510 Messrs. Burton and Waud's Journey into the Batak Country. 



told us, however, that he had been twice upon the point of destroying it, in 

 consequence of being very unfortunate in gambling. 



Agriculture. 



The soil of Silindung consists chiefly of a fine light grey sand, bearing in 

 every respect a strong resemblance to that of Bengal. The hills in the 

 vicinity contain a large proportion of sand, and likewise a white earth in 

 some quantity, with indications of lime : a good deal of reddish clay was 

 also visible. Rice and sweet potatoes constitute the principal articles of food, 

 and cultivation is confined almost exclusively to them. The former is pro- 

 duced both on the hills and in the vallies in great abundance, and forms a 

 principal article of their barter with the bay. On the hills it is grown by 

 the dry process, according to the common practice with mountain rice ; in 

 the vallies irrigation is employed with some ingenuity. The sweet potatoe 

 grows luxuriantly in every part of the country, but occupies chiefly the 

 sides of the hills. For the herb which they smoke, the gambir leaf which 

 they chew, and the roots and leaves which they employ as dyes for cloth, 

 they depend chiefly on the spontaneous supphes of nature. The sirih, or 

 betel vine, is raised in small quantities as a luxury. The cocoa-nut was not 

 obsei-vable beyond the second range of mountains, nor do we recollect to 

 have seen the a7-eca nut within the district of Silindung. Neither cotton 

 nor tobacco is raised in the country : a good quantity of the former is im- 

 ported by way of the bay of Tajypanooly, and employed in the fabrication of 

 cloth. Tobacco is consumed only in small quantities, as an extraordinary 

 luxury. 



Although the productions of agriculture are thus limited in number, both 

 tlie soil and the climate may be deemed equal to any in the Eastern 

 Archipelago. Indeed, the plain of Silindung is never allowed to remain 

 fallow, and was said to produce from sixty to a hundred-fold, without 

 having recourse to the expedient of transplantation. Cotton, coffee, sugar, 

 indigo, camphor, gambir, benzoin, pepper, and spices, under the manage- 

 ment of a liberal system of government, would shortly fill the country with 

 riches. The population is sufficiently great, and of such a character as 

 would, in a clear and open country like this, admit of an effective govern- 

 ment without much trouble or expense ; and if, as we suspect, a communi- 

 cation exists between the sea and the great lake of Toba, every local advan- 

 tage would be found that could contribute to the success of such a design. 



