Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c13.s1.35

v2.c13.s1.35

Java has a rich flora, and ‘hardly any similar area in the world has one of richer variety’. It produces excellent timber, the most important of which is the famous teak-wood. About 40% of the soil in Java is under cultivation, the chief products of agriculture being rice, sugar, cinchona, coffee, tobacco, tea, indigo etc. Java is very poor in mineral products. There is hardly any gold or silver, and only small quantities of coal, sulphur, and manganese. The discovery of petroleum in 1863 has added an important industry. The most well-known industry of Java to-day is the Batik or dyeing of cotton cloth with coloured designs.