278 THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



for work on the rubber estates in those countries. It 

 must also be remembered that the native methods of 

 cultivating rice-fields and gardens for fruit and food- 

 stuffs is antiquated and extravagant ; labour-saving 

 machinery and modern implements are practically un- 

 known, and the result is waste of energy and time in 

 many directions. 



In the eastern districts a large proportion of the 

 coolies employed are recruited from the island of 

 Madoera, close to the province of Soerabaya. This 

 island is poor in agricultural resources ; but it has a 

 large population of poverty-stricken inhabitants, of 

 whom a considerable proportion are willing to go to 

 work on the plantations of the mainland. They are 

 weak and sickly on first arrival at the estates, but make 

 useful labourers after a period of regular rations has 

 improved their physique. 



No system of contract labour is permitted in Java. 

 The coolies are free to work for any rate of wage they 

 can obtain, and they take full advantage of this con- 

 dition, leaving an estate at any time they feel inclined 

 to do so without the smallest consideration for the in- 

 convenience occasioned by such action. In order to 

 check this inclination, estate managers endeavour to 

 form resident colonies of plantation hands, and to those 

 who remain permanently a higher wage is granted and 

 many privileges allowed. On old-established estates 

 this resident labouring force is a prominent feature ; on 

 rubber plantations, however, it is only a limited factor, 

 owing to the comparatively recent date of the industry, 

 and to its unpopularity compared to other cultivations. 

 Another reason is that the climate and land best suited 



