CHAPTER XI. 



STJMATEA, AND OTHEE JAVA SORTS. 



The island of Sumatra lies directly under the equator, stretch- 

 ing from northeast to fouthwest, with an area of 168,000 square 

 miles. It is 1,040 miles in length, and measures from 60 to 266 

 miles in breadth, being the second largest of the Malayan group. 

 A chaia of mountains runs from one extremity of the island to the 

 other, reaching an altitude of from 1,550 feet to 6,000 feet, often 

 dividing into double and treble ranges. A score of lofty volcanic 

 cones rear their heads 6,000 to 12,000 feet above the sea-level. 

 Between the ranges are vast plateaux which are thickly populated, 

 owing to the fine climate. Between the sea-shore and the moun- 

 tains on the west coast there are narrow stretches of low land in- 

 terspersed with spurs, which reach the shore in the form of bold, 

 overhanging cliffs. Slow-running rivers wind their way through 

 broad alhivial plains, which are covered with jungle and forest. 

 Lakes of great beauty lie hid away amidst the moimtains. In 

 1666 Padang came under the rule of the Netherlands, and so con- 

 tinued until 1795, when the British gained control, holding it 

 until 1819, when it again passed under Dutch rule. 



A small quantity of coffee was produced on the west coast of 

 Sumatra in the eighteenth century, but owing to careless cultiva- 

 tion the product was of poor quality. 



From the only available authorities, which are not over re- 

 liable, we learn that, in the year 1800, there were exported 2,000 

 piculs (272,000 poimds), but from that date until 1820 the exports 

 were of small account. From 1820 to 1830 an average of about 

 4,000,000 pounds were exported annually, rising to between 11,- 

 000,000 and 12,000,000 pounds annually from 1836 to 1845. 

 In 1847 the Dutch government decreed that all coffee grown 



