293 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Nov. !, 1893. 
is difficult to believe that in such crowded seas birda | 
and waves could not have carried them all over the 
iirchipelago in a few years. But the statements are 
explicit, coming from various sources, all iuterestfed 
in the matter. More curious still it is to learu that 
neither the islanders nor their neighbours ever eat 
the fruit in any form. "The only purpose for which 
the Amboynese use cloves," says Mr. Biokmor, "is 
to prepare neat models of their praus and bamboo 
huts by running a small wiret'irough the buds before 
they are dried." The native word shows that this in- 
difference always prevailed. It is clifnld which has 
no analogy in the neighbouring languages, but bears 
a resemblance uninistakeable t ) the iMViueie thiiui-li, 
" sweet-smelling nails." From this fact it would ap- 
pear that the pretty ceremony described by Mr. Fraser 
in his famous "Golden Bough" must have been in- 
troduced quite lately — perhaps transferred from 
another plant. Doubtless, the Chinaman was first of 
civilised mortals to discover the virtue of the clove. 
The earliest mention in Europe occurs in a law passed 
by Aurelian about 17.) a.d., where the term used is 
tarojUuiii — evidently a corruption of the Arabic c«^''/>/<(f. 
This spice, above all, tempted the nations of the West 
to explore the Eastern seas. At the beginning of the 
sixteenth century the price of cloves in England was 
thirty shi lings a pound, and the dema .d unlimited. 
No wonder that all the ))eople of Europe coveted such 
a gold mine. The first discovery is claimed by the 
Italian. LudovicoBarthema of IJologna, asserts that 
he reached Amboyna in l.'iOG, but his descriptions are 
very vague for an eye-witness. D' Abreu, a Portuguese, 
arrived in 1,511, and Magellan foUowed in 1.52'. The 
misfortunes of the Spice Islands had already begun. 
As the c'ove I ecame better known in Europe all the 
peoples on the trade route grew more and more active. 
D'Abreu tells us that on his arrival Chinamen, Arabs, 
Malays, Javanese swarmed in the narrow seaj. In 
1512 the Sultan of Ternate observed this increasing 
bustle, and he sent a fieet to conquer the islanders — 
not only that but to convert them to Islam. Massa- 
cres and persecutions followed. Then came the Por- 
tuguese evangelising in their usual fashion, baptising 
people by the thousand. The Su'lan himself went to 
Goa in 1.535, and professed Christianity with grand 
ceremonial; but in the same year a Moslem fanatic, 
whom the Portuguese term " Cantalino," led his fe lows 
to a grand massacre, which has been n.imed " the 
Moluccan Vespers." Not a convert escaped, they say. 
In Q'ernate and elsowhera the slaughter was terrible. 
Meantime the Dutch had neen creeping in, shipping, 
as the Portuguese declare, aboard their vessels untd 
they had spied out all the indies. Then Holland 
sent a fleet and after ten years' warfare the Spice 
Islands were seized. Forthwith zealous missionaries 
began to eradicate the errors of Popery, but not be 
it observed, in the papal manner. It is not surprising, 
however, that the poor Islanders declined to hear 
any more about religion. The number of Christi ins 
to this day is imperceptible. 
Magellan's first cargo of cloves is said to have been 
2,360,000 lbs. Think of it -at thirty shillings a pound ! 
At this present time the whole yield averages only 
350,000 lb. Such is the result of the monopoly. The 
English Government was persuaded in former days to 
suppress Irish industries by methods which seem in- 
credible tons; but its cruelty and follj' are not worth 
notice compared with the Dutch system in the Spice 
Islands. In the first place they despatched seven 
hundred soldiers and a great fleet to occupy the nut- 
meg islands. This war lasted eighteen years. One- 
fourth of the population perished, the remainder fled 
by sea, and the Dutch had to re-people the soil with 
slaves and convicts. The language and the type of 
the aborigines are matters of question now. Then the 
Dutch turned their attention to cloves. So soon as 
they felt themselves strong enough they forced a treaty 
on the Sultan of Ternate, which stipulated that all 
the clove trees in Buru should be destroyed. The 
people resisted, fighting desperately, and the Sultan 
h.'jjdtoask help. An expedition was sent from Am- 
boyna. After five years' war the Dutch triumphed, of 
course ; all the natives surviving were settled in one 
spot, arouud Kayeli Bay, within reach of the garrison, 
and the clove was actually exterminated all over that 
large island. It is not known to exist there to tbia 
day. But the Sultan had direct authority over the 
two islands of Tidore and Machian. After previous 
experience compulsory measures seemed inadvisable. 
So the Dutch East India Company offered to f ay 
a yearly sum of 17.4<X» guilders for the privilege of 
destroying all the clove and nutmeg treea through- 
out his dominions which, we believe, is paid to this 
day. The operation was carried out ruthlessly with 
I murders on one side and massacres on the other. 
I Until the conquest < f the islands by the English at 
' the beijinning of this century, expeditions were fitted 
I out every year to search for trees- When the Dutch 
I returned they gave u]) this practice. But the mischief 
was done. For many years past the revenue of the 
Spice Island has not covered the expenditure.— 
ill'/ •Staudlrd. 
PLANTING IN THE NEW HEBRIDES- 
Sir,— The settlers here expected great things from 
your leader on the lOlh of August last year, and 
every mail has been looked forward to with interest, 
a,i the advent of one good settler with the means 
to pay his way is a matter of no small importance 
in the New Hebrides, where we seem to suffer from 
our connection with the Colony of Now South 
Wales, which is said to be insolvent. An authority 
on affairs here recently stated tbat there was not 
a settler in the group who was safe to be trusted 
to the extent of one hundred pounds sterling; so 
you can form a fair idea of the extent and influence 
of the "planting " community. The only residents 
are copra makers, and, as a rule, these are not the 
class ot men to develop a new couutry or to set a 
good example to the natives. Given a copra station 
and a small cutter or craft more money is made 
by sale and exchange of " black birds," and in pick- 
ing up the remains of ca h brought here from 
Queensland plantations, than actual profits on copm. 
What IS given in exchange for that cash might sur- 
prise those framers of the law restricting the sale 
of arms, ammunition, and grog in the Islands. Gen- 
erally speaking, a copra maker is a biid of passage 
leaving nothing to mark the spot where he carried on 
his trade. His house and smoke house is composed of 
leaves and bamboos, and he clears perhaps a quarter 
of an acre near the sea beach, living not exactly 
a hand-to-mouth existence, but from month to 
month as the stores arrive and his shipments aro 
made. 
.\3 you h.\ve pointed out so admirably, in these 
tim s when men cannot find an opening for moder- 
ate capital, it is to be regretted that a country such 
as this should be left to the bats and wild pigs, as 
the natives are fast dying off and exterminating 
each other. All visitors agree that there must be a 
wonderful future for such a fair and fertile field, 
and all seem anxious to secure a few thousand acres 
for a nominal sum, just to have a finger in the pie, 
but although any Government would be bound to 
conserve all vested interests, it is hardly to be ex- 
pected that such claims should be recognised- No 
doubt under annexation a man would be allowed a 
" fair thing " for the consideration which he paid, 
aud (as was done in New Zealand) have the option 
of taking as much more as he could cultivate at 
a price of, say, five shillings per acre. Having no 
actual titles to land should not deter an enterpris- 
ing man from laying out an estate here, as it 
would be to the interest of almost any power to 
keep a good settler in the group. 
In the Northern Islands of Santo and Mallicolo 
this year we had a hurricane, which is not so 
much to be feared here as in the Southern Islands 
of the New Hebrides. The last hurricane on Santo 
occurred some fourteen or fifteen years ago; so we 
presume we shall be free now for some time. The 
French coffee plantations were very much knocked 
about ; but a Ceylon man would not be surprised, 
as their trees run ten or twelve feet high, aud are 
planted under the original forest, which being soft, 
