76 TOUR FROM SOURABAYA, THROUGH XEDIRI, &C. 
mill close to the Posthouse of Krian, and a few pauls 
further on we passed the sugar works of Baking Bendo. 
At intervals along the road, we observed the native popu¬ 
lation busy preparing the land for next year’s crop of canes, 
on the ground from which they had just taken a crop of 
paddy. A good deal of paddy still remains to be cut, which 
however looks stunted and puny ; indeed the crop generally 
in Sourabaya has been only indifferent, as has been the case 
for some years back, hence the high price of the grain ; we 
were told even as much as/ 10 copper per picul had been paid 
at the moment of greatest scarcity before any of the new 
crop could be availed of. The chief attention and energy 
of the government authorities are directed towards the 
cultivation cf sugar cane, and besides this, the popula¬ 
tion has to contribute a large daily quantum of labour¬ 
ers for conducting the military and other public works 
at Sourabaya, so that the former easy and regular routine 
of the rice cultivation is no longer observed; it may also 
he matter of question whether the alternate crop of sugar 
cane from the rice lands, is not detrimental to the success 
of the latter, if not by actually impoverishing the ground, 
very probably by leading to a slovenly and imperfect pre¬ 
paration of the land for rice, as it must be remembered, 
that all the terraces and embankments of the sawahs are 
destroyed for the canes and must be reconstructed for rice, 
besides the roots of the cane have to be removed. One 
effect is very evident; whereas Sourabaya formerly exported, 
yearly, many thousand koyans of rice at a rate of j 80 to 
J 90, the trade at that port in the grain is now reversed, 
and a large quantity is imported for consumption, principally 
from Bali, which in the early part of the year finds a ready 
sale at f 160 to f 170 per 30 piculs or one koyan. Without 
this supply from abroad, there would have been a famine in 
the land in the early part of this year, the population from 
the surrounding districts crowding into Sourabaya to pur¬ 
chase the" grain at /7 to f 8 copper per picul, whilst fine 
table rice was selling at / 9 to/10 copper.. I wo cargoes 
were also brought from Arrakan, amounting together to 
11,000 piculs ; this rice not being known here, could only 
fetch f 100 per koyan, but as the grain suited the taste of the 
natives, another time it would be bought with greater con- 
lidciicc 
At Balling Bendo is a dam across a small stream for the 
purpose of raising the water for the wheel of the mill, ibis 
stream soon increases in size, and by the time you leach 
