^rounir tjjc ®ovli, 
PLANTER'S LIFE IN JAVA. 
Mn. F. B. THTTRcr.n. a special correspondent 
of the Araerioan Grojer, gives ns a very interest¬ 
ing picture of a planter's life in Java, a country 
of which we know but little although most of us j 
would gladly learn more. Mr. Tuuubek in speak¬ 
ing of his host, says: 
The residence of Mr. Kirklioven is situated 
nearly in the center of the estate, upon high 
ground, surrounded with a mass of tropical foli¬ 
age. In front is a grove of banyan end other 
magnificent shade trees; in the rear a grove of 
hnid<omo coco an ut palms, while the garden, both 
in front and rear, is tilled with an endless variety 
of gaudy flowers and with coffee, cocoa, plantain 
(banana), and many other fruit-bearing trees and i 
shrubs. The house is built in the '* bungalow ” 
or one-storied style, common in tropical coun¬ 
tries, the center of it being occupied by a large 
square room or hall, which, together with the 
broad veranda, constitutes the chief sitting room 
of the bouse. While sitting here, enjoying a 
cup of tea, a peculiar cry from Mr. Kiikhoven 
brought down a gorgeously hued parrot from 
the top of the tall trees near the house, which 
perched upon his shoulder and proeeded to share 
his tea with him. Tinkling on a tea cup with a 
spoon was the signal fur a flight of beautiful 
tamo pigeons to come; these wero rowarded 
with a little rice and sent away. Another sigual 
filled the room with dogs of many sizes and 
kind*. Iu a short time wo were again surprized 
at seeing a uumber of beautiful horses brougbt 
around to eat tlioir rice from off the stone ver¬ 
anda; and on inquiring the reason for this, we 
found that it was because the attendants were in 
tbe habit of appropriating a part of the quantity 
allotted to the horses, and could not be trusted 
to give them the requisite supply of this article 
unless under the immediate eye of the owner. 
Here were choicest breeds of English and Arab 
racing stocks, aud on expressing our admiration 
for them, wc were shown the stables, where 
there wero about thirty horses of all sorts and 
sizes, which are used only for racing and saddle 
purposes. 
Hunting ia one of the amusements of a plant¬ 
er's life; the tiger, leopard, rhinoceros and wild 
boar are the principal kinds of game iu Java, al¬ 
though doer are also plentiful. In a small enclos¬ 
ure iu the rear of the house were various speci¬ 
mens of these beautiful animals, including one 
full-grown variety which was not over eight 
inches high, and looked more like a delicate rab¬ 
bit with pipe-stem logs than it did like a deer. At 
a little distance from the house also was a smalt 
park or enclosure, where there was a herd of 
another variety larger iu size than those in the 
Email enclosure at the house ; these wero fully 
as largo as our American deer, but their horns 
were not as fine, nor do I think they are so pretty 
as the American variety. 
There is one feature of the life on the great 
plantation aud of life in Java, whioh jarred upon 
my sensibilities, aud probably would have the 
same effect upon every person educated with 
American ideas and iu American principles of 
government. I allude to the contempt and want, 
of consideration with which the natives are 
treated. While we were seated on Mr. Kiik- 
hoveu's veranda, a native would appear every 
few moments with a written message or report 
from the superintendents, and after fir.-,t uncov¬ 
ering t heir heads and bowing to the ground, they 
would creep upon their hands and knees and 
hand the message to their “master.” I must 
confess that it added wonderfully to the oriental 
aspect of everything about tbe scene, but “ orien¬ 
tal ’ has come to be synonymous with despotism 
and cruelty, uud the day has gone by for suoh 
things. These natives, however, arc better than 
slaves in the following respects: they cannot be 
punished by whipping, and aro free to come and 
go When they please. They are, however, mis¬ 
erably poor. ignorant and degraded: aud whether 
it is tbe effect of the climate or not I cannot say, 
but old residents hero represent that they do not 
Ecem to display much energy or to make much 
effort to elevate themselves. This is, doubtless, 
owing in great measure to tbe fact that the 
Dutch. Government has adopted the plan of 
maintaining the authority of the native chiefs 
over them, the Dutch in turn subsidizing and 
controlling the ohiofs who, for hundreds of years, 
have maintained & most grinding despotism over 
their miserable subjects, levying forced loans 
and otherwise despoiling those who, by excep¬ 
tional industry and prudence, had accumulated 
anything beyond their daily subsistence. 
Tbe Dutch first conquered the island by force 
of arms, thereby establishing a claim to owner¬ 
ship of all the land, and then kept the native 
chiefs friendly by giving them a larger income 
than they used to have, but requiring the chiefs 
in turn to make their people work systematically 
iu cultivating the soil and to sell their entire 
product to the Dutch Government at a price so 
low that it barely rendered them a subsistence. 
By this system the Dutch have derived an enor¬ 
mous revenuo from their East Indian possessions, 
and in turn have given the natives greater 
security for life than they before enjoyed; but 
this has been the only improvement, the des¬ 
potism of the native chiefs being perpetuated 
indefinitely, and most of the people are kept so 
poor that there is but little chance for them to 
better their condition. 
As the population increased, a greater Bupply 
of labor became available than could be profit¬ 
ably employed under government supervision, 
and as there was an abundance of land, portions 
of it were from time to time leased to individuals 
with the privilege Of planting, until now there 
are a considerable number of privaio planters in 
Java, from whose enterpriso the Government 
derives a large revenue, not only in the sums re¬ 
ceived for leases, but also for export and import 
duties on the articles produced and consumed by 
them. Dut.di rule in the East has not been very 
beneficent to the governed, but, on the other 
hand, it, may, probably, be said with truth that 
t he people of these countries aro no worse off 
now Gian they were before, and Holland has 
been greatly benefilted. A compaiison of the 
relative policies of Great Britain and Holland in 
the management of colonies would be most in¬ 
teresting, but it is impossible to do this within 
the limited spaco of this letter. 
FIGHTING GRASSHOPPERS. 
TnE idea is rapidly gaining ground that such 
insects as grasshoppers, chinch bugs and the 
cotton worm aro national pests which should bo 
investigated by men employed and paid out of 
tbe National Treasury. There are, no doubt, 
many persons who will oppose any such move¬ 
ment* contending that the agriculturist should 
protect his own crops or bco thorn destroyed, 
but this line of argument would leave tho 
people of any one locality or HU to to defend 
themselves against all enemies of whatever 
nature or kind which we think few will contend 
would be right or proper. 
Dr. A. 8. Pack aud, the well-known entomolo¬ 
gist, writes to the New York Tribune giving 
some statistics in regard to the destructiveness 
of the Western grasshopper or locust, which 
will doubtless astonish some of our readers who 
are safely beyond tho reach of this great pest: 
The question whether the Western Stales and 
Territories arc to be peopled by grasshoppers to 
the exclusion of the white man, is one of some 
interest. Iu the year 1875 it is said that 10,000 
settlers left the State of Kansas, driven out by 
grasshoppers, the offspring of swarms which 
tho year beforo traveled some 500 miles or more 
from tho Rocky Mountains. Locusts do not 
swarm in this way every year, but the intervals 
between tbeir visitations havo been shorter of 
late years than formerly. The great breeding 
places aro in our Western Territories. The 
most extensive pastures are the fertile prairies 
extending from Minnesota to Texas. Govern¬ 
ment aid has been invoked in a convention of 
tbe Governors of tbe afflicted Territories ami 
States, and it is to be hoped that the National 
Government will set on foot such inquiries by 
scientific men as will lead to practical measures 
in fighting the locust. 
In dealing with this fearfully destructive 
insect, it is of prime importance to have a thor¬ 
ough knowledge of its breeding places, tbe fre¬ 
quency and extent of its migrations, and to seek 
for tbe connection between tbe direction of tho 
wind and the meteorological phenomena, and 
the flights of the locusts. The locust is quite or 
nearly as destructive in Africa, Asia, aud in 
Southern Europe as in this country, but the 
law’s of their migrations and their connection 
with meteorological occurrences have never 
been studied in those regions, aud it remains 
for the United States, with its invaluable 
Weather Signal Bureau, to institute, in connec¬ 
tion with the scientific surveys of the West, in¬ 
vestigations regarding the nature of tho evil 
and the best means to overcome it. 
It appears that locust years are years of un¬ 
usual drought; that these dry seasons come 
around every seven or eight years. In such 
summers grasshoppers breed iu untold millions; 
the supply of food, being short, they aro forced 
to fly off hundreds of miles. For example, a 
swarm of locusts observed by Prof. Robinson of 
the University of Kansas, near Boulder City, 
Colorado traveled a distance of about six hun¬ 
dred miles to Eastern Kansas and Missouri. 
Though the swarm was first observed at Boulder, 
it was then on its way from tbe north, aud may 
have come from some part of Wyoming 200 or 
300 miles north-westward or northward. We 
know enough of tbe winds in the Western 
States and Territories to lay down the law that 
tbe general direction of tbe winds in July and 
August along tbe eastern slope of tbe Rocky 
Mountains and on the plains is from the west 
and northwest, and accords with the eastward 
course of the locust swarms. Tbe relations be¬ 
tween the average direction of the winds and 
the migrations of the locust have not been 
sufficiently studied. We need more light. In- j 
deed, if we would intelligently study tbe causes 
of the excessive increase and migrations of the | 
locust wo must examine tbe meteorological 
features of the Western country, ascertain the 
periods of (bought and of undue rainfall, the 
average direction of the wind for the different 
months, in order to learn how far they corres¬ 
pond with the phenomena of locust-life. That 
there are cycles of dry and hot seasons recurring 
at irregular intervals, while the general average 
may remain nearly the same, century after 
century, is supported, though it may be vaguely, 
by observed facts. 
So the question arises, can the Weather 
Signal Bureau after a while predict the coming 
of seasons of undue beat and dryness, and con¬ 
sequently can we predict locust years? It does 
not seem unreasonable to believe that we shall 
in course of time be able to foretell with a good 
degree of certainty locust invasions, and be able 
to provide against the losses thus incurred. It 
will be seen by the reader that in studying the 
habits of tho locust the observations of the 
meteorologists and entomologists mnRt, go hand 
iu hand. The Government has provided a well- 
organized corps of weather observers, and we 
submit that a few competent entomologists 
should take the field under Government, auspices; 
Not only should tho border States, especially 
Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa 
employ entomologists, following the liberal 
policy of Missouri, which for eight years has 
had a State entomologist, whose reports have 
proved of incalculable practical value to the 
people of that State, tut the habits of the lo¬ 
cust need first of all to be thoroughly studied 
iu tho Territories, particularly iu those of 
Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Dakota, Utah, New 
Mexico, Arizona, and in the new Statu of Colo¬ 
rado. A commission of entomologists should be 
appointed to make a thorough study of the 
locusts in the Territories mentioned. It would 
seem that, the recommendations made at tbo 
recent meeting of Western Governors at Omaha 
to the effect that an appropriation be passed by 
Congress, and a commission be Attached to the 
existing United States Geological and Geographi¬ 
cal Survey of the Territories (Hayden’s), is the 
most feasible and economical method of securing 
tho speediest and best results. 
Let us for a moment look at the losses sus¬ 
tained in tho United States from the attacks of 
insects. Tho annual agricultural products of 
this country by the last census amounted in 
value to $2,500,000,000. Of this amount we in 
all probability annually loso upward of $200,- 
000,000 from insects alone—at least were it not 
for the attacks of bisects our agricultural 
products would realize so much more. Prof. 
Kiley avers that tho losses during 1874 in Mis¬ 
souri from locusts exceeded $15,000,000. This i 
would make the losses in other parts of the I 
West at least twice as much more, or $45,000,000 
in all. The estimated money loss occasioned by 
the chinch bug iu Illinois in 1864 was over $73,- 
000,000; in Missouri in 1874 it ia estimated by 
Dr. Kiley to have been $19,000,000. The 
average annual loss to tho cotton crop from the 
attacks of tho cotton army worm alone is esti¬ 
mated at $50,000,000. Adding to these tho 
losses sustained by the attacks of about a thou¬ 
sand other species of insects which affect our 
cereals, forage and field crops, fruit trees and 
shrubs, garden vegetables, shade and ornamental 
trees, as well as our hard wood and pine forests 
and stored fruits, and it will not bo thought an 
exaggeration to put our annual losses at about 
$200,000,000. 
If the people of this country would only look 
at this annual depletion, this absolute waste, 
which keeps her agricultural community poor, 
and which drags her backward in the race with 
the countries of the Old World, they might see 
the necessity of taking effectual preventive 
measures in restraining the ravages of insects. 
With care and forethought, based on the obser¬ 
vation of facts by scientific men, we believe 
that from $50,000,000 to $100,000,000, or from 
one-quarte-r to one-half of this annual waste 
could be saved to the country. And the practi¬ 
cal, most efficient way is for the States to co¬ 
operate with the General Government in the 
appointment of salaried entomologists, and of a 
United States Commission of Entomologists, 
who should, perhaps, combine the results of the 
State officials and issue weekly bulletins, perhaps 
in combination with the reports of the Weather 
Signal Bureau, as to the conditions of the insect 
world, forewarning farmers and gardeners from 
week to week as to what enemies should be 
guarded against, and what preventive an<l 
remedial measures should be adopted. The 
Weather Signal Bureau, first snggested and 
urged by the late L A. Lapham, was not 
instituted without ridicule and opposition, but 
it baa saved millions to our commerce and agri¬ 
culture. The maintenance of an entomological 
commission and the appointment of State ento¬ 
mologists would involve comparatively little ex¬ 
pense. 
jlcinififtc anil Useful. 
THE BAROMETER AND ITS TEACHING. 
The barometer is an instrument for measur¬ 
ing the weight or pressure of the atmosphere. 
There are at least a dozen different forms of it, 
named from differences either in their construc¬ 
tion, mounting or fitting, or from the purposos 
for which they are designed. The cistern bar¬ 
ometer is tho simplest, aud that in ordinary use. 
It consists of a glass tube 34 inches long, closed 
at tho top, exhausted of air, and having its 
lower end, which is open, immersed iu a cup of 
mercury, a part of which is forced up into the 
7acumn in the tube by the pressure of tbe at¬ 
mosphere on its surface. It ascends under a 
greater and descends under a less pressure, and 
an accurately-graduated scale alongside the tube, 
enables the observer readily to read the varia¬ 
tions. As the liquid rises and falls, its level in 
the cup varies, and the ti ne bight of the col¬ 
umn is found either by bringing the zero point 
of a movable scale to tho surface of the metal in 
the cup, or by pressing on tbo flexible bottom of 
tho latter until tho mercury rises to the same 
point in a fixed sealo. 
Tho instrument was invented about the year 
1644 by Evanoidista Tokilicelli, a pupil and 
friend of Galileo, and was at first known as 
tbe Torricellian tube. In the experiments that 
led to its invention, tho object of Tokbicelli 
was to ascertain the truth of his theory that at¬ 
mospheric pressure on the surface of a reserv¬ 
oir was tbe force that impelled a column of 
water up the exhausted suction pipe of a ptimp. 
As the weight of mercury is about 14 times that 
of water, it would be decisive of the correctness 
of his view if tho same cause that made water 
rise about 33 feet, on a fine day, at the sea level, 
would also support a column of mercury 29 
inches, or 1-14 of that bight. Having hermeti¬ 
cally closed one end of a long glass tube, he 
filled it with mercury, and pressing his finger 
against the open end, snbmesged it in a vessel 
nearly full of tho same metal, while holding the 
tube in a vertical position. On removing tho 
finger, the contents of the tube flowed out until 
reduced to the bight of about 29 inches, thus 
demonstrating flic justness of his conclusions, 
and for ever exploding the time-honored be¬ 
lief in nature’s abhorrence of a vacuum, a 
term that for ages had. under tho plausible 
guise of philosophy, coveted man’s ignorance of 
the real cause of the phenomenon. 
The escape of a part of the mercury left in the 
upper part of the tube a void, which has ever 
since been called the Toebicelliah vacuum. 
The ascent of the liquid ie due to the existence 
of tins void, for if air occupied the space, it 
would exercise a pressure on the top of the col¬ 
umn sufficient to counterbalance that on the 
exposed metal in the cup in which its lower end 
terminates: but with a vacuum at one end of 
the fluid column, there is nothing to resist its 
yielding to the slightest variation of pressure at 
tbo other. 
The adherence of the mercury to the glass, 
however, tends to beget an error in estimating 
tbe true bight of the column, especially in in¬ 
struments of small bore, iu which this source of 
inaccuracy is proportionately greater. Water 
and other fluids form a concave surface at the 
top of a small column by climbing up the glass, 
through capillary attraction, w’hereas the top of 
a mercurial column is convex while rising and 
concave when falling, but in both cases the cen¬ 
ter of the column indicates tho absolute hight. 
Another cause of possible error is due to the ex¬ 
pansion and contraction of the mercury accord¬ 
ing to the temperature of the air, independently 
of its pressure, so that the hight of th6 column 
varies with every change in the former u3 well as 
in tho latter. As the amount of mercurial ex¬ 
pansion, however, is accurately known, by ob¬ 
serving the hight of the mercury iu the ther¬ 
mometer which is usually attached to the 
barometer, proper corrections on this account, 
can always be made. 
The chief reason why mercury has been se¬ 
lected for barometrical purposes is that tbe re¬ 
quired weight of it occupies the least space. 
Water barometers have, however, been con¬ 
structed, and aB each vertical inch of mercury is 
equivalent to a trifle over 133*) inches of water, 
the length of the column renders it so extremely 
sensitive to Blight atmospheric changes that in 
tempestuous weather it is continually vibrating 
up and down under momentary fluctuations of 
pressure. 
Observation has conclusively shown that onr 
own sensations are very untrustworthy eriterions 
of atmospheric pressure. On dry, bracing days, 
j when the spirits are high and the body buoyant, 
one is apt to imagine that the air itself presses 
j lightly upon him; but just on such days a high 
