3°4 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[October i, 1884. 



The Residence Kembang is here foremost; its djati 

 woods, both for extent and excellence, are equal, if not 

 superior, to the whole remainder of Java. 



Both forestry and the forest police had in the begin- 

 ning a difficult task, both as to the eradication of abuses 

 and the prevention of trespasses; they can now show 

 with complacency that the condition in these respects is 

 visibly ameliorated. With equal complacency can the 

 results be pointed out of a regular cultivation, the fell- 

 ing and planting anew by parcels at a time, which has 

 already given some thousand bunders (in Rembang alone 

 3,200 H.A.) of new, pure, young djati wood, with vigorous 

 straight young trees of equal age and growth; a con- 

 siderable capital for the future. 



The system adopted in 18(15, greeted with approval by 

 private industry, created, however, along with the com- 

 mercial and speculative spirit, some great oscillations, from 

 extravagant, nay sometimes inconsiderate confidence and 

 venturesomeness, to equally great and mostly uncalled for 

 despondency. The balance is not yet quite restored, and 

 consequently the production on a vast scale and for the 

 European market is depressed. 



The whole number of concerns for djati-wood cutting 

 in Java and Madura amounts now to 31; the smallest of 

 which in .Tapara has b'l H.A. (87 bahoes), the largest in 

 Madioen, 1,707 H.A. (2,700 bahoes), altogether in Java (in 

 Madoera there are none), 14,600 H.A. (20,724 bahoes) of 

 djati-woods in cultivation. 



And does the " Ordonnautie '" of 1874 now ^ give an 

 ultima ratio upon the system to be followed ? We cannot 

 say. Burning questions start up, and now and then take 

 the lead, such as the one about " the cultivation of the 

 djati forests with free labour on Government account.* 

 Speculations about this and other questions concerning 

 our subject, and the probable future of the djati-forests 

 and their cultivation under any of these systems are 

 outside our plan. 



Over against the djati forests stand the collective so 

 called wild-wood forests; the management and disposal of 

 which was also regulated by tin- " Ordonnantie aforesaid 

 of 1865. Applications for regular felling were not made 

 hitherto by Europeans ; nor did they become to them an 

 object of 'forest-culture. They therefore fall behind our 

 present plan, as likewise the mere temporary grants to 

 the natives. A table in Stsbld. 1874. No. 110. gives the 

 protected sorts, thereby more or less intimating their 

 value. f 



Among these so-called wild-woods, there are several that 

 are very remarkable ; either for their beautiful, fine grained 

 wood, admirably adapted for all kinds of cabinet maker's 

 work, or for the less high, but not less useful, purposes 

 of daily life, commercial needs, etc., in the same manner 

 as in Europe oak is not always deemed essential. What 

 stands chiefly in the way of all these woods are the 

 great claims for preparing, seasoning, etc., whereas in the 

 djati this gives little trouble, which, together with lack 

 of room and active capital, causes a scanty store, and 

 thus an impossibility to satisfy all orders. Moreover these 

 wild-woods are still too generally unknown and nesrletcted. 

 The result of all this, however, is that now the Batavian 

 native and the- Chinese cabinet-makers (and their number 

 is really not trifling) receive their wood for furniture. 

 for instance the Rengas or Tripos (Gluta benge* and seme- 

 carpus heterophylla, closely related to the Anactir&ieat i, 

 from Singapore, ignoring Java and Sumatra, where it 

 occurs every where, or from the Rinat of Ambon or Lassi 



\ ide the quoted work of Cordes, p. 130; further F. G. 

 v. Bloemen Waanders: Must Netherland be ruled on con- 

 servative or liberal principles?; silvicola. A few observ- 

 ations on Forestry in Netherland India." (Tijds. v. Nij. 

 en Landb. in Ned.' Indie XXV. 366/61,485/532) and others, 

 t An enumeration which might well be modified, or 

 rather amplified. A few insignificant kinds are mentioned. 

 and whole genera of the most useful overlooked. Thus 

 the not at all general, but rather accidental. Tjemara 

 called Ki poeiri, the podocarpm cupressma (Miq. II. 1075) 

 is mentioned, whereas tie- real Tjemaras, the Cassvarina 

 spec. div. especially esquiseti folia, is not mentioned ; the 

 whole series of Waroe, llil-i*r,i.+. spec. div. (Miq. I- 153). 

 especially the Waroe Goenoeng Heh. Vulpinus neither. And 

 we could cite more such instances. 



of Ternate, equally good Semecarpus sorts. And with other 

 species the same phenomenon is observable, an anomally 

 which ought well to be taken into account, and this the 

 more as the condition was formerly very different.— Java 

 furnished, for instance, its Sana wood, Pterocarpm indiea 

 a Papibonacea (Miq. I 135) as "Sun-wood." Ambou its 

 Lnigoa, a variety of the same species, as " Ambon wood," 

 a delicate and durable cabinet maker's wood, to Nether- 

 land, where you might look for it in vain at present. 

 And now still we have instances before us. Cuba sends 

 its "Mitgagua," Hibiscus elatus, to North America (New- 

 Bedford) to be laid, after being bent by steam, in a 

 running fello round the wheels of his Americaines. Nether- 

 land might do exactly th.- same with the almost identical 

 II nroe goenveng, Hibiscus vulpinus, which, however, not- 

 withstanding completely successful trials proclaimed as 

 much as possible, is not used even in Java. The felloes 

 are sawn out of the slab, from the much broader Warot 

 Gambong, Hilriicus tiliaceus. And of this, too, we might 

 adduce a number of examples. Change and improvement 

 are here loudly called for. 



West India possesses no Forest culture by Europeans 

 in the above sense, and therefore we refer, as to the 

 kinds of wood, to what is mentioned on this subject in 

 CI. 10. Lett. E, and especially to the Literature on this 

 subject noted there. There, too, change, improvement, 

 development are desirable, and much remains to be done 

 still. — Van Musschenbroek..— Indian Mercuni. 



THE SEYCHELLES ARCHIPELAGO. 



REPORT BY U. S. A. CONSUL MUSSEY. 



(Continue/! from p. 681, Vol. III.) 



IMPORTS AND REVENUE. 



The imports of the Seychelles consist of general merchand- 

 ise, and the exports of coconuts, coconut oil, vanilla, cacao, 

 coffe-, cloves, nutmegs, fruits, vacuo bags, &e. The table 

 appended gives the amount of customs dues received 

 during the year 1881 : — 



Customs £27,658 50 



Licenses 8,448 50 



Excise 6,841 50 



Stamps I,lfi3 00 



Taxes 11,863 50 



Fines, forfeitures, and fees 0,315 00 



Kent of Crown lauds 513 00 



Post Office 1,212 50 



Miscellaneous 1,339 00 



Total 64.754 50 



The country is poor, money is scarce, and. owing to the 

 shrinkage in the production of coconu. - oil, revenue has 

 been diminished, business has been arrested, and string- 

 ency in the money market has followed. As a natural 

 sequence some time must elapse before, an equilibrium 

 can be restored, and if the disease which now infests 

 the coconut trees and is fast killing them off will awaken 

 planters to the necessity of putting in a variety of crops, 

 instead of depending alone upon the product of the coco- 

 nut tree for the support of themselves and their families, 

 there is no reason why the revenue may not soon be 

 swelled to its former proportions. 



AGRICULTURE AND PRODUCTS. 



Seychelles is favored with a climate admirably adapted 

 to agricultural purposes; a soil strong and rich; and there 

 appears no valid reason why its prosperity should be 

 arrested, except by gross shiftlessness on the part of land- 

 owners, .and a temporary scarcity of money. The influx 

 of new blood with capital would soon raise the exports 

 to a higher figure, ami with increased exports come aug- 

 mented imports and a greater volume of money. 



The crops which grow specially well in Seychelles are 

 vanilla, cacao, cloves, coffee, nutmegs, oranges, and lemons. 

 The first named grows with great vigor and produces 

 abundantly, and one planter has sold $17,000 of vanilla 

 in one year from a plantation of ten acres. This season 

 considerable new ground will come into bearing, and the 

 exports of vanilla from Sevchelles hereafter will be an 

 item of some importance. The price of Sevchelles vanilla 

 in the Paris market ranges from $6 to S8 per pound. — 

 Indian Mtrcuru. 



