Part 9 (2/2)
_Credat Judaeus non ego._ There is also a species of green orange, with a very thin skin and fine acid flavour, to be obtained in Java.
A general view of the products of the island has already been given in Junghuhn's table in Chapter II., and some of the more important have been subsequently described at length. Any account of the plants of Java would, however, be incomplete without a narrative of the introduction of cinchona into the East Indies.
This plant, from the bark of which quinine is obtained, is a native of Peru, and for a long time the Peruvian Government jealously maintained exclusive possession of it. Forty years ago, the Dutch Colonial Government despatched Haskarl, one of the officials of the Buitenzorg gardens, to Peru for the purpose of procuring cinchona seed. He succeeded in obtaining some seed of a very inferior quality, and the plantations produced from it were practically useless. In 1866, however, both the British and Dutch Indian Governments purchased small quant.i.ties of seed from Mr. Charles Ledger. From this seed the very valuable plantations of Java and Ceylon have been propagated. I have already described the method of cultivating _Cinchona Ledgeriana_ adopted by the planters, and how advantage is taken of the extreme liability of the cinchona plant to hybridization. The manner in which the seed was secured forms an interesting episode in the history of scientific botany. The story is told by Mr. Ledger in a letter to his brother published in the _Field_ of Feb. 5, 1881, in which it will be seen that these seeds were obtained at the cost of the life of Manuel, the naturalist's faithful Indian servant.
”While engaged in my alpaca enterprise of 1856, a Bolivian Indian, Manuel Tucra Mamami, formerly and afterwards a cinchona bark-cutter, was accompanying me with two of his sons. He accompanied me in almost all my frequent journeys into the interior, and was very useful in examining the large quant.i.ties of cinchona bark and alpaca wool I was constantly purchasing. He and his sons were very much attached to me, and I placed every confidence in them. Sitting round our camp-fire one evening, as was our custom after dinner, conversing on all sorts of topics, I mentioned what I had read as to Mr. Clement R. Markham's mission in search of cinchona seeds. Now, Manuel had been with me in three of my journeys into the cinchona districts of the Yungas of Bolivia, where I had to go looking after laggard contractors for delivery of bark. It was while conversing on the subject of Mr. Markham's journey, and wondering which route he would take, etc., that Manuel greatly surprised me by saying, 'The gentleman will not leave the Yungas in good health if he really obtains the _rogo_ plants and seeds.' Manuel was always very taciturn and reserved. I said nothing at the time, there being some thirty more of my Indians sitting round the large fire. The next day he reluctantly told me how every stranger on entering the Yungas was closely watched un.o.bserved by himself; how several seed-collectors had their seed changed; how their germinating power was destroyed by their own guides, servants, etc. He also showed me how all the Indians most implicitly believe, if, by plants or seeds from the Yungas, the cinchonas are successfully propagated in other countries, all their own trees will perish. Such, I a.s.sure you, is their superst.i.tion.
Although there are no laws prohibiting the cinchona seed or plants being taken out of the country, I have seen private instructions from the prefect in La Paz ordering strictest vigilance to prevent any person taking seed or plants out of the country. More than half a dozen times I have had my luggage, bedding, etc., searched when coming out of the valley of the Yungas.
”You are aware how I am looked upon as a doctor by the Indians.
Well, one day I said, 'Manuel, I may some day require some seed and flowers of the famous white flower, _Rogo cascarrilla_, as a remedy; and I shall rely upon you not deceiving me in the way you have told me.' He merely said, 'Patron, if you ever require such seed and flowers, I will not deceive you. And I thought no more about it.
”Manuel was never aware of my requiring seed and leaves for propagating purposes; he was always told they were wanted to make a special remedy for a special illness. For many years, since 1844, I had felt deeply interested in seeing Europe, and my own dear country in particular, free from being dependent on Peru or Bolivia for its supply of life-giving quinine.
Remembering and relying on Manuel's promise to me in 1856, I resolved to do all in my power to obtain the very best cinchona seed produced in Bolivia.
”His son Santiago went to Australia with me in 1858. In 1861, the day before sending back to South America Santiago and the other Indians who had accompanied me there as shepherds of the alpacas, I bought 200 Spanish dollars, and said to him, 'You will give these to your father. Tell him I count on his keeping his promise to get me forty to fifty pounds of rogo cinchona (white flower) seed. He must get it from trees we had sat under together when trying to reach the Mamore river in 1851: to meet me at Tacna (Peru) by May, 1863. If not bringing pure, ripe rogo seed, flowers, and leaves, never to look for me again.'
”I arrived back in Tacna on the 5th of January, 1865. I at once sent a message to Manuel, informing him of my arrival. At the end of May he arrived with his precious seed. It is only now, some twenty-four years after poor Manuel promised not to deceive me, manifest how faithfully and loyally he kept his promise. I say _poor_ Manuel, because, as you know, he lost his life while trying to get another supply of the same cla.s.s of seed for me in 1872-3. You are aware, too, how later on I lost another old Indian friend, poor Poli, when bringing seed and flowers in 1877.
”I feel thoroughly convinced in my own mind that such astonis.h.i.+ngly rich quinine-yielding trees as those in Java are not known to exist (in any quant.i.ty) in Bolivia. These wonderful trees are only to be found in the Caupolican district in Eastern Yungas. The white flower is specially belonging to the cinchona 'rogo' of Apolo.
”You will call to mind, no doubt, the very great difficulties you had to get this wonderful 'seed' looked at, even; how a part was purchased by Mr. Money for account of our East Indian Government for 50 under condition of 10,000 germinating. Though 60,000 plants were successfully raised from it by the late Mr.
McIver, I only received the 50.
”The seed taken by the Netherlands Government cost it barely 50.
”Such, then, is the story attaching to the now famous _Cinchona Ledgeriana_, the source of untold wealth to Java, Ceylon, and, I hope, to India and elsewhere. I am proud to see my dream of close on forty years ago is realized; Europe is no longer dependent on Peru or Bolivia for its supply of life-giving quinine.”
Before closing this chapter I may mention that there is a considerable plantation of gutta-percha trees in the horticultural garden at Buitenzorg. The best producer of gutta-percha, _Pelaguium_ (_isonandra_) _Gutta_, grows nowhere on the island naturally, but seeds were obtained from two specimens of this plant which had been placed in the botanical garden, and the plantation was established some years ago at the suggestion of Dr. Treub. In view of the recent development of electrical engineering and the increased demand for indiarubber generally which has arisen in the last few years, the fact that an unlimited supply of this valuable plant can be obtained in Java is one of some importance to the commercial world.
CHAPTER XII.
SOCIAL LIFE.
Dutch society in the East--Batavian etiquette-- English residents--Clubs--Harmonie--Concordia-- Lawn-tennis--Planters--Horse-racing.
Boston is not the only place in the world which has decided upon insufficient evidence that it is the centre of the universe. We all of us have a weakness for the special form of civilization with which we are most familiar, and to discover excellences of character and manners essentially identical with those we have been taught to a.s.sociate with a cherished society in our own country, in places where we least expect them, is part of the discipline of travel. In the Dutch over-sea settlements society is more exclusive and regulated by a more rigid code of etiquette than it is in Holland. Nor will it seem strange, when the special conditions of Javan life are remembered, that the persons composing this society should be indolent, luxurious, and imperious. On the other hand, an abundance of leisure, and a consciousness of racial superiority acquired by habits of command exercised for several generations, endow it with some of the finer qualities a.s.sociated with ancient society based upon the inst.i.tution of slavery.
Nor must we forget that the Dutch are not mere ”birds of pa.s.sage” in Java, as is the case with the English in India. On the contrary, the majority of the Dutch residents are persons whose families have been settled in the island for many generations, and who look upon Java as their home. One has only to look round in the streets of Weltevreden to realize the fact that Batavia is a colony, not merely a possession. From seven to eight in the morning, troops of boys and girls are to be seen going to school. The little girls are dressed in light materials; they do not wear either hats or bonnets, and rarely carry sunshades. The boys wear brown holland trousers and jackets, and the military cap of a continental school. Although children are sent to Holland for social reasons, the climate of Java does not require that painful separation of parents and children which is one of the disagreeable accidents of Indian life. On the contrary, the Dutch race appears to have developed favourably in Java, and the colonial-born women are famous for the beauty of their complexions and for the fineness of their physique.
Another test of the social condition of a community is its shops. In Batavia there are excellent shops. Not merely can the newest books, and the cleverest etchings, and all the numberless refinements of Bond Street be obtained, but the manners of the tradespeople indicate that they are accustomed to deal with persons who require to be served promptly, and with the best.
In addition to the native and Chinese population, there are seven thousand Europeans resident in Batavia. As most of these latter are persons whose various employments allow them a good deal of ”leisure,”
there is a corresponding amount of social activity. This is regulated by the rules of old-fas.h.i.+oned continental society, with such innovations as have been rendered necessary or merely suggested by the special conditions of the place and climate. As the official cla.s.s is the basis upon which Batavian society rests, it is not surprising that ceremony should play an important part in its system. Among European communities in warm countries, a considerable licence is generally allowed in the matter of dress; but in Batavia, etiquette requires a man to wear a frock coat and white gloves for paying a call. Moreover, before a call which is intended to initiate an acquaintance can be made, notice of the caller's intention, and of the day proposed, must first be sent. These formal calls are made from seven to eight in the evening, and it is not considered polite to leave before the hour has expired. During this period iced water is handed round in elegant gla.s.ses, furnished with silver trays and tortoisesh.e.l.l covers. Again, after introduction to an unmarried lady at a dance, a man is required to properly legitimize the acquaintance. In order to do this, he must be presented to the parents of the lady, if this has not already been done, and he is expected also to make the acquaintance of such of her relatives as are resident in the neighbourhood.
At the date of my visit (1890), the English community in Batavia consisted of fifty or sixty men and five ladies. Up to the last ten years there has been an English chaplain at Batavia; but there is some difficulty in raising the necessary stipend, and so the interesting little church is at present deserted. It is only quite recently that the English residents have received any sort of recognition in Batavian society. Now, however, they have succeeded in establis.h.i.+ng two inst.i.tutions--a paper-chase (on horseback) and a lawn-tennis club, which are likely to modify the rigour of its etiquette.
The Dutch are famous for their clubs. These inst.i.tutions flourish in Java, and in Batavia they contribute materially to the social life of the place. Among many others, the Societeit Harmonie and the Concordia are the most considerable. At both of them frequent concerts and dances are held. In connection with this latter amus.e.m.e.nt, it was interesting to find that all the dancing at Batavia was done on marble. I was told that it was not considered unpleasant, and that the only wooden floor in the island was in the Governor-General's palace at Buitenzorg. The Harmonie is a large square building, surrounded on two sides with porticos and verandahs, standing at the corner of Ryswyk. The main entrance leads into an extensive hall with white walls and a lofty roof supported by ranges of pillars. On the marble floor are arranged a number of small tables for light refreshments. To the right and left of this hall is the billiard-room and the reading-room. The former contains some twenty or thirty French and English tables; and the latter is well supplied with European papers and magazines. The two rooms are separated from the hall by light wooden screens, which allow the air to circulate freely from one to another, and in this way the whole building is kept pleasantly cool. The Harmonie was founded in 1815 during the British occupation. In 1889, shortly before my visit, a dinner was held commemorating the foundation of the club, and on each menu card an account of the event was printed, taken from the British Government _Gazette_ published at the time. Compared with the Concordia, it is a civilian club; for, although this latter does not by any means restrict its members.h.i.+p to officers in the forces, the management is entirely in the hands of the military, who make the neighbourhood of the Waterloo Plain, where the club stands, a sort of military quarter. The Concordia gives an open-air concert every Sat.u.r.day evening and every alternate Wednesday afternoon.
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