The temples built centuries ago are among the most wonderful structures in the world. They vie in size and grandeur with those of India. Thousands of these ruined temples are found scattered everywhere over central and eastern Java, and many of them are built on the slopes and summits of mountains. These ruins give evidence of the wonderful skill in sculpture and building attained by the people in by-gone ages, a skill not excelled even in modern times, but lost to the present inhabitants. The ruins of the great temple of Boro-Bodor, situated in the south-central part of Java, are among the largest and most striking in the world. This temple is square and was built in six terraces or steps on the summit of a hill. The first terrace measures about five hundred feet on each side, while each of the five decreases in size toward the top. The last one is crowned by a cupola fifty-two feet in diameter, surrounded by sixteen smaller ones. Here in this great temple of the dead past may be seen scores of statues, showing on their countenances the peace of Nirvana. On both inside and outside of the structure are hundreds of images of Buddha and carvings of scenes connected with his life. It is estimated that all of the sculptures occupy an extent of wall at least three miles in length. All the figures are carved from large blocks of lava. This wonderful temple is built of lava blocks without lime or mortar, the huge stones being jointed most accurately by tenons, mortises, and dovetails which bind them solidly together. Many of the temples erected by the Buddhists and Brahmanists were destroyed by the Moslem invaders, and others abandoned. All of these edifices became, during the succeeding centuries, overgrown with the luxuriant tropical vegetation and partly buried. Some of them, like that of Boro-Bodor, have been uncovered, displaying hundreds of statues and long lines of bas-relief. Java is one of the most productive regions of the world, otherwise thirty millions of people could not live there. The greater part of the islands consists of government plantations, but there are more than twenty thousand private plantations. The Dutch government has built fine wagon roads and miles of railways, otherwise the great crops of rice, sugar, coffee, and tea could not be moved to the great trade centres and seaports. Rice is the chief crop, but so much is consumed that only a little is left for export. The export rice is sold in Borneo. Most of it is grown on the low coast plains, and these are watered by a net-work of canals. Coffee is the crop that has made Java famous, and Java coffee is regarded the best produced. A few years ago it was the custom to sort the coffee with great care and then to store it several years in order to improve the flavor. The coffee thus seasoned was known as "old government" coffee. Much of the crop is now grown by private owners and is known as "private plantations" coffee.