1S42.J PRODUCTIONS. 451 



channel, and on the south, from the Sooloo archipelago, by 

 the strait of Basillan. The total area of all the islands is one 

 hundred and thirty-five thousand square miles, and the num- 

 ber of inhabitants is supposed to exceed three millions — com- 

 posed, in great part, of Tagalas, Chinese, Malays, and Papuan 

 Negroes, with comparatively few Europeans. Luzon, the 

 largest of the group, is of irregular shape, and is about four hun- 

 dred and fifty miles in length, and varies in width, from ten, to 

 one hundred and forty miles. The other principal islands are 

 Mindoro, Samar, Panay, Magindanao, and Palawan, all lying 

 to the south of Luzon. 



These islands are all of volcanic formation, and on Luzon 

 there are several active volcanoes. The coasts are bold and 

 rocky, but indented with numerous bays and gulfs. In the 

 interior there are lofty mountainous ridges, the peaks of which 

 sometimes attain an elevation of six thousand feet. But the 

 proportion of arable land is large, and is usually of great fer- 

 tility. The hilly districts are well wooded ; and the savannas 

 in the vicinity of the numerous lakes, of which most of the 

 islands have several, and the plains and valleys along the 

 rivers and small streams, are covered with a deluge of vegeta- 

 tion — with succulent grasses and perfumed flowers, with aro- 

 matic shrubs and luscious fruits, and with all the rich products 

 of a tropical clime. Most conspicuous among the last are the 

 sugar-cane, rice, indigo, tobacco, coffee, hemp, millet, maize, 

 and the shrub-cotton. The sugar of the Philippines is excel- 

 lent, and is the most important article of exportation. Of rice 

 there are several varieties, both for the uplands and the low 

 grounds ; this is the chief reliance of the inhabitants for food, and 

 large quantities of it are shipped to China. Tobacco is well 

 adapted to the soil and climate, but its production is entirely 

 controlled by the government, as it is allowed to be manufac- 

 tured only into cigars. Of the hemp, which is obtained from 

 a species of plantain called abaca, excellent cordage and a 

 kind of strong, coarse cloth, are made by the Malays. 



Bananas, cocoas, shaddocks, pine-apples, the bread-fruit, the 

 areca, the clove-tree, and the mango, are in great plenty, and 



