COCOA-GROWING COUNTRIES 445 



the immigrants on the plantations, the hospitals, and 

 the houses, gives the Government in Surinam a lot 

 of trouble, and is entrusted to a special Department of 

 Immigration. In this way an absolute guarantee is 

 obtained as well by the planter as by the immigrant. 



This system has made agriculture possible after the 

 emancipation of the slaves. It is true that the labour 

 obtained in this way is not cheap, the building and 

 upkeep of hospitals and houses and the nursing of 

 the sick people require much money, but we must not 

 forget that in many countries of South and Central 

 America labour is still more expensive, and high wages 

 have to be paid up to a dollar a day. 



Some idea of the wages may be gathered from the 

 following examples : for digging work about f. 1 is 

 paid per 3000 cubic feet, forking about f.15 per acre, 

 weeding about f.4, hoeing about f.6, clearing the bush 

 about f.16, clearing the virgin forest about f.32 per 

 acre (f.l = ls. 8d.). 



In one respect the East Indian is much superior 

 to the Javanese : he is more successful as an independ- 

 ent labourer. After the expiration of the contract the 

 Government gives many facilities to the men who want 

 to remain in Surinam to settle as small proprietors. 

 Many an East Indian has settled in this way and is 

 now a successful small proprietor. The Javanese, how- 

 ever, have in this respect not the same skill and assiduity 

 as the British Indians. But still a certain number of 

 Javanese have latterly settled as small proprietors. 



In bringing new land into cultivation, land is chosen 

 by preference on which in old times coffee or sugar has 

 been cultivated and which is covered with secondary 

 bush (" kapoewirie "). Much of the old drainage system 

 is still present in such fields, and this makes the digging 

 work less expensive than when virgin land has to be 

 cleared and all the small trenches and " pullers " and 

 part of the main trench have to be dug. 



The clay-soil, already described, is rather uniform, 

 but nevertheless it is in some places more productive 



