Necessity might have first determined the choice of the spot for the European capital; but a perseverance in the policy of confining the European population within its walls, after so many direful warnings of its insalubrity, cannot but lead to the inference, that either the monopoly of the trade was considered a greater object to the nation than the lives of the inhabitants, or that the more liberal views of the government were defeated by the weakness or corruption of its agents.
Of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, as of the mineral, we shall content ourselves with such an account as may be necessary to convey to the reader a general notion of the nature of the country and its resources, referring the man of science to the intended publication of Dr. Thomas Horsfield, a gentleman whose sole attention has, for the last seven years, been directed to the natural history of Java.
Java is distinguished not only by the abundance of its vegetation, but by its extraordinary variety. Upwards of a thousand plants are already contained in the herb-area of Dr. Horsfield, of which a large proportion are new to the naturalist. Between the tops of the mountains and the sea-shore, Java may be considered as possessing at least six distinct climates, each furnishing a copious indigenous botany, while the productions of every region in the world may find a congenial spot somewhere in the island.
Vegetable productions, which contribute to the food and sustenance of man, are found in great variety. Of these the most important is rice, which forms the staple grain of the country, and of which there are upwards of a hundred varieties. Maize, or Indian corn, ranks next, and is principally cultivated in the higher regions, or in those tracts where the soil is unfavourable to the rice cultivation. The bean, or _káchang_, of which there are many varieties, is an important article of food. Of the sugar-cane, which is used by the natives only in its raw state, they distinguish eight varieties, an account of which, as well as of the cultivation of coffee, pepper, indigo, tobacco, &c. will be found in the chapter on agriculture. Aniseed, _múngsi_, cummin-seed, _márícha_ (black pepper), _chábi jáwa_ (long pepper), _kumúkus_ (cubebs), socha dolichos, and _mendéking_, plants of considerable importance, may be considered as indigenous to the island, and are collected for various uses in diet and medicine.