BATU  , or

RocK ISLANDS (Dutch Batoe), a group of three greater and forty-eight lesser islands in the Dutch East Indies, W. of Sumatra, between o° to' N. to 6° 45' S. and 97° 50'—98° 35' E., belonging to the Ayerbangi district of the lowlands of Padang (Sumatra) . They are separated by the strait of Sibirut from the Mentawi group . The three chief islands, from N. to S., are Pini or Mintao, Masa, and Bala . The total land area of the group is 445 sq. m . The islands are generally low, and covered with forest, in which the cocoanut palm is conspicuous . There is trade in cocoanuts, oil, and other forest produce . The natives, about 3000 in number, are of Malayan or pre-Malayan stock, akin to those of the island of Nias to the north-west . Only about twenty of the smaller islands are inhabited .