a little above the ground and in that way many leaves
are hung up at a time, the lower leaves have the greatest
value, these are always plucked first one by one.

In the drying-sheds, which are constructed of wood
and bamboo and covered with straw, and which asa rule
are 100° to 400° long and 30’ to 60’ wide, the tobacco is
strung on laths of bamboo and kept from the light. The

tobacco remains in this condition for 30 to 40 days. Then
the leaves are taken off the laths and are sorted accord-
ing to their length, their colour and their fineness; next,
they are bound in bundles of 40 to 50 leaves, which are
transported to the fermentation-shed. In these sheds, most
of which are constructed of stone and covered with zinc,
the tobacco undergoes the last manipulation consisting
of fermenting, selection and pressing of the bales.

The fermentation is done by putting the tobacco
in piles on a wooden floor. In the beginning the fermen-
tation-process is very quick, and therefore the piles are very
small and contain only from 5 to 10 lbs. of tobacco.
After a few days the piles are made loose and increased
until by the end of the fermentation time they contain
60 or 80 thousand lbs. In making the piles, perforated cases
of bamboo are laid in them to hold thermometers, so that
at any moment the increase of temperature inside the
piles may be ascertained and thus the piles can be made
loose at the proper time. And this is very necessary, as
the temperature of tobacco may increase in a single day
to such a pitch as to cause fire.

If the temperature remains the same as that of out-
side the fermentation is finished. The tobacco is taken
off the piles and is once more sorted.

When the tobacco has been pressed to bales of
150 to 200 lbs. and sewn into mats, it is ready for ship-

ment.

§ 7. The production of tobacco destined for
in the isle of Java was Eee

1895
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907

9807222 kilogr.
18286012,
‘16864871 Fy
18618375
24829570 _ ,,
22277198
12372592
26289584,
26886370,
30407491,
29934558
29288596,
37892449,

‘

“a

39

Tea.

§ 1. The tea-plant is a shrub cultivated in the isle
of Java at a height of from 500 to 3000 feet, in different
soils, generally clay-grounds mixed with vegetable-mould
and drained as much as possible.

§ 2. Tea is propagated by seed which must be fresh,
to ensure its prompt growth. The seed is ripe when the
seed-coat bursts and drops the grains which have a dark-
brown colour and are picked up from the ground.

Each husk contains 1 to 3 grains. It is estimated
that of a quantity of fresh seed */; take, whilst, when
using seed of one or two months old, this will be the
case with only 1/; to “/1.

§ 3. The culture of grains is done on beds or the
grains are carried to the plot and sown at a depth of
from 3 to 5 centimetres in the soil, which has been thor-
oughly tilled beforehand, or they are laid in furrows of
9 cM. width and 12 cM. depth. These furrows have all

been open for a month. already and
time before the sowing:

superfluous plants without doit
planters first germinate the

bad, those which sink to the to
to time the grains require to be
be shaded in the outset, if os,
wished for.
§ 4. After the planting, care
the plant develops regularly, this ensure:
With this aim the languishing
should be replaced at once. i
Two or three times a year each

lee

Assam tea-plants,

Harvesting chinese tea.

Al

between the plants of 3 to 12 feet long, 1 foot wide and
1'/2 foot deep to ensure them more light.

Manure also is used, mostly oxen-manure mixed
with vegetable substances.

§ 5. As regards discases, the tea-plant suffers mostly
from rust caused by an insect called ,,Heliopeltis theivora”
the same insect that attacks the Peruvian bark.

All kinds of measures have been adopted to stamp
out this discase, but in vain. The most effective measure
is killing the insects, lopping the shrubs and embedding
the whole cut-off mass, so as to annihilate the eggs which
the insect lays in the as yet tender and green shoots. The
surviving insects, finding no young leaves left, are con-
demned to death by want of food.

§ 6. Tea-plants can be harvested in their third or
fourth year. The first harvest is but insignificant, and is
followed by a light lopping; afterwards the production
of leaves steadily increases. If the tea-shrubs have been
planted well and thorough care has been taken of them,
the harvest may continue, so to say, ad infinitum. The two
leaves at the oxtremity of the tree yield the finest tea,
viz: the ,pecco’”, both the green tea as well as the black;
the following leaf produces the ,souchon” and the other
leaves the ,conggo”’. ;

From time to time the shrubs must be forced to
form shoots and prevented from blossoming and so pro-

ducing seed. This is effected by a more or less thorough

higher grounds it is often su:
once every two or three years.
is at the ond of the ee

the rain-season. For the rest
preparation. :

Java the freshly dined er
once; i. e.: roasted in well- 1
the fermentation or oxydation ‘is
cessary for the preparation of b
duced by ‘dispersing the fresh
fade. The leaves then assume a ve
pressing a small quantity in the hand
what like glutin. Then they are”
incessantly for some time. :

The grinding and the rolling | is 2
by machinery, mostly by the -fixoeleeed
machine of Jackson and others, consisting

Machinery for grinding and rolling the tea.

Drying the tea.

43

two polished wheels, horizontally placed at some distance
the one from the other, each having an opposed rota-
tory movement and so rolling the ,tea between them.
After having been rolled for 10 or 12 minutes, the tea
is put on small tanks to get its colour, to oxidate and
to ferment by the influence of the air. These tanks are
a kind of cube made of interlaced bamboos; they are pro-
vided with little feet so that a quantity of them may be
placed one upon the other without preventing the air
from penetrating.

When the tea is of the required colour, it is con-
veyed to the drying-shed, where it is dried in warmed air
or roasted in stoves.

§ 8. About fifteen years ago only China-tea was
planted in the isle of Java. Little by little this custom
altered and the China tea gave way for the Assam-tea
and the different hybrids between Assam- and China-tea.
Now-a-days these sorts predominate and will entirely replace
the China tea, as they are much stronger.

In wild condition the Assam plant becomes a tree
with a trunk of from 15 to 20 feet thick, whilst the China-
tea shrub remains small and only reaches a height of from
6 to 7 feet. In cultivated condition the former plant reaches
a height of from 3 to 5 feet, but develops in table-form
with a diameter of 4 to 10 feet, the latter reaching no
more than 2 or 3 feet. The leaves of Assam-tea grow to
a length of 9—15 cM., those of China-tea at most to 4. cM.

45

Indigo.

§ 1. The kinds of indigo, generally cultivated in
the isle of Java, are the Guatemala, originating from
Central America, and the Natal. Indigo is a shrub with
reddish flowers and oval leaves, the latter containing the .
colouring matter that is extracted from them by means
of fermentation.

The indigo-shrub is cultivated in plains, on light,
mixed grounds, which must have been deeply trenched
three or four times; as a rule, on plots that may be irri-
gated (rice-fields) and it is propagated by sowing or (sel-
dom, however) by shoots.

§ 2. In May and June the seed is planted in beds,
having a light roof to protect the small plants against
the great sun-warmth ; during the first few days they must be
watered. Often the seed is covered with straw, that is
removed after 3 or 5 days.

After a month the seeds are fit to be planted in
the soil.

§ 3. Generally, the plants are transplanted in the

position, the bundles are dee 2
covering them with an horizontal
of from 6 to 12 cM. thickness.

hurdles formed of laths of bamboo 1 cent
these hurdles are pressed down by beams. —

fermentation soon commences and lasts from 4

Shrubs of Guatamala indigo.

a. ae er. -

put in constant contact with te oxygen of the atmosphere by

Basins, in which the indigo water is
turning wheels provided with zine pails till the indigo precipitates.

47

according to the temperature and the nature of the plants.
It is always difficult to fix the exact moment at which
the fermentation-process is completely finished; a long
experience alone teaches this.

After the fermentation, the water, which must
smell like beer and be coloured yellowish green, is allowed
to run avay from the fermentation-basin into another
basin placed below, where it is at once set in motion by
a wheel provided with zinc pails. The turning movement
of the wheel causes the water every time to be taken up
by the pails and to be ejected again from a certain
height. In this way 240 litres of water come into contact
with the oxygen of the atmosphere and gradually the
colour changes from yellowish-green into green or dark-green
and the indigoprecipitates.

The turning of the wheel is stopped as soon
as the grains of indigo are distinctly noticeable and sep-
arate themselves from the water. Then all must be allowed
to clarify, which takes 2 or 3 hours; after that the water —
is poured off and the paste resulting therefrom is collected
in filtering-basins from which the water oozes, this pro-
cess lasting 5 to 6 hours. The paste is now taken off the
filtering-cloth and put in casks, which are conveyed to the
kitchen where the paste is mixed with a certain quantity
of water and then boiled, at the same time being stirred
continually so as to avoid its burning.

When well boiled, the matter is poured on a filter-

ing-cloth where
the substance is put under
the sides of which holes are
order to extract all the water

The indigo is now cu
on long wooden benches for |

before being ready for sale
the mould. By this means t
ple colour. *) as
-§ 6. The production

was as follows, viz:
1895 606

1896 > 6h

1897 |

1898

1899

1900

1901

1902

19038

1904

1905

1906

1907

1) For the Natal indigo some manufacturers work
than use whitewash, the exess of which they remove by

SB Fokkens, F
187 The great cultures of the

I7F6 isle of Java

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