Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/361

 COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION, &C. 345 state of society in the Indian islands, it is hardly necessary to mention, that almost the whole of the articles which they export are nearly in a crude form, and have scarcely undergone any degree of manufacture. Among the most important are ar- ticles of food, the principal of which is rice. The most fertile, populous, and industrious countries of the Archipelago export rice to their neighbours. The most remarkable of these are Java, Bali, some parts of Celebes, with the most fertile spots of Su- matra, and of the Malay Peninsula. Rice is gene- rally imported from tijese western countries into those farther east, such as the Spice Islands. Java is the principal place of production for the con- sumption of the other islands, and the only island of the Archipelago that sends rice abroad. The principal staples of exportation in that island are places remarkable at the same time forfertilityof soil, and near which there is no large town for the con- sumption of the surplus produce of the country, or where there exists water carriage, by which the grain of the interior may be cheaply conveyed to the coasts. The best places to take in large cargos are Indramayu, Cheribon, Tagal, Pacalongan, Ja- para, Gressic, and Surabaia. The rice of the east- ern districts is generally superior to that of the west. The worst rice is that of Indi-amayu, which is usually discoloured. The subdivision of the province of Cheribon called Gubang yields rice