12 AGRICULTURE IN THE TROPICS [PT. I 



Mahrattas, Tamils, Telugus, Burmese, and many others of less 

 note. In the south-eastern parts of Asia the Malayan races are 

 of importance, more especially the natives of Java. Africa is 

 mainly inhabited by negro races, and the same is the case in 

 the West Indies, while Mexico and South America are chiefly 

 the home of the mixed race, derived from the Spaniard or 

 Portuguese, negro, and Indian. 



Speaking in a broad general way, all these races have 

 similar faults regarded from the agricultural point of view. In 

 particular, they may all be justly accused of what we may 

 perhaps term in a general way indolence. However hard they 

 may have to work upon their own properties to make a liveli- 

 hood, the general principles upon which they act would seem to 

 be to do no work that can possibly be avoided, never to do 

 to-day what can possibly be put off until to-morrow, and to do 

 as their great grandfather did and because he did it. It can 

 be readily seen, therefore, that to induce them to progress in 

 agriculture, or in anything else, is a work of extraordinary 

 difficulty. Such people show no desire for progress, and have 

 no enterprise in taking up new industries or undertakings. 



In fact, it would appear that, as with other people, the chief 

 stimulus to progress is increasing pressure of population^ So 

 long as the natural capital of forests exists, and the inhabitants 

 are but few, so long do the people subsist as much as possible 

 upon chena, a very large area being required for each individual. 

 As the population increases under settled government, chena is 

 perforce given up on the introduction of more regular methods 

 of cultivation, which in turn are improved as the number of 

 people increases. (The two things of course go together and 

 react upon one another, every improvement in agriculture 

 being followed by an increase in population up to the limit of 

 subsistence, unless checked by other factors) This limit has 

 not yet been reached in much of tropical America and else- 

 where. 



Not only is the tropical native characterised by indolence, 

 but also by want of foresight. The man who looks forward 

 more than a few months is a very provident individual indeed. 

 A not untypical case was lately furnished in a certain district of 



