Miscellaneous. 



254 



[March, 1910. 



Rice, 



The system of rice culture in Java 

 is about the same as that of the Philip- 

 pine Islands. Mr. Pitt, who has charge 

 of the Government Economic Garden 

 at Buitenzorg, told me that the native 

 method of culture was the best system 

 when pursued according to the custom 

 of the better class of natives. The appli- 

 cation of manure has not been found 

 practicable, as the increased yield did 

 not justify the outlay. After one rice 

 crop is harvested another is immediately 

 planted. The fields are never allowed 

 to remain idle, but are always kept 

 in cultivation. This is in part due to the 

 congested population, but undoubtedly 

 greater yields are obtained than would 

 be the case if the fields were allowed 

 to return to jungle. 



The rice is picked one head at a time, 

 and later is sorted so that the stems 

 of the same length are together. 



About two-thirds of the soil in Java 

 is tilled by hand labour. The instru- 

 ment principally used is a long, broad- 

 bladed hoe with a blunt handle. Tools 

 are made and owned by the natives. 

 The sod on the dikes is all removed 

 and worked into the soil for fertiliser. 



Kapok, 



From the car windows I observed a 

 large kapok plantation and was t:>ld 

 that the kapok trees were formerly 

 planted along the irrigation ditches 

 throughout Java, but this custom was 

 stopped, as the native chiefs in each 

 section secured all the kapok. 



Cinchona. 

 The government cinchona plantation 

 is located in the same volcanic basin 

 as the Malabar tea estate. It extends 

 along tbe sides of the basin for several 

 miles and includes elevations from 3,000 

 to 5,000 feet. Trees at an elevation of 

 5,000 feet are healthier than those below 

 or above this point. At this elevation 

 I saw trees forty years old that were 

 possibly 8 inches in diameter and 30 feet 

 tall. Seeds for these trees came from 

 South America, and from these trees 

 seeds were secured in turn for the other 

 cinchona plantations in Java. The 

 sandy, volcanic soil contains plenty of 

 humus and receives 3,000 millimeters of 

 rainfall annually. Seeds from the older 

 trees are used for propagation. They 

 are planted in raised seed beds 4 by 20 

 feet in size. Each bed is protected from 

 the sun, rain, and wild animals by the 

 construction of a grass, or bamboo 

 shack. In the daytime one side is opened 

 to receive light and air. The young 

 plants are liable to damp off if given 



too much water. After six months the 

 seedlings are transplanted to long nur- 

 sery beds which are not protected. Here 

 they remain until they are planted 

 in the field. Plants for new and 

 • rich soils are propagated from seed, 

 the plants intended for old and poorer 

 soils are grafted. This is done while 

 the trees are in the long nursery beds. 



The grafting is done by the natives 

 and the results are excellent. Both the 

 seed beds and the nursery beds aie 

 provided with new soil every two years. 

 The soft, mellow soil containing much 

 more humus is preferable. The plant- 

 ation I visited is terraced to prevent 

 the washing of the soil. 



The trees are transplanted from the 

 nursery beds during the rainy season 

 and are set out 3 by 4 feet apart. 

 Each terrace is about 4 feet wide and 

 slants in a little. A rectangular hole 

 18 inches deep by 18 inches long and 

 6 inches wide is dug near each tree. 

 This hole serves as a pocket to hold 

 rain water, it also allows the air to 

 enter the soil and serves as a receptacle 

 in which weeds and grass are deposited. 

 The soil on this terrace is kept thoroughly 

 cultivated ; both men and women do 

 this work and are paid according to the 

 amount of land cleared. At each clear- 

 ing the old holes are tilled and new holes 

 are dug. 



Harvesting begins in two years and is 

 kept up definitely, replanting being 

 done where the old trees are removed. 

 Trees are not usually allowed to grow 

 for a longer period than five years. 

 Harvesting is done during the dry 

 season. 



Harvesting by years. — First year, one 

 lower branch as large as one's thumb 

 is removed ; second year, the second 

 branch is removed ; third year, every 

 other tree is removed ; fourth year, 

 other trees are removed, replanting be- 

 gins ; fifth year, the largest trees are 

 removed, replanting continues, 



Very old and poor soils are fertilised 

 with castor-bean cake which is placed 

 in the bottom of the holes around the 

 trees. 



When the plants are young a rather 

 small eating insect attacks the lower 

 side of the leaves, causing them to 

 curl and wrinkle. The most successful 

 method of combatirjg this insect is to 

 keep the plant growing so rapidly that 

 several small leaves are formed for every 

 leaf destroyed. After two years the 

 plants are so thrifty that damage from 

 this insect need not be considered. 

 Another pest is a grub which eats the 

 roots of the young plants. These grubs 



