240 



Of the various agricultural operations of the natives, the only 

 one which deserves mention here is the rice industry. As in all 

 the Asiatic tropics, rice is the staple food of the natives, and a 

 correspondingly large proportion of the land is devoted to it. 

 Between Batavia and Buitenzorg, one would estimate that two 

 thirds of the land is in rice, and in certain other places the pro- 

 portion is doubtless higher. 



In the lowlands between Buitenzorg and the coast, the rice 

 fields are usually extensive, and are separated by fields of tapioca 

 and the groves and gardens around the villages. An observer 

 gets the impression that the best land is always devoted to rice, 

 while the other crops merely occupy what is left. That is doubt- 

 less true to a considerable extent, but the possibilities of irrigation 

 must be considered. 



The average rice sawah is located on a gently sloping hillside 

 and is divided by earth terraces into numerous small lev^el plots, 

 whose size depends on the steepness of the slope. The natives 

 avoid unnecessary labor as far as possible, and the terraces follow 

 the contours quite closely. This leads to a peculiar optical effect, 

 by which the relief of the ground is accentuated when viewed from 

 the bottom, and is apparently flattened when seen from the top 

 of the slope. 



On the steeper hillsides, the natives go to great pains to use all 

 the available land, building earth walls sometimes eight feet 

 high, with nearly vertical outer faces, to support a narrow strip 

 of rice above it. If the hillside is rocky, the walls are so located 

 as to take advantage of the larger stones, while the smaller mov- 

 able rocks are built into the terrace walls. The crest of the 

 walls rises only a few inches above the water level behind it, and 

 is about eighteen inches wide on top. So close to the water, 

 they are always muddy, and are generally covered with various 

 small weeds, especially sensitive plants. Laborers are always 

 busy in the sawahs, working with huge hoes, and most of their 

 labor seems to be the maintenance of the terraces. 



The water supply is always taken from a river. The rapidly 

 flowing streams descending from the mountains are diverted into 

 irrigation canals, and the water is conducted at a slight fall in a 



