Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/291

 EUROPEAN XATIONS. 275 and extensive. They afford in luxuriance the ve- getable productions common to other tropical cli- mates, and some which are peculiarly their own, and which refuse to grow in cheapness or perfec- tion any where else. It is, at the same time, to be remarked of these last, and it is a singular coin- cidence, that they have been, and still are, in more universal request among men, in every rank of social improvement above that of mere savages, than the productions of any other portion of the globe. * Of this vast region of the earth it is but a small portion that is yet inhabited. By far the greater portion of the land, perhaps even of the good land, is still unoccupied, uncultivated, and unappropri- ated. There is, in fact, still room for an immense population. Among the various inhabitants of which it consists, there is a wide difference in point of industry. A few are roaming about their forests, as useless, as unproductive, and perhaps son chiefly alludes, when he observes, " Some of these are deemed necessary, not only to the comfort, but to the pre- servation of life, and others contribute to its elegance and pleasure. They are so various as to suit the taste of man- kind in every climate, and in different stages of improve- ment ; and are in high request among the rude nations of Africa, as well as the more luxurious inhabitants of Asia." Disquiiition concerning Ancient India, p. liT-
 * It is to the productions of these islands that Dr Robert-