Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c13.355

v2.c13.355

Almost the whole of the peninsula—both alluvial plains and mountain ranges—is covered by evergreen forests, mostly dense jungles, the major part of which is yet untrodden by human foot. The forests yield excellent timber, including eaglewood, camphor tree, and ebony, and also less durable, but more frequently used, materials of Malayan architecture, such as rattans, bamboos, the nibung, and the nipa palms. Guttapercha, rubber, oils, and resins are also obtained from the forests. The chief products of agriculture are rice, sugar-cane, coffee, cotton, sago, pepper, spices, and rubber. There are also some excellent fruit trees such as the mango-steen, durian, pomegranate, jack-fruit, custard-apple, cocoa-nut, areca-nut, sugar-palm, and banana.