THE MODERN INHABITANTS. 123 
PERSONAL AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 
Dress.—-The natives dress very much after the manner of the 
people of Manila, The men wear cotton trousers, and shirts outside of 
the trousers, either white or of some striped material, Some of them 
wear white jackets which fit closely about the neck, fastened with 
buttons or silver studs. They wear cither imported hats of straw or 
felt, or hats of pandanus woven on the island. When fishing on the 
reef or when at work on their ranchos many of them content themselves 
with a breechcloth and a straw hat. They wear shoes, slippers, or 
sandals, or, if engaged in work which does not require the feet to 
he protected, go barefooted. As is the case in Japan and at Manila it 
is the custom while sitting in the house to slip off the shoes. At 
church the women ugually take them off and kneel upon them. 
The ordinary dress of the women is an ample skirt of print or 
bright-colored gingham with a short chemisette of thin white material, 
cut low in the neck and provided with wide flowing sleeves. Stockings 
are worn by few except on feast days and Sundays. Women of the 
better class follow the Manila fashions and wear garments of more 
costly materials. Some of them have begun to wear corsets. A few 
wear European hats; the remainder go bareh aded or content them- 
selves with handkerchiefs tied over the head. Nearly all of them 
wear kerchiefs across the bosom and a rosary about the neck, Some 
of the native costumes are very prettily ornamented with lace or 
embroidery, and the handkerchiefs are often of fine texture, with a 
colored border. It is considered unseemly for the older women to 
wear bright colors or fancy laces. — Flowers are scarcely at all worn 
by the natives, but that they have a love for beauty is shown by the 
decorated altars in their houses and the bright-colored foliage plants 
and flowers in their gardens. 
DweELuincs.—-With the exception of a few families living in ran- 
cherias, the natives live in villages and go to their fincas, or country 
places, for the purpose of feeding and watering their stock or for cul- 
tivating their fields. The town houses are well constructed. They 
are raised from the ground on substantial, durable posts (PI. XX), 
or built of masonry with a basement or ** bodega” which is used asa 
storeroom or cellar (PL XEX). Some of them are surrounded by hal- 
conies, inclosed by shutters or by windows with translucent Placuna 
shells for panes. The roofs are either of thatch or tile, the best thatch 
being that made of the leaflets of the nipa palm. Many of the houses 
are provided with vegetable gardens in which dome-shaped ovens may 
be seen. Under the eaves, soas to catch the drippings from the roof, 
are rows of bright-colored Phyllaurea and variegated Acanthaceae. 
Ornamental Araliaceae are also planted, some with finely divided leaves 
(Nothopanaa fruticosum), others with leaves shaped like saucers (1. 
