JASPER PARK 



3126 



JAVA 



and these are sometimes arranged in layers. 

 Jasper is a hard, strong rock, and takes an 

 excellent polish. It is used for mantels, pil- 

 lars and interior finishings, and often for the 

 walls of buildings. 



Jasper of the first quality, when polished, 

 forms a gem of considerable value. It was 

 one of the stones in the breastplate of the 

 Jewish High Priest (Exodus XXXIX, 13) and 

 is also mentioned in Revelation as one of the 

 twelve stones in the t foundation of the New 

 Jerusalem (Revelation XXI, 19). The Greeks 

 and Romans considered it to possess healing 

 properties and believed that it would draw 

 the poison from snake bites. 



Jasper is found in many localities. Some of 

 the best known quarries in the United States 

 are at Pipestone, Minnesota, Sioux Falls, 

 South Dakota, and in Colorado. A coarse 

 variety of chalcedony (which see), commonly 

 called jasper, was used by the Indians for arrow 

 heads. It was this rock that Longfellow 

 wrote of in Hiawatha : 



"At the doorway of his wigwam 

 Sat the ancient arrow-maker ; 

 In the land of the Dacotahs, 

 Making arrow-heads of jasper, 

 Arrow-heads of chalcedony." 



For picture showing position of the jasper in 

 the breastplate of the Jewish High Priest, see 

 HIGH PRIEST. 



JASPER PARK. See PARKS, NATIONAL, 

 subhead Parks of Canada. 



JAUNDICE, jahn'dis, or jawn' dis, or IC- 

 TERUS, ik'terus, a diseased condition- occa- 

 sioned by some interference with the discharge 

 of the liver secretions. It may be caused by 

 gall stones in the hepatic or cystic ducts, or 

 by inflammation of the bile ducts, preventing 

 a free flow of bile into the intestines. The 

 bile, when not discharged through its natural 

 channel, is absorbed by the blood. Jaundice, 

 which is a symptom of disease rather than a 

 disease itself, is manifested by a yellowish 

 color of the skin and whites of the eyes, weak- 

 ness, loss of appetite, lassitude, constipation 

 and excessive flow of urine. In some cases 

 nausea and vomiting occur. Purgatives and 

 tonics are usually given, and the diet is care- 

 fully selected. A bad case of jaundice may 

 last for two months, and any one suffering 

 from the ailment should be under the care of 

 a physician. See BILE; LIVER. J.H.K. 



JAVA, jah'va, one of the richest and most 

 populous islands of the world, the most impor- 

 tant of the Dutch East Indies. It lies south 



of the equator, between the Sea of Java and 

 the Indian Ocean, is separated from Sumatra 

 on the west by the Strait of "Sunda, and from 

 the island of Bali on the east by the Strait of 

 Bali. The island is long and narrow, its great- 

 est length from northwest to southeast being 

 660 miles. Including Madura and several 

 small adjacent islands which belong to Java, 

 it has an area of 50,554 square miles, a little 

 more than that of the state of New York and 

 nearly twice that of New Brunswick. 



The south coast is steep and rocky, but low 

 swamps overgrown with mango trees and bushes 

 border the northern shores. Java is one of 

 the most volcanic regions in the world, having 

 forty-five volcanoes in height from 2,000 to 



LOCATION MAP 



12,040 feet. In the western part of the island 

 the volcanoes are most numerous and destruc- 

 tive. In 1686, in the eruption of Ringglut, 

 10,000 lives were lost, and in 1901, the Kloet,- 

 a smaller volcano, destroyed crops and towns 

 150 to 250 miles distant. The well-known ex- 

 plosive eruption of Krakatoa, in the Strait of 

 Sunda, in 1883, was one of the most disastrous 

 in history. 



Java's mountains are fertile almost to their 

 summits. They are overrun by European wild 

 flowers, and on their lower slopes there are 

 fields of corn, tobacco, cabbages and potatoes. 

 The valleys and plains are exceedingly fertile, 

 and are well watered by many rivers. Coffee, 

 tea, sugar, cotton, fruit and spices are exten- 

 sively raised and exported. The flooded rice 

 fields of the lowlands yield Java's most impor- 

 tant crop and the chief food of the natives. 

 In 19-12, 6,300,000 acres of rice were under 

 cultivation and one-half of the crop was ex- 

 ported, most of which was sent to Borneo. 

 Teak wood, rubber and sandal wood are other 

 exports of importance. Four-fifths of Java's 

 trade is with Holland; extensive trade is also 

 carried on with Singapore and Penang. 



