The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-10-06

of the mountains has ten thousand steps
OF this nature and now you shoot ont Of
the rice into great tea plantations, INTO
groves of red quinne and on into woods
as blue as the Blue Ridge OF Virginia.
Among the banana trees are little ham
boo play houses, the homes of the natives.
You cross magnificent roads spotted with
coolies, bare to the waist, trotting along
with baskets fastened Ia the ends of poles
which rest on their shoulders. Some Of the
poles have ends turned up like bows. They
are borne by men who are carrying rice
in from the fields. Other men have loads
of goods which they are taking from one
town 10 another There are women thus
loaded as well as the men. ana near DJoh-
ja ! saw hundreds OF young girls carrying
burdens in bags on their backs.
A Land Of White and Green.
have spoken of the railroad stations
being white Indeed, all Java is Of the
whltest of whites and the greenest OF
greens. The Dutch go wild over white
wash. not only In Holland, but all over
the world. Everything they have built mere
is coated with newly slaked lime. The villas
of the cities are dead white, with columns
in front of them the color OF farlan
marble. The bridges are white the FENCES
along the roads whether they be made OF
bamboo fishing poles or of heavier Wool
are covered with whitewash, ana inc SAM
may be said of the drains ana the culV1lts,
the warehouses the factories and especially
the vast sugar factories, which cover acre.
and which have white smokestacks lean
ing out In their snowy purity against the
blue sky White. indeed. is so much tle
fashion that the people whiteWash as we
clean house-a new coat Is PUT on every
thing once and often twice every yeaI'
Tho rainy season covers eVeryIhhhs mali Mali
damn and mold After ii Is over the smell
of lime fills the air, for everything Is men
coated inside and out and the puI'glnEs
put on their white summer dresses oouG
of the hotels keep whitewashers busy an
the wear round as do also the larger prop
crty owners The white even eNtenus 70
the clothing Of the foreigners Inc butgh
officials dress in white DUCK. my " op5
white canvas shoes and white helmels' aud
even the military officers wear white
In the Rice Fields.
The chief crop of Java Is rice. In my
trim across the island l haze never been
out of sight of rice fields The rice grows
on every hillside and in every valley It
must have water and the irrigation works
which have been built to supply this are
uneaualled In any part of the world. The
soil OF Java is a volcanic IGld. 1t Is as
rich as guano 1t is OF such a nature that
1t can easily be made into walls which
viii mold back the Hooded patches =,
built with many LOCKS. but the water drlps
from fled To fed as the little mud EN-
bankments are opened by the people
In many places / saw the people az Work'
Here they were planting and there harvest,
Ing the rice The lands are ploWel az \
weeded by the men but the planting ana
reaplng IS done by the women. The rec
Is set out plant by plant IN the hooded
fields. the women wading through the ilu l !
up 10 their knees as they plant. Mqeh
OF the farming is on shares, man ana ne
wife agreeing TO plant and harvest pAtcn
number OF people viii join together and
take several rice fields. see crowds ~
work In the ripe grain. The men ana Won n
are worting together and especially IN .
voung men and young women. l am told
that harvesting time is the chief counting
hearts usually become engaged while cui
ting rice The work Is not at ali hara
Tor each stalk OF rice Is cut separately VIII
The stalks are put together In sheayes nor
much bigger around than man ies saa
In this shape they are taken nome anu
threshed out at leisure. N.t
At The ,begianinE Of the rice sarysH