time, after ihe rains, \vh£n ilie fidds are full of wa((^r, they 

 spread the seed aWoad!, and it grows up 3j>oiuaneoualy, 

 wilhem the aid of cither boe or plough ; weedi do not spring 

 up, and the crop ig produced of its own accord ; each ear has 

 hundreds of grains, heoce in these western regionatfie price of 

 lice 19 very moderate, Oa the sloping sides of the hills, also, 

 rice may be planted, where the ground, if butjiigt chiselled 

 by a bodkin, and a few grains cast in, at the proper ieaaort, 

 will yield at) abondaut harvest. The rice doet not need 

 a mill to grind it, but is put ioto a long wooden trough, when 

 several i>eople beat it with long pestles ; as soon ag the grain is 

 freed frond theatalk they ejfi itout, audagahi ]>ound it to dear 

 it from the husk. The rifie of Java is of a long grain and 

 softj much auperior to that of China. The concerns of each 

 family are managed by women, hence parents consider it 

 of im]ionance to have daughters born, by the oiarriage of 

 whom 8on«'ia-law are brought into the fsuiiily ; bni when a 

 son is born ihey are less plt^sed, because at bis marriage he 

 goes oni to be housed claevvheie. Their bouses are like 

 pavilions, open on all md&s ; they use neither chairs uor ta- 

 bles, but spread mats on the floor to sit ou. The floors of their 

 rooms are all covered with these mats, and surrounded by 

 tapestry : their bedsteads are not high, thftir mairesses are 

 soft; and their pillows are piled up like a i-^wer, six or seven 

 stories higli. They sit generally cross-legged^ and squat 

 down when they see a visitor, holding each others han Js by 

 way of ceremony. They commonly esteem betel, and when a 

 stranger arrives they present it as a mark of respect. The 

 veasele which contain it, among tlie rich, are made of gold 

 aud silveFjbut among common people of brass. Their sjjjt- 

 toons for holding the voided juice of the betel-nut are as larga 

 as fiower-pots, and are also made of brass* Men and wo- 

 men sit together without resiriclion or suspicion. When 

 they eat, they do not use chopsticks, but take the food up in 

 their hands ; they consider beef a delicacy, but do iioi touch 



