Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/191

LEFT SULTAN 157 SUMATRA Mohammedan rulers. The ruler of Turkey assumes the title of Sultan-es- selatin, "Sultan of sultans." The title sultan is also applied to the sultan's daughters, and his mother, if living, is styled Sultan Valide. SULU, archipelago, the extreme south- ern group of the Philippine Islands sep- arating the Sulu and Celebes seas and extending beyond the western extreme of Mindanao, westward to the north end of Borneo. Area, 1,361 square miles. Small islands form groups around a large one. Of these the largest are Sulu (Jolo), 326 square miles; Tawi Tawi, 232 square miles; and Basilan, 478 square miles. Pop. about 90,000. The islands are vol- canic and Sulu Island has 12 important summits, the highest being 2,894 feet. The people are More and are divided into two classes, the hillmen or agriculturists and the coast men or fishers. Rice and cacao are cultivated, and horses, cattle, and water buffalo are raised. There are no roads, but only mule tracks. Teak and ebony grow in the islands in abund- ance, besides several other valuable forest products. The mangosteen, breadfruit, orange, and banana grow luxuriantly, cultivated and wild. The islands were long under Spanish suzerainty, but were transferred to the United States Dec. 10, 1898. The capital was garrisoned May 19, 1899, and an agreement signed by the Sultan on Aug. 20, 1899. The Sultan is acknowledged as the nominal ruler, and the Moros are permitted to practice their religion. SUMAC (Rhns), a genus of shrubs of the natural order Atiacardiacex, with pinnate leaves and small flowers. They all have a lactescent acrid juice, and most of them possess valuable tanning properties. More than 70 species are known. R. coriaria is found in the countries about the Mediterranean. Its roots contain a brown, and its bark a yellow dye. The leaves and seeds are used in medicine as astringent and styp- tic, and the leaves are exported for use in tanning, dyeing, and calico printing. R. fyphhia is an American species with hairy branches, hence its common name of stag's-horn sumac. It produces small red berries, and is cultivated in Euro- pean gardens for ornament. R. glabra, another American species, is also grow^n for ornament, and its berries and branches are used for dyeing purposes. R. venenata, commonly called dogwood or poison sumac, is a shrub of the Amer- ican swamps. It grows from 12 to 20 feet high, and produces greenish- white flowers. SUMATRA, an island in the Indian seas immediately under the equator; sep- arated from the peninsula of Malacca by the Straits of Malacca and from Java by the Straits of Sunda; greatest length about 1,000 miles; breadth, about 240 miles; area, 161,600 square miles; pop. about 4,500,000. Banca and other islands adjoin the coast. The W. side of the island is mountainous, with peaks rang- ing in height from 2,000 feet in the S. to 5,000 feet further N. ; and culminating in Indrapura, a volcano 12,572 feet higlC The E. side spreads out into interminable plains. There are several volcanoes ia the island. Copper, tin, and iron are found in abundance and deposits of coal exist. The chief rivers are the Rokan, Musi, Jambi, and Indragiri, which all form extensive deltas at their mouths. Sumatra enjoys great equability of climate, but in many low-lying parts is unhealthy; rain falls almost incessantly in the S. Mangroves grow near the coast, and at higher elevations myrtles, palms, figs, and oaks of various species are met with. The camphor tree prevails in the N., and among vegetable curiosities are the upas tree and the gigantic raf- flesia. Pepper, rice, sugar, tobacco, in- digo, cotton, coffee, are cultivated for export, and camphor, benzoin, catechu, gutta-percha and caoutchouc, teak, ebony, and sandalwood are also exported. Rub- ber and oil have in recent years become valuable products. In 1919 340,000 acres were planted with rubber. The fauna includes the elephant, the tapir, the rhinoceros, the tiger, the ourang- outang and other apes, some species oi deer and antelope, and numerous birds and reptiles. Of the domestic animals the chief is the pig, next to which rank the cow and the horse. The island is for the most part under the authority of the Dutch, and their possessions are divided into eight prov- inces. The governor resides at Padang. Sumatra has a very mixed populatioa consisting of Malays, Chinese, Arabs, and many native tribes. The Battas are a peculiar and interesting race approaching the Caucasian type. Writing has been known among them from a very early period and their ancient books are writ- ten in a brilliant ink on paper made of berk. The native tribes of Sumatra have no temples and no priests, but a form of Mohammedanism prevails among the Malays on the coast. Chief towns, Pal- embang and Padang. The Dutch acquired their territories in Sumatra in the 16th and 17th centuries. The British formed a settlement at Ben- kulen in 1685, and in 1811 seized the Dutch possessions on the island. These were restored in 1815, and by treaties in Cyc— Vol. IX