Evening journal., 1893-09-20
CLIMATE AND CROPS.
HOW THE FOOD SUPPLIES OF THE
EARTH ARE REGULATED.

How much room is there still on the |
earth for mankind? This is a question |
which is often raised and which is an.
swered in a great many different ways
AS all food Is either directly OF indirect |
ly derived from the vegetable kingdom,
and the plants need the light and the
heat Of the sun. the question as to how
the light and heat are distributed is ar
important one. If we assume (which Il
true) that only 60 per cent of the heat Of
tlae sun reaches the earth, the remainder
being absorbed by the atmosphere, ther
latitudes 20 degrees north and south viii
receive 90 per cent; 40 degrees north and
south, 6S per cent; 60 degrees north and
south, 40 per cent, and the poles only II
per cent of the heat received at the equa.
tor. Therefore the countries which on
account of the amount Of heat received
are in the most favorable circumstances
to produce a great amount of vegetable
food lie in the tropics. provided the
other condition of plant life is found
that is, dampness.
In Europe people were particularly
impressed with the information commu-
nicated by Humboldt, on his return
from his American journey, concerning
the great amount of food furnished by
the banana in tropical countries. II was
later proved, however, that the distin-
guished naturalist was mistaken, first,
in ascribing so high astate of productive
ness to the banana, and, second, because
the banana is not generally suitable TO
be used as the principal food for man.
As the grains are cultivated wherever
agriculture is advanced. in the damp
parts Of south and east Asia we find
rice, in the dry parts of India and the
greater part of tropical Africa, millet
and sago, and in tropical America, prin-
cipally corn.
The banana is even less fitted to fur
nish the staple food than the potato As
an accessory, however, like the potato in
the wealthy countries of Europe and
North America, it is very important As
a dense population is only possible where
there is a certain amount of cultivation,
we must keep in mind the experience OF
many thousand years and accept the
grains as the base Of nourishment
The Little Antilles and Mascarene is.
lands are Of intense fertility and export
a great deal of sugar and import moi
only industrial products, but good deal
of foodstuff. The ground, therefore,
does not directly nourish the population
Several parts Of India export fOodstuffs
and there is no trustworthy information
as to the interior commerce in these
products. Tonquin has too lately beer
annexed to France 20 obtain Trustworthy
statistics. Java, with Madura, is alone
suited TO our statistical necessities.
This country is sufficiently large, Il
furnishes good statistics Of agriculture
and commerce, and the imports and ex
ports are carefully registered. The pop
ulahon is about as dense as in Belgium
and Saxony, but life IS supported unde
very different circumstances. Saxon,
and Belgium import foodstuffs and ex
port mineral and manufactured prod
ucts. Java imports a very small amour
Of rice and salt fish and exports mani
more agricultural products. 1t not onl,
supplies its own people with food, bu
finds it possible to buy mineral an'
/, manufactured products. It might b
supposed that this immense population
J would be divided in a certain proportion
! on the island, and either that its increas
D would be small, as in France and Bel
gium, or else there would be a larg
: emigration, as from Great Britain o
Germany.
Neither case is true. Emigration i
scarcely known. The population in
creases at the rate of / per cent a year
and its distribution varies 50 great,
that in the eastern portion there ar
fewer people than in the swampy prov
D ince Of Minsk, in Russia, and in tn
central part there are almost twice a
$ many people as in Belgium and Saxony
3 and yet SO per cent of the population i
; this part of the island live by agricul
ture. Rice is the staple, and the statistic
give 23S Kilograms TO each inhabitani
I Only about IS per cent of the surface q
. the island is devoted to the culture Q
r rice. This is still in a very primitiv
t state, but the government has taken
e up, and the production win be great
increased. Java is a mountainous couI
try, but these mountains are not higl
. and the rainfall is great, and rice can b
e cultivated on 80 per cent of the surfaC
for the first crop and 10 per cent for th
e second. We have therefore a possibl
k extension of the cultivation Of rice
n $500, 600 hectares. An average crop
r this amount Of acreage would suppoi
= 9,000,0 900 people.
= The surface Of Java could be divide
"a in this manner; Thirty per cent of Il
water surface would produce rice, veg
d tables, breadfruit and agricultural e.
It ports. Fifteen per cent, not watere
would produce breadfruit and agricu
tural exports; eight per cent, not waite
ed, coffee and tea plantations; two p
es cent, watered, sugar cane. There wou
then be left As per cent for forests. ga
81 dens, meadows, waters roads and dwel
a ings. The people Of Java need not tbs
:. be condemned to live on rice alon
Fruits are very important and necessa
= for health, and in Java alone are -four
100 different kinds. Cattle can be easi
raised, and the superabundant numbe
Of water plants insects and worms tn
are found in tropical countries furni
an easy means Of feeding fish and fowl