The lowland and the mountain rice, or more correctly speaking, the rice raised in dry lands and the rice raised in lands subjected to inundation, are varieties of the same species (the oriza sativa of Linnæus) although both of them are permanent: but the rice planted on the mountainous or dry ground does not thrive on irrigated lands; nor, on the contrary, does the _sáwah_ rice succeed on lands beyond the reach of irrigation. The mountain rice is supposed to contain in the same bulk more nourishment than the other, and is more palatable; but its use is limited to the less populous districts of the island, the greater proportion of the inhabitants depending exclusively on the produce of the _sáwahs_, or wet cultivation, for their support.
Stavorinus asserts, that the mountain rice is not so good as that of the low lands. Mr. Marsden informs us, on the contrary, that the former brings the higher price, and is considered of superior quality, being whiter, heartier, and better flavoured grain, keeping better, and increasing more in boiling. "The rice of the low lands," he says, "is more prolific from the seed, and subject to less risk in the culture; and on these accounts, rather than from its superior quality, is in more common use than the former." In general, the weightiest and whitest grain is preferred; a preference mentioned by Bontius, who includes in the character of the best rice its whiteness, its clearness of colour, and its preponderating weight, bulk for bulk. Dr. Horsfield conceives that Stavorinus formed his opinion in the low northern maritime districts of Java, and Mr. Marsden from a more extensive observation. Many intelligent natives state, that they prefer the mountain rice when they can procure it, on account of its whiteness, strength, and flavour; and that they are only limited in its use, by the impossibility of raising as much of it as can satisfy the general demand, all the mountain or dry rice not being sufficient to feed one-tenth of the population. In less populous countries, as in many parts of Sumatra, the inhabitants can easily subsist the whole of their numbers exclusively on mountain rice, or that produced on _ládangs_, which are fields reclaimed from ancient forests for the first time, and from which only one crop is demanded. The grain here, as in the mountain rice of Java, is highly flavoured and nutritious; but in countries where the population is crowded, where a scanty crop will not suffice, and where a continued supply of new land cannot be obtained, the peasantry must apply their labour to such grounds as admit of uninterrupted cultivation, and renew their annual fertility by periodical inundations, even although the produce is not so highly prized.