20 EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 



almost every row of their crops. Although they have rows horizontal, and sometimes horizontal 

 ditches and beds between them running with the ditches, yet they do not irrigate crops on dry 

 land by running water in small streamlets among the plants. This is almost done by accident 

 on some of their beds, and yet the idea seems never to have presented itself to them, and the 

 advantage perhaps would not be great to their principal crops. These beds are made sloping 

 in every direction, and many of them elevated quite high in the middle, and seem designed 

 rather with a view of perfect drainage, after heavy rains. So of many of their ditches around 

 their fields and on the sides of roads and the streets of their villages. By observations made 

 at Tumai with the wet-bulb thermometer, the atmosphere is dry in winter, more so than islands 

 generally in the same latitudes. But they have showers of rain almost daily, and these are 

 often repeated in fine drifting mists, occurring almost every hour during the day. 



Sugar-cane is cultivated extensively in all the middle portions of the island, and almost every 

 village in this part has several sugar-mills in operation in January and February, when they 

 harvest their cane. 



They generally select for sugar-cane their strong clay lands, red and mulatto, with limestone 

 sub-soil. But sometimes alluvial soil near the streams is cultivated in the cane, where it attains 

 a greater size. Their best cane is small, and cannot yield a large proportion of saccharine mat- 

 ter. Their rows are less than four feet apart, and very thick in the rows. They are carefully 

 cultivated, and those on the outside neatly tied up together to prevent injury from wind. 



The sugar-mills are of the most simple construction, consisting of thin vertical cylinders, the 

 central ones having cogs which work in mortices cut in each of the other two, and turn them. 

 It has motion imparted by means of a simple sweep drawn by a single small ox moving around 

 in a circle. The ox is geared to the sweep by traces attached to straps over a large rude saddle 

 on his back, yet his pace is a brisk one, and the labor seems to be light. 



Two or three canes are crushed at a time, when they are caught by a man or woman on the 

 opposite side of the mill, and twisted together, and reintroduced between the other cylinder and 

 the central one, and pass out the last time entirely- divested of their juice. 



The juice is caught in large tubs in holes dug in the ground near the heavy timbers making 

 the foundation and platform of the mill, and conveyed to 1 ie boilers near by. 



The boilers are made of clay, and nearly heart-shaped at he rim, which is kept bound around 

 with fresh green palm-leaves. 



The bottom of the boiler is generally elevated like the bottom of a junk bottle. 



They do not use sugar for sweetening tea and other drinks, but make of it, or the sirup, 

 sweet cakes or sweetmeats, and groundnut candy, and parched millet candy, &c. 



The production must be limited, and, no doubt, their method of manufacture is wasteful and 

 imperfect, or sugar and molasses would be found in more common use. Their pressed sugar- 

 cane is carefully dried and stacked away in cords between trees and stakes for fuel. 



Tobacco is extensively cultivated, and in universal use for smoking. They cultivate a large 

 coarse variety, as well as one small and fine flavored. Both of these would be better if they 

 understood and practised a better method of curing. They pluck the leaves and string them 

 on poles, and hang them up indifferently in the sun or shade, and suffer them to be wet or dry, 

 as accident may direct ; yet some specimens could be found which were good , 



Cotton is cultivated on the island, but no traces could be found at this season of the year, 

 except at the spinning-wheels, and these were of the most simple and primitive description ; 

 and on their looms, which were alike simple ; and in their dress, which was entirely of cotton. 

 It is probable that they raise enough cotton for their own consumption. 



