land, but less in the
southern provinces than amongst the people of Menangkabau, the Battas,
and Achinese, whose frequent wars demand large supplies. It appears
however, by an agreement upon record, formed in 1728, that the
inhabitants of Anak-sungei were restricted from the manufacture, which
they are stated to have carried to a considerable extent. It is made, as
with us, of proportions of charcoal, sulphur, and nitre, but the
composition is very imperfectly granulated, being often hastily prepared
in small quantities for immediate use. The last article, though found in
the greatest quantity in the saltpetre-caves before spoken of, is most
commonly procured from goat's dung, which is always to be had in plenty.

SUGAR.

Sugar (as has already been observed) is commonly made for domestic use
from the juice of a species of palm, boiled till a consistence is formed,
but scarcely at all granulated, being little more than a thick syrup.
This spread upon leaves to dry, made into cakes, and afterwards folded up
in a peculiar vegetable substance called upih, which is the sheath that
envelopes the branch of the pinang tree where it is inserted in the stem.
In this state it is called jaggri, and, beside its ordinary uses as
sugar, it is mixed with chunam in making cement for buildings, and that
exquisite plaster for walls which, on the coast of Coromandel, equals
Parian marble in whiteness and polish. But in many parts of the island
sugar is also made from the sugar-cane. The rollers of the mill used for
this purpose are worked by the endless screw instead of cogs, and are
turned with the hand by means of a bar passing through one of the rollers
which is higher than the other. As an article of traffic amongst the
natives it is not considerable, nor have they the art of distilling
arrack, the basis of which is molasses, along with the juice of the anau
or of the coconut palm in a state of fermentation. Both however are
manufactured by Europeans.*

(*Footnote. Many attempts have been made by the English to bring to
perfection the manufacture of sugar and arrack from the canes; but the
expenses, particularly of the slaves, were always found to exceed the
advantages. Within these few years (about 1777) that the plantations and
works were committed to the management of Mr. Henry Botham, it has
manifestly appeared that the end is to be obtained by employing the
Chinese in the works of the field and allowing them a proportion of the