Sacchariferous plants, such as the sugar cane, are grown throughout Indo-China, and es pecially in Annam. The sugar palm is highly interesting, its sweet juices being estimated at 200,000 hectoliters (5,200,000 United States gal lons) a year.
Textile raw materials are abundant. Cotton is cultivated nearly all over Indo-China for the local use of the inhabitants. The cotton from Cambodia is greatly valued by the spinners but practically the whole of the exportation— some 5,000 tons— is dispatched to Japan. Kapok is found in Cambodia in the proximity of the native habitations. Jute is not much cultivated in Indo-China; the Weal production is used by the natives for manufacturing mats. Ramia is not extensively cultivated and the Annamites use it for making fishing nets. Bambous are treated for paper pulp. Cane is abundant and Indo-China exports from 2,000 to 3,000 tons to Singapore. Mats from Tonkin— the manufacture of which is exclusively car ried on by the Chinese— represents an ex portation exceeding 800,000 tons.
Spices and condiments are found in Indo China. The exportation of pepper for 1915 amounted to 4,007 tons, spices to 800,000 tons. in 1913, while cinnamon amounted to 1,500,000 tons for the same year.
The rubber crop has fallen off during recent years, the natives having imprudently cut all the creepers. Hevea Bresiliensis has been much developed in Cochin-China; this is also found in southern Annam and in Cambodia, the area planted amounting to some 14,179 hectares (35,000 acres) representing 4,626,000 trees and the exportation reaching 914 tons in 1913, or a value of 962,708 francs ($192,541). The Indo-Chinese rubber plantations have a brilliant future before them. Coffee is prin cipally exported from Tonkin, showing an aver age for the five years 1910 to 1914 of 1,815 hun dred-weight. The average annual exportation of tea is 900 hundred-weight. Tobacco is cul tivated all over Indo-China for local consump tion, but the French Regie— which imports nearly 30,000,000 of tobacco from abroad—did not forget Indo-China which exported to France in ?1913 tobacco, in various forms, amounting to 865,000 francs ($173,000). The principal commercial aromatic plant is the aniseed tree, the fruit of which is used mostly in the manu facture of the liquors known as "Anisette" and "Absinthe." The exportation of this product amounted to 230 tons in 1913, of a value of 2,500,000 francs ($500,000). The gen eral resources of the country in vegetation comprise medicinal plants, such as cocoa, dye producing plants such as indigo, and fruits, such as bananas, pineapple, lemons, papaws, etc.
Forest The forest resources of Indo-China are of an infinite variety. Teak is abundant and is exploited in Luang-Prabang. The exportation of wood to Europe — which will certainly increase when Indo-China woods are better known, is already considerable for °limp and The figure for 1913 , tons, of a value of 798,000 francs.
The geological exploration of Indo-China has been begun methodically, but is far from being complete. The mines at present worked are the following: fuel in Tonquin and Annam, zinc in the Tuyen-Quan Lang-Hit Chodian region, tin in the Pia-Ouac district. antimony in Vinb and gold at Bong-Nieu. The value of the mineral output in 1915 was 15,980,000 francs ($3,196,000) and was exported to an amount of 12,632,000 francs ($2,526,000).
Since the war, Japan is the principal market for coal. The production, which was 371,000 tons in 1913, reached 540,000 tons in 1915. The output of the zinc mines for the same year amounted to 34,300 tons, exceeding the last five-yearly average, which was 29,000 tons. The production of tin amounted to 425 tons. Antimony from Vinh shows an exportation of 413 tons, representing a value of 95,000 francs ($19,000), and gold was exported from the mines of Bong-Nieu to an amount of 344,000 francs ($68,800) or 98 kilogrammes. Indo China, which in the past relied on its agricul tural industry for prosperity, possesses in its soil inexhaustible resources for a brilliant future.
Commerce and The general trade returns for Indo-China for the year 1913 amounted to 651,697,321 francs ($130,339,464) or 306,238,068 francs ($61,247,613) for imports and 345,259,253 francs ($69,051,850) for exports. If the import statistics are analysed, i.e., those relating principally to cotton tissues, cotton threads, silk tissues, petrol, jute, beaten gold, porcelain, tea and flour, the figures show that France accounted for 107,086,468 francs ($21, 417,293) and other countries for 194,931,643 francs ($38,986,328). Exportations to France amounted to 77,631,581 francs ($15,526,316) and 261,935,838 francs ($52,387,167) to other coun tries. The principal products exported are rice, tin, maize, cotton thread, dried fish, raw skin, pit-coal, leather, pepper and zinc. The trade movement in Indo-China showed a con siderable upward tendency from 1904 to 1913, and despite the present conditions prevailing in Europe, Indo-China continues to prosper, as evidence of which we quote the figures for 1915-16: Imports, 334,955,000 francs ($66, 991,000) and 390,981,000 francs ($78,196,200) exports, or a total of 725,936,000 francs ($145, 187,200). After the war, therefore, great hopes may be founded on Indo-China, which, being a long way from the theatre of the war, has suffered somewhat in its imports— which is but natural — has nevertheless been able to continue to produce and satisfy her clients in the Extreme Orient, as well as those situated in other parts of the globe.