July  x,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
55 
years  1887-90,  must  still  be  supplied  by  importa- 
tion from  elsewhere,  as  long  as  the  Orubilien  coal- 
fields are  not  worked  and  the  coal  compauy  “ Oost- 
Borneo  ” does  not  bring  larger  quantities  on  the  market 
than  is  now  the  case.  Formerly,  I hoped  that  the 
produot  of  the  Tanivari  mine  in  the  Prea'ger-Regent- 
tchappen  might  provide  f . r the  want  of  coal,  but  it 
se°ms  this  will  remain  an  illusion,  as  the  coals 
obtained  from  therce  ere  found  nearly  useless.  In 
this  respect  a hotter  fn'ure  seems  to  be  reserved  to 
the  building  petroleum  iudustry  on  the  east  coast  of 
Sumatra.  Undoubtedly,  coarse  petroleum  is  available 
in  large  quantities  therein  the  soil,  and  the  original 
reports  on  the  quality  of  the  rtfiued  proluct  a e in 
every  respect  favourable.  Soon  thus  Sumatra  will  be 
able  to  provide  for  the  couslantly-increasing  want  of 
petroleum  of  the  surrounding  regions,  and  particularly 
in  Java,  where  in  the  course  of  1891  not  les6  than 
93,610,000  litres  were  imported  for  consumption, 
against  an  average  81,231,000  litres  per  year  in  the 
four  preceding  years. 
Exports. 
The  following  table  gives  a review  or  ‘he  export 
trade  during  the  past  year  agaiust  the  average  figures 
of  export  of  the  four  preceding  years  : — 
Taxed  Temporarily  Free  Artioles. 
Average  1887-1890. 
kilos. 
1891. 
kilos. 
Sugar 
...  361,521,000 
423  547,000 
Coffee 
. . 22,977,000 
98,872,000 
Indigo 
672,000 
720,000 
Tobacco 
...  13,691,000 
13,564,000 
Tin 
5,089,000 
5,368,000 
Hides 
2,806,000 
3,120,000 
Duty  Free  Artioles 
kilo-5. 
kib  s. 
Nutmegs 
113,000 
35  000 
Mace 
7,000 
14,000 
Cloves 
11,000 
nil 
Cinnamon  ... 
6,000 
4,000 
Pepper  ('cubebs) 
80,000 
100,000 
„ (white) 
50,000 
44,000 
„ (black) 
1,944,000 
3,135,000 
Gum  damar 
Jungle  Products. 
. 1,081,000  kilos.  . . 
1,017,000  kilos 
Gum  elnstio 
24,000  „ 
22,000  „ 
Guttn  percha 
28,000  „ 
50,000  „ 
Rioea  2 !3q 
Sundries 
. r, 549,000  kilos.  . . 
27,505,000  kilos. 
Tea 
. 7,324.000  „ 
2,673,000  „ 
China 
. k, 953  000  „ 
3,090,000  „ 
Arao  . . 
. 4,165,000  litres.  .. 
1,611,000  litres. 
Kspok 
. 1,388,000  kilos.  . . 
1,937.000  kilos. 
Rotan 
. 1,449,000  „ 
844,000  „ 
Cocoa 
102,000  „ 
376,000  „ 
Sugar. — The  most  remarkable  of  the  above  figures 
is  the  very  notable  increase  of  sugar  exported.  The 
export  given  for  1891  of  403,547,000  kilos,  is  7,505,000 
piculs,  a figure  thus  far  unknown,  but  which  i»,  in 
the  meantime,  still  100,000  piculs  below  the  export 
figure  in  statistics  of  the  Bataviasche  Handelsvereenig- 
ing,  according  to  which  in  the  course  of  1891  not 
less  than  7,610,000  piculs  were  exported.  According 
to  the  reviews  of  the  brokers,  Dunlop  and  Kolff,  at 
Batavia  and  Soerabaya,  lying  before  me,  the  sugar 
crop  should  have  amouuted  to : — 
1886  ...  ...  ...  5,864,000  piouls 
1887  ...  6,189,000  „ 
1888  5 852,000  „ 
1889  ...  5.443,000  „ 
1890  6,447,000  „ 
1891  _ 6,554,000 
among  with  quantities,  however,  bag  sugar  is  not  in- 
cluded. The  Government  figures,  which  are 
published  much  later,  show  — 
1886  ...  ...  ...  6,338,000  piculs 
1887  6,569,000  „ 
1888  ..  ..  ..  6,258,000  „ 
1889  ..  ..  ..  5,916,000 
1890  . . . . . . 6,867,000  „ 
Between  both  statements  there  exists  a constant 
difference  in  the  average  of  430,000  piculs  por  year 
and  when  the  estimated  figure  of  production  of 
RlefSrs.  Dunlop  and  Kolff  over  1891  is  augmented  by 
this  quantity,  one  obtains  a figure  of  6.985,000  piculs, 
as  the  probable  result  of  the  official  crop  figures. 
Coffee. — As  in  former  years,  the  Government  sta- 
tistics show  separately  as  bulled  or  unhulled,  and 
adding  both  quantities  one  obtains  a export  of  28,872,000 
kgs.  or  467,000  piculs,  which  figure  again  differs  very 
little  from  that  of  the  statistics  of  the  Handels-veree- 
niging,  according  to  which  the  export  of  coffee  in  1891 
amoun'ed  to  about  478,000  piculs  against  276,900  piculs 
in  1890;  483,100  piculs  in  1S89;  475,200  piculs  in  1888; 
319,200  piculs  in  1887.  Uoder  there  figures  is  included 
evt  ry  year  a quantity  of  100,000  piculs  Government 
coffee  sold  in  Java,  besides  the  coffee  from  other  parts 
of  the  Archipelago,  and  that  mostly  from  PnlembaDg, 
Bali,  and  Celebes.  The  production  figures  collected 
and  published  by  Government  have,  unhapily,  no  value 
at  all,  bacause  a number  of  planters  sent  no  declaration 
of  their  crops,  so  that  the  quantity  of  61,389  piculB 
noted  lor  that  year  (against  317,115  piculs  in  ’89,  and 
298,338  piculs  in  ’88)  is  no  gauge  of  the  real  production 
of  the  private  coffte  estates.  As  formerly,  the  un- 
hulled  coffee  was  sent  almost  exclusively  to  the 
Netherlands,  viz.,  553  000  kilos,  or  90,000  piculs  out 
of  the  5,755,000  kilos,  or  93  000  piculs,  whereas  the 
hulled  coffei  was  shipped  as  follows  — 
To 
’89. 
’90. 
’91. 
picuis. 
piculs. 
piculs. 
Netherlands 
...  224,200 
172,000 
289,000 
England 
5,200 
2,600 
500 
France 
...  17,600 
10,200 
14,000 
Austria  (Trieste) 
7,600 
2,200 
11.000 
Port  Said,  f.o 
...  41.900 
13,200 
27,000 
America 
9,300 
12,700 
15,000 
Singapore 
...  23,400 
16,600 
14,000 
Hong  Kong 
2,500 
1,500 
1,700 
Australia 
2,300 
800 
900 
Elsewhere 
800 
1,000 
1,500 
Pepper; — The  export  of  cubebs  (staarpeper)  increased 
to  100,000  kilos  or  20,000  kilos  above  the  average  of 
the  four  preceding  years,  in  connection  with  the 
extension  of  the  culture  in  Bantam,  the  Preanger, 
Banjoemaas,  and  B3geleD.  The  black  pepper  oomes 
chiefly  from  the  Lampong  districts.  The  crop  there, 
which  in  1890,  because  of  too  much  rain,  had  remained 
far  beneath  the  average,  seems  to  have  been  particularly 
favourable  in  1891,  but  exact  figures  are  not  yet 
available.  The  export  from  Java  increased  to  3,135,000 
kilos  or  circa  51,000  piculs,  whereas  according  to  the 
statistics  of  the  Handels-vereeniging  the  exports  were, 
in  1890  35,000  piouls;  ’89  41,000  piculs;  ’88  28,000 
piculs;  ’87  20,000  piculs. 
JRice. — The  export  of  rice  remained  at  27,500,000 
kilos  or  445,000  piculs,  the  same  as  in  1890,1  when 
the  officials  statistics  showed  a figure  of  26,954,000 
kilos  or  436,000  piculs.  The  rice  crop  (according  to 
the  official  estim.tes  of  products)  of  the  Government’s 
lands  in  Java  and  the  import  and  export  amounted 
(in  piculs) ; — 
Crop. 
Import. 
Export. 
1887... 
...34,940,000 
7,000 
1,164,000 
’88... 
...33,120,000 
152,000 
1,001,000 
’89... 
...32,763,000 
451,000 
405,000 
’90... 
742,000 
436,000 
’91... 
887,000 
446,000 
From  these  figures  it  appears  that  the  yield  of  the 
rice  crops  influences  the  import  more  than  the  ex- 
port. Only  with  large  crops  and  low  prices  the  ordin- 
ary Java  rice  comes  into  consideration  as  an  export. 
With  high  prices  this  export  stops  ; but  quite  inde- 
pendently of  the  so-called  table-rice,  the  products  of 
the  private  estates  in  West  Java,  always  finds  its 
way  to  Europe,  and  theexport  of  1891  for  the  greater 
part  is  thus  explained.  For  of  the  445,000  piculs  ex- 
ported, about  330,000  piculs  were  shipped  to  Europe. 
The  endeavours  to  improve  the  culture  referred  to 
in  the  co'onial  reports,  deserve  more  than  ordinary 
attention,  for  the  culture  of  rice  is  ore  of  the 
principal  elements  of  prosperity  of  the  Javanese 
population. 
