FORMOSA, which has an area of about 14,000 square miles and a population of about 3,000,000, is being rapidly developed by the Japanese. The low-lying western part of the island is settled by people of Chinese stock, while the mountainous eastern part is occupied by aboriginal tribes, said to be of Malay origin. The products of the island are tropical and varied. The southern plains, which receive considerable moisture from the monsoon in summer but are dry in winter, are particularly suited to the growth of the sugar-cane. New varieties of this plant have been introduced by the Japanese, who also employ modern methods for the extraction of the sugar. The result is that the production has now greatly increased, though for the first few years after the Japanese occupa tion it fell off considerably. At the time of the cession the average export was about 29,000 tons per year, but, during the last three years for which statistics are available, it had risen to over 180,000 tons. It is the hope of Japan to convert Formosa into another Java. Tea is grown in the northern part of the island. One variety, known as " oolong," is in considerable demand in the United States, to which much of it is exported. The production of camphor is a government monopoly. Formerly, the camphor tree grew all over the island, but, as a result of reckless destruction, it is now found only in the mountainous districts, where great numbers of young trees are being planted by the Japanese in order to replace those which have been cut down for the distillation of camphor. Formosa is the chief source of the world's supply of that commodity. Rice is the staple food of the people, and large quantities are produced on the western plains, whence there is a considerable surplus for exportation to Japan proper. The mineral wealth of the island is still largely unknown, but coal and gold are both found and worked to some extent.
The chief ports are Tamsui and Kelung in the north, and Takau and Anping in the south-west.
COMMUNICAT1ONS.—Owing to the mountainous character of the country, the development of means of communication in Japan has been slow. In feudal times the building of good roads was naturally not encouraged, and, although within recent years many improvements have been made, the condition of the highways is still unsatisfactory. One reason for the slow progress in this respect is that the attention of the government has been directed to the con struction of railways, of which there are now over 6,000 miles, chiefly in Honshiu. Tokio is connected with Kyoto and Kobe, and with Shimonoseki in the extreme west, by lines which follow the coastal plains for the greater part of the way, and with Aomori in the north by two lines which run, one to the east and the other to the west of the Central Highlands. From Kyoto one railway goes north and west to Imaichi, and another north-east to Niigata. There are in addition several branches running across the country connect ing these different systems. In the Hokkaido a number of lines have been built to develop its varied resources, and in Kiushiu the coal-producing districts are connected with the coast. In Formosa a railway runs from Takau to Kelung, along the western plains.
The difficulties of communication by land and the facilities for it by sea have naturally encouraged the growth of a considerable mercantile marine. During the period of Japanese seclusion, the building of ships capable of making long sea voyages was pro hibited, and the coasting trade was confined to small ships and junks. Since the war with China, however, rapid progress has been made, and Japan had at the end of 1911 nearly 1,400,000 tons of steam shipping. Certain lines have regular sailings for China, India, Europe, and North and South America.