The history of Sumatra : $b Containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitantsMarsden, William
History
The history of Sumatra : $b Containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitants
Marsden, William
Natural history -- Indonesia -- Sumatra; Sumatra (Indonesia)
the ground with indefatigable pains, and lose no opportunity of saving
and collecting manure, are rather more successful; yet have I heard one
of the most able cultivators among this people, who, by the dint of
labour and perseverance, had raised what then appeared to me a delightful
garden, designed for profit as well as pleasure, declare that his heart
was almost broken in struggling against nature; the soil being so
ungrateful that, instead of obtaining an adequate return for his trouble
and expense, the undertaking was likely to render him a bankrupt; and
which he would inevitably have been but for assistance afforded him by
the East India Company.*
(*Footnote. Some particular plants, especially the tea, Key Sun used to
tell me he considered as his children: his first care in the morning and
his last in the evening was to tend and cherish them. I heard with
concern of his death soon after the first publication of this work, and
could have wished the old man had lived to know that the above small
tribute of attention had been paid to his merits as a gardener. In a
letter received from the late ingenious Mr. Charles Campbell, belonging
to the medical establishment of Fort Marlborough, whose communications I
shall have future occasion to notice, he writes on the 29th of March
1802: "I must not omit to say a word about my attempts to cultivate the
land. The result of all my labours in that way was disappointment almost
as heartbreaking as that of the unlucky Chinaman, whose example however
did not deter me. After many vexations I descended from the plains into
the ravines, and there met with the success denied me on the elevated
land. In one of these, through which runs a small rivulet emptying itself
into the lake of Dusun Besar, I attempted a plantation of coffee, where
there are now upwards of seven thousand plants firmly rooted and putting
out new leaves." this cultivation has since been so much increased as to
become an important article of commerce. It should at the same time be
acknowledged that our acquaintance with the central and eastern parts of
the island is very imperfect, and that much fertile land may be found
beyond the range of mountains.)
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