Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1893-11-20
CLIMATE AND CROPS.
HOW THE FOOD SUPPLIES or THE
EARTH ARE REGULATED.

Agriculture l. the Hasis NJ An suh'iHirnce.
but Yet no 'iost rhichiy Settled spots
Arc Not ny Apy feaus the ,tost rcrilis.
Jatts ropuiation.
Uow riucli room is thors stll on the
trrh f5f ulnhudl This isu question
which is often raised and which is un
sworol iu great many different ways.
A. an food s. Uithor directly ur Indirect
ly derived from the vegetable kingdom,
and tho plants need tho light and tho
heat OF the fun. Che question as go how
the light and heat are dIariuutyl is au
important one n we assume (Which IS
truol that only o. per cent uf tho heat of
The sun reaches tho earth. tho remainder
bong absorbed by She atmosphere. then
latitude go degrees nnrin HDd south VIII
receive 81 PER cent; iDd. ueU north and
south. o. par cent. CD degrees north and
south. 80 per cont. and tho pole. only 10
per cont Of tuu heat received no the Oqua-
tor. Therefore the countries which on
tccourt Of tho amount OF heat received
Aro 40 tho most favorable circumstances
b. produce a great amount Of vegetable
food Do IN the tropics. provided The
othor condition Of plant life is found
that BE-. dampnCa.
i'm Europe people woro particularly
Impressed with thl information commu-
nicatol by Humboldt ou Bite return
from his American journey. concerning
Che great amount OF food furnished by
the banana iu tropical countries TWAS
later proved. however, shat tho distin-
guiahod naturalist WIS mistaken, first,
in nscubing Boz highas,aiooi productive
moss to tho banana, and, second, because
the banana Is not generally suitable 10
b. uled ~ Tho principal food for man.
As tho grains are cultivated wherever
agriculture Is advanced, IN tho damp
parts of suuih and elst Asia we find
nice, Ia the dry parts Of India and tho
greater part of tropical Africa, millot
and sngo, aud in tropical America, prin-
oiphlly corn.
The banana Is even lcss fitted 20 fur
nish tho staple food than the potato. As
ON accessory, however, like tho potato in
tho wealthy countries Of Europe and
North America % isyory important AZ
O dense population Is only possible whore
thorc Sc u certain amount OF cultivation,
we must keep In mind the experience IT
mnny thousand years aud accept Tho
grains ns The bgsn Of nouriahmcnt.
Tho Little Antilles and Mascarcuo is.
lands arc Of intense fertility and export
a great deal Of sugar and import not
oulyiniustrial products. but good deal
Of foodstun The ground therefore,
docs not directly nouriah thepopulntion.
Several parts Of India export foolstn0s,
and thoro is no trustworthy information
"a 10 tho interior commerce In these
products. Tonquin has too lately been
annexed 70 France 10 obtain Trustworthy
statisticA Java, with Madura, rs alone
suited 10 our statistical nocostities.
This country h. sufficiently large, II
furnishes good statistics Of agriculture
and commerce, and tho imports and cx-
ports are carefully registered. The pop
ulauon Is about as dense ~ In Belgium
nnd saxony, but life Is supported undor
very different circumstances. Sazony
and Belgium import foolstuTs and OK.
port mineral aud manufactured prod
ucts. Java imports "a very small amount
Of rico aud salt hsh and exports many
moro agricultural products. Il not only
supplies is own people with food, but
finds Il possible 10 buy IMMORAL and
manufactured products, Il might be-
supposed that this immense population
would be divided Ia % certain proportion
on tho island, and either that IS increase
would be- small, as IN France and Bol.
GUM, or else th1ro would be- largo
emigration, as from Great Britain or
Germany.
Neither case Il true Emigration g
scarcely known Tho population In.
crcasos at Tho rate Of per cont year,
and ita distribution varies TO- greatly
that in tho eastora portion thcro are
fewer people than IN tho swampy PROV,
inco Of Minsk, la Russia, and IN thJ
central part thoro arc almost twice uH
many people as IN belgium aud saNony,
and yet 30 por cont OF the population in
this part Of tho island 1.-Two by agricul.
turo, Rice Is tho staple, and tho statistics
give 236 kilograms 20 each inhabitant
Only about rs per cent OF tho surface of
tho island Is devoted TO tho culture OF
rice. This ia sbll Ia very primitiv,
state but the government has takon II
up, and the production win DO greatly
increased. Java Is a mountainous coun
try, but these nountainB arc not high
aud the rainfall Is great. and rice can o,
cultivated ON 30 per cent OF tho surface
for tho first crop and 10 per cont for On.
second. We have therefore a possible
extension OF the cultivation Of rico &.
100000 hectares. An average crop q
this amount OF acreage would supper
100000 people.
Tie surface o. Java could DO divide
Ia this mhnuori Thirty per cont Of M
water surface would produce rice, vegJ
tables, broadlruit and agricultural OK
ports. Fifteen per cont. not wltcrol
would produce brcadfruit and ngricuI
tural exports; eight per cent, not water
Oh, coffee and tea plantations; two p1
cont wntnrel. urnr cluc. There voul