Aug. 2, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST- 



t<yf 



with the mouth of the Kaliemaas River, whilst the 

 survey and the provisional plan of the liue between 

 Tjilatjap and Tjitjalengka, and the surveys of the lines 

 from Djokjakarta to Willem I. via Magelaug, and from 

 Mat'elang to Poerworedjo, have all been finished. 



Private Railways. — The line between Batavia and 

 Bekassie, mentioned in my last repoi-t as having been 

 commenced, has been steadily progressing during the 

 past year, although considerable dilticulty has been 

 e.vperienced iu purchasing the land through which the 

 line passes. A line connecting Tagal and Ealapoelang 

 via Bandjaran, with a branch liue from the latter place 

 to Pangka, has also been commenced. 



A couces.sion has been granted bj' Government for a 

 line from Cheribon to Saniarang via Tagal and Pekalon- 

 gan, whilst another has been a.sked for a line starting 

 from one of the stations on the Djokjakarta-Tjilatjap 

 Railway to Bandjaruegara via Poerwokerto, Soekaradja, 

 and Poerworedjo. 



A steam tramway has been opened during the year, 

 couuecting Poerwodadi and Goendih (Central Java). 



Several concessions have been asked and granted for 

 tramways throughout the island, but none of them have 

 up to the present been commenced. 

 Population. 



1882. 1883. 1884. 



Europeans* A 35,53.5 36,7«4 37,608 



B 8,222 8,664 9,157 



A 19,994,999 20,367,944 20,665,510 

 B 6,334,330 6,295,544 6.199,946 

 211,775 214,470 

 139,152 149,558 

 10,987 11,229 

 5,067 4,965 



2,632 2,755 



20,676 21,659 



» 



Natives 



Chine.se 



Arabs 



A 211,207 



B 140,571 



A 10,817 



„ B 5,108 



Otherforeign Orientals A 2,603 



„ „ B 20,760 



Total . 



26,764,152 27,099,205 27,316,867 



The above is exclusive of the army and navy, the 

 former of which consisted of 14,982 Europeans and 

 15,254 natives, and the latter of 2,762 Europeans and 

 1,021 natives on December 31, 1884.t 



The number of British subjects resident in Batavia, 

 Samarang, and Sourabaj'a, the three principal ports of 

 Java, at the end of I880 were respectively 6k, 21 and 56. 



Steam Communication. — The British India Steam 

 Navigatiou Company, Limited, commenced in October 

 last a monthly service between Calcutta and Adelaide 

 and back via Singapore, this port, Brisbane, Sydney, and 

 RLelbourne, and the steamers of the Eastern and 

 Australian Steamship Company, which run between 

 China and Australian ports, have again commenced, 

 touching here at irregular intervals. A s regards communic- 

 ation with Europe and Netherlands-India no alteration 

 has taken place. The competition between the various 

 lines of steamers, both Dutch and English, running 

 between this island and European ports, is becoming 

 very keen, and the supply of steam tonnage, except at 

 the height of the shipping season, has been in excess of 

 requirements. The contract with the Netherlands-India 

 Company for the conveyance of Government goods and 

 passengers will expire at the close of 1890, and next 

 year tenders will be invited by Government for a new 

 contract. 



Batavia Harboub Wokks. — The buildings in connec- 

 tion with the harbour are being steadily carried on. The 

 Custom-house, railway station, telegraph olHce, harbour- 

 master's office, kc, mentioned in my last report as being 

 in course of erection, have now been completed. The 

 service of trains between Tandjong-Priok, where the 

 harbour is situated, and Batavia, a distance of about six 

 miles, has lately been greatly improved, there being 

 now sixteen trains each way daily, with the exception of 

 Sundays, on which day there are only five trains each 

 way. There is and assistant harbour-master in attend- 

 ance at Tandjong-Priok every daj', so that ships can 

 now be cleared in and out there a change of considerable 

 importance to shipmasters. 



* A. Java and Madura ; B. other possessions iu 

 Netherlands India. 



t The total European population of Netherlands India 

 n 1834. therefore was 64,509.— Ed, 



Native Labour. — Native labour is in request here for 

 the tobacco estates of Sumatra, and a large number of 

 natives havejbeeu engaged to work there under two year 

 contracts, whilst a trial lot of about 100 have been 

 drafted during the past year to work on sugar estates in 

 Queensland. 



Eruption of the Volcano Smeroe. — On the night of 

 April 18 an eruption of the volcano Smeroe, situated in 

 the eastern part of the Island, occurred, and immense 

 volumes of lava poured forth from it, which almost 

 entirely devastated the neighbouring coffee estate of 

 Kalibeniug. The manager, some overseers, and natives 

 belonging to the estate lost their lives during the 

 eruption. 



Import and Export Duties. — A strong movement has 

 of late been made by the commercial and planting 

 communities to have the export duties on sugar, coffee, 

 and tea abolished, and it is exj)ected that they will be, 

 or at least reduced, during the coming season, increased 

 duties being levied on some articles of import to 

 compensate for the loss of revenue. 



Hypothecation of StandinCt Crops. — In order to 

 assist planters who have lately had to contend against 

 low prices for almost all kind of produce, the Governor- 

 General, at the close of 1884, made certain provisional 

 regulations, .sanctioning the hypothecation of standing 

 crops. These regulations were only valid for twelve 

 months, but in January of this year (1886) they have 

 been rendered permanent by the granting of the Royal 

 sanction. — London and China Express. 



YERBA:— ILEX PARAGUAYENSIS. 



BY HENRY DAUBEE, JUNIOR. 



In Paraguay the Ilex Paraguay crisis grows uncultured 

 in very extensive forests called " Yerbales." It i.t 

 al.so common to some provinces in Brazil, to the terri- 

 tory of Misiones, and to Corrientes, one of the 

 northern provinces of the Argentine Republic. This 

 plant, which belongs to the order AquifoHticcw, is 

 often called also Brazilian holly, on account of its re- 

 semblance to the holly shrub and its being an ever- 

 green ; it seldom attains a height exceeding ten feet. 

 The leaves, which when dried almost exclusively con- 

 stitute the yerba, or tea — sometimes known in com- 

 merce as " Yerba-Mate " — vary from two to five inches 

 in length, and from three-quarters of an inch to one 

 inch and three-quarters in breadth. They are simple, 

 shiny, very short stalked and of a dark green colour, 

 which assumes a lighter hue beneath. The fruit is 

 red and somewhat smaller than a wild-berry, con- 

 taining four seeds, all of which are seldom in full 

 development. Y'erba has been known to the Guarani 

 Indians (once a large and powerful tribe, but now 

 almost exterminated) from time immemorial ; to trace 

 back the period when the leaves of the Ilex were 

 first used for infusion is impracticable. 



The Ilex Paraguayensis has been exported, and 

 planted in two or three countries in the South of 

 Europe, where it appears to have acclimatized itself, 

 naturally not developing as perfectly as in its own 

 natural regions. If cultivated (as it was to some ex- 

 tent some years ago, before the expulsion of the 

 Jesuits from Paraguay), its leaves yield a far more 

 agreeable beverage than if uncultivated. 



On receipt of a substantial sum of money the Para- 

 guayan Government grants concessions to companies 

 to gather the leaves during the season, February to 

 July. These companies fit out expeditions, con- 

 sisting of natives with their families. A suitable spot 

 is selected in the midst of the yerbales, and here 

 the expedition camps. The first operation is to con- 

 struct a number of ranches, roofed with palm leaves 

 or thatched with straw ; these being the abode of the 

 men and their families as long as the leaf-gathering 

 period lasts. Next a space of ground is cleared from 

 all incumbrance and rendered as smooth as its physi- 

 cal condition will permit, being then beaten hard with 

 wooden mallets. The leaves of the ilex are gathered 

 but very often branches, or perhaps almost whole trees 

 are chopped down, placed on the space of ground 

 previously alluded to and left there a few days, the 



