54 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
[July  i,  1892 
iron  dock,  which  is  worked  under  the  patronage  of 
the  Government. 
The  total  absence  of  rain,  for  the  expended  period 
already  alluded  to,  could  not  hut  have  a deleterious 
effect  on  the  health  of  the  colony,  snd  it  is  a matter 
cf  congratulation  that  the  resu  t-i  were  ntt  more 
alarming.  During  the  month  of  July,  August,  and 
September  cholera  was  very  rife  but  cot  epidemic, 
and  mortality  among  Europeans  from  the  disease  was 
comparatively  small. 
Cattle  Plague  only  appeared  in  some  of  the  districts 
of  the  Batavia  residency,  but  was  not  of  a severe 
nature. 
At  Batavia  the  number  of  B-itish  residents  is  68,  at 
Samarang  24,  and  at  Sourabaya  53,  while  in  the  interior 
the  number  is  extremely  limited. 
Annexed  statistics  show  that  from  July  of  the  one 
year  to  June  o;  the  following  yea' the  export  of  suoar 
was  for  1890-91  412,780  tons,  against  1889-90  329,878 
tons;  and  1888-89,338,451  tons. 
Government  Java  coffee  sales  duiing  1891  totalled 
100,000  piculs,  and  sold  at  au  average  of  fl  56  86. 
The  Government  Padang  coffee  sales  during  1S91 
were  on  May  19tli,  first  quality  30,166  piculs,  at  11. 66.88; 
second  quality  275  piculs,  at  fl.45.25;  on  July  17th, 
first  quality  6,610  piculs,  at  fl. 68.15;  ,‘econd  quality 
40  piculs,  fl.40  30;  od  Septemter  22nd,  first  qua  ity 
12,219  piculs,  at  fl.61.94  ; second  quality  115  piculs,  at 
fl. 34.96;  oi  December  29th,  first  quality  8,980  piculs, 
at  fl.69.02;  second  quality  120  piculs,  at  fl.40.15. 
Exports  from  Java  (inclu  liug  Madura)  dmiDg 
1890-91 
1690. 
Articles. 
Quantity. 
Va'uc. 
£ 
Sugar 
. . Tons 
362,344 
4,038,215 
Coffee 
...  ,, 
15,348 
1,390,301 
Rice 
• •• 
26,555 
216,437 
Arrack 
...  Gallons  246,584 
Rattans 
..  lb. 
2,840,376 
17,416 
Hides 
• • »> 
5, 62?, 869 
117,288 
Tobacco 
• • >» 
36,929,596 
1,377,763 
Indigo 
Hun  Damar ... 
• • »» 
. . „ 
1,181,612 
58, it  3 
Kapok 
...  ,, 
3,469,609 
63,837 
Tea 
. . n 
7,061  868 
1 76,546 
Tin 
••• 
11,088,163 
439,237 
Cinchona  bark 
• • m 
6,202,944 
Nutmegs 
171,457 
Indiarubber 
43,692 
3,878 
Guttapercha 
• • »» 
127,963 
10,676 
Mace 
• . ,, 
22,363 
547 
Pepper 
• • »i 
4,682,469 
68,924 
Cinnamon 
• • »» 
5,7  1 
Cocoa 
• • *i 
501,589 
Miscellaneous 
*•  " 
868,657 
1891. 
Articles. 
Quantity'. 
Value. 
£ 
Sugar 
...  Tons 
456,696 
5,629,212 
Coffee 
...  „ 
28,445 
2,512,735 
Bice 
...  ,. 
27,282 
212.980 
Arrack 
...  Gallons  227, 147 
Rattai  s 
...  lb. 
1,856,536 
Hides 
...  1 1 
6,877,464 
126,542 
Tobacco 
31,530,169 
Indigo 
...  || 
3,310,417 
Gum  Damar. . 
2,237,610 
45,970 
Kapok 
4,259,618 
78,300 
Tea 
5,879  962 
11,810,513 
Tin 
Cinchona  bark 
,, 
6,798,264 
Nutmegs 
• • •» 
76,021 
Indiarubber 
4S.928 
4,500 
Guttapercha 
• • tt 
105,01  6 
8,749 
Mace 
• • >» 
30,767 
Pepper 
. . ,, 
7,213,250 
88,398 
Cinnamon 
• • »> 
7,920 
Cocoa 
• • 
826,639 
72,497 
Miscellaneous 
,, 
871,311 
Notes. — These  figures  are  merely  approximate  and 
are  based  on  the  average  values  of  the  various 
articles  during  the  year,  uo  rtliable  statistics  being 
published. — L.  C.  Exjiress. 
THE  TRADE  OF  JAVA  IN  1891. 
Mr.  N.  P.  van  den  Bergy  the  well-known  political 
economist,  President  of  the  Netherlands  Bank,  and 
formerly  President  of  the  Java  Bank,  writes  the  follow- 
ing in  eur  Amsterdam  co  temporary,  Be  Indisclte 
Mexcuvv,  on  tlie  altoye  subject  ■— 
Java’s  commercial  traffic  last  year  shows  favourably 
against  that  of  the  preceding  few  years.  As  for  the 
import  trade,  this  was  a'rcady  shown  by  the  trustworthy 
declarations  of  import  dues  collected  in  1891,  from 
which  source  the  tn  asury  received  an  amount  of 
f. 6,978,000,  agaiust  f.  6,255,000  in  1890,  f.  6,292,00  in 
1889,  f 5,917,000  in  1888,  f.  5,780,000  in  1887,  and 
f.  5,916,000  in  1886,  in  which  year,  from  |July  1st,  the 
normal  import  duty,  as  it  is  called  in  the  Colonial 
reports,  was  increased  from  6 per  cent,  to  10  per  cent 
ad  va’oreni,  an  increato  which  wap,  however,  not 
applied  to  the  princip  al  articles  of  import,  the  cotton 
and  woollen  manufactures. 
Under  effect  of  the  unchanged  tariff  * the 
yield  of  the  duths  has  recently  risen  considerably 
above  the  figures  cf  the  last  few  years. 
tn  almost  all  articles  of  import,  progress  can  be 
shown  in  1891  against  the  average  of  the  four  preceding 
years  ; bat  in  general  th"  differences  are  too  small  to 
have  any  importance  on  the  commercial  traffic  of  Java. 
The  importfigure  s test ify  undoubtedly  to  an  increased 
powerof  consumption  by  the  population  of  Java,  ard 
legitimate  in  this  respect  the  deduction  that  a chaDge 
for  the  good  has  come  over  tho  depressed  coodition 
which  reigned  for  so  many  years,  a condition  which 
wasted  to  the  fact  that,  notwithstanding  the  steady 
increase  of  the  population,  there  was  no  trace  of  a pro- 
portionate increase  cf  the  commerce. 
I do  not  kuow  if  Java  still  contemplates  the  possi- 
bility of  creating  a native  cotton  industry,  which  has 
become  a source  of  pro  perity  in  British  India.  In  the 
recently  published  report  of  the  Soelcaboemische  Land- 
bouwvereeniyiiig  not  a word  is  spoken  therein,  but 
having  talked  with  an  individual  recently'  returned 
from  Java,  I continue  to  hope  that  attention  remains 
fixed  on  this  subject.  Many  persons  estimate  that  the 
quality  of  the  rough  material  at  Java  is  not  inferior  to 
the  cotton  of  British  India. 
Articles  of  Food. — against  about  21,000,000  kilos 
or  340.000  piculs  of  rice  per  year  in  the  four  preceding 
>e»re,  it  was  necessary  to  import  iu  1891,  54  800,000 
kilos  or  887  000  piculs,  iu  order  to  provide  lor  th6  wants 
of  the  popul.ticn.  In  general  tho  rice  orop  was  le's 
favourable  last  year,  and  the  import  of  rice  is 
always  dependent  of  tho  yield  of  the  crop.  An  in- 
creasing import  is  thus  in  itself  a less  favourable 
event  ; but  what  the  pop  ulation  has  been  ob'iged 
to  spend  iu  buying  foreign  rice  has  been  do  detri- 
ment to  providing  other  articles  of  food,  for  of  dried 
fi-h,  the  popular  accompaniment  of  the  daily  rice 
dish.  There  was  imported  4J  million  kilos  more 
than  iu  the  average  < f preceding  years.  The  greater 
part  of  the  other  articles  ranged  under  this  heading, 
such  as  butter,  hums,  and  cheese,  are  more  particu- 
larly destined  lor  the  non. native  population.  The  im- 
port of  butter  again  shows  a diminution,  but  from 
this  it  does  not  follow  that  the  consumption  of  butter 
decreases.  Mere  and  mote  the  use  of  Dutch  butter  is 
put  a*-ide  by  the  better  Danish  products,  which  being 
tinned  is  rtiDged  among  tl  e “ victuals  not  Doted 
separately, ” as  will  as  the  tinned  butter  sent  from  the 
Netherlands  or  el  ewhere. 
Respecting  the  “ victuals  not  noted  sepirately,”  to 
uso  the  official  designation,  it  is  probable  that  the 
imports  in  1891  from  Europe,  to  a value  of  about 
f. 1,100, 000,  consists  mostly  of  provisions  destined  for 
the  consumption  of  the  European  population,  and  that 
the  commodities  imported  from  Singapore,  China,  aDd 
elsewhere  are  mostly  destined  for  the  native  popnlu- 
tion,  and  that  assimilated  thereunto.  In  both  sre- 
pects  8n  increased  consumption  is  shown, 
Fuel,  &c. — The  want  of  coal  regularly  increases, 
for  iu  1891  the  imported  quantity  amounted  to 
16  000  tons  more  than  the  average  figure  of  the 
* With  the  exception  ouly  that  the  import  tax  on 
petroleum  from  March  1,  1887,  was  decreased  from 
70  to  25  cents,  per  hectoliter,  in  connection  with  the 
levyi  g of  excises  from  that  date,  whi<  h yielded  iu 
1891  for  Java  and  Madura  alone  f.1,674, 622.99,  whereas 
before  1887  the  import  tax  on  petro  eum  did  not 
produce  above  f. 400, 000,  or  f. 500, 000  for  the  whole  of 
Netherlands  India, 
