Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 22. October, 1878.Various
History
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 22. October, 1878.
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
Other tables have the land-structures, from the elaborately-carved wooden
bungalow with tiled roof of the residency of Japara in Java to the bamboo
hut with palm-leaf sides and roofs of the maritime Dyaks of Borneo. Here
we have a bazaar of Banda, and there a hut of the indigenes of Buitzenzorg
in the interior of the fertile island of Java. Among the rudest houses
shown are those of Celebes, that curious island, larger than Britain,
which seems to rival the sea-monster, with its arms sprawling upon the
map. One house on stilts is fitted up with a complete equipment of musical
instruments, the wooden and brass harmonicons with bars or inverted pans
resting upon strings and beaten with mallets. Here also is a
weighing-machine for sugar products, the floor resting upon the shorter
beam of a lever, while the long arm extends far out of doors.
Rice-granaries elevated on posts above the predatory vermin are shown in
various forms, and are set in water-holes to guard against the still more
obnoxious ants, which are not content with the grain, but eat house and
all.
Another table has implements of agriculture--ploughs, harrows, rakes,
carts, sleds, all as innocent of metal as the oxen which draw the various
instruments; wheels for irrigation made of bamboo, both frame and buckets;
various cutting, weeding and grubbing implements, made by a sort of rude
Catalan process from the native iron ore. The plough is a little better
than that of Egypt of three thousand years ago, and the sickle is
inferior. When Sir Stamford Raffles, who was governor during the short
control of Java by the British, asked why they used the little primitive
bent knife (_ana-ana_) which severs from the stalk but a few heads of rice
at a time, they answered that if they presumed to do otherwise their next
crop would be blasted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account