s required to keep
down the rapidly growing plants of all kinds, which would otherwise
impoverish the soil and choke the coffee trees. He usually addressed the
_mandors_, or native foremen, but once or twice he spoke sharply to an
idle or careless worker. His method, he explained, was to treat them
with strict justice, but merciless severity: both were necessary to
secure their respect, adding that it was useless for a man who was not
respected to have anything to do with native labour.

It was during many such rides, supplemented by visits to the factory and
long after-dinner talks with many different persons, that I learnt
something of the ins and outs of a planter's life.

Although the Dutch Government are gradually abandoning the "culture" or
"Government-plantation" system, the change is too recent to permit as
yet of the full development of private enterprise in the island. Even
now there are Government plantations in every village, in which the
natives are compelled to work without wages. Of course, it is easy to
undersell the planters by produce raised on these conditions. In
addition to the direct Government competition, they complained of export
duties on their coffee and cinchona, and of _ad valorem_ property taxes
upon their plantations and buildings. Altogether, I gathered, the
planters considered themselves very badly treated; but they had just
formed an association in order to maintain their interests, and to take
concerted action against the assistant-residents and the officials
generally, who sometimes failed to appreciate the benefit conferred upon
the country by the making of roads and other similar improvements.

The average size of the Javan coffee plantations is from 400 to 500
acres. At Tji Wangi there were 500 acres laid down in coffee, and 300
in cinchona. Part of the plantation was new, and H---- had done some
clearing since he had taken over the estate. He described the process.
The first thing to be done was to clear the forest. The trees were
felled; the light timber--underwood and branches--was removed or burnt,
but the huge trunks, bare and blackened, were left upon the ground.
Indeed, I saw many such trunks, affording a curious contrast to the
young plants growing around them. After this, he had formed plantations
of albizzias (a slight, tall tree, with a foliage resembling that of the
accacia), and planted the young trees, when they were sufficiently
grown, at intervals upon the ground