EDITORIAL. 635 



from the equator, and is in the midst of tropical surroundings, while 

 the work in Benguet Province has been carried on at a high elevation 

 in a climate so cold that difficulty has been experienced in growing 

 American vegetables. An unusually wide range of climatic conditions 

 is therefore represented b}' the experiment farms. 



The experiment station at Malate, upon which work was begun in 

 October, 1902, comprises about 12 acres of land. It is used largely as 

 a testing ground and for growing improved seeds for distribution. 

 An adequate water supply has been provided and a water tower built, 

 with the necessar}^ pumping and distributing outhts for irrigating during 

 the dr}' season. Special mention may be made of the experiments at 

 this place with teosinte and Sumatra tobacco. The teosinte was a great 

 success, as will be noted later; and the experiments in growing Sumatra 

 tobacco gave most satisfactory results. The yield of two crops was at 

 the rate of 1,470 pounds to the acre. Plants grown under shade had 

 very thin, elastic, and delicately veined leaves, with a line silky luster. 

 The great superiority of the shade-grown tobacco was clearly demon- 

 strated. 



In Benguet Province the experiments in growing American vege- 

 tables and field crops at Baguio have been transferred to Trinidad, 

 four and a half miles distant, and about 900 ft. lower in elevation. The 

 establishment of an experiment station at this point is well under way. 

 In Batangas Province the work at the Batangas Station is devoted 

 chietl}^ to the growing of forage plants and American vegetables; and 

 at Lipa, in the same province, which lies about 1,000 ft. higher, 

 experiments in the rehabilitation of the coffee industry have been 

 undertaken. A coffee plantation has been established on a tract of 

 about 10 acres, in cooperation with a planter and imder the immediate 

 supervision of an expert of the bureau. 



Prior to 1S91 there were extensive coffee plantations in Batangas 

 Province covering thousands of acres of land, which yielded large 

 incomes to their owners. Since that time the plantations have been 

 almost totally destroyed b}'^ attacks of leaf blight and borers, accom- 

 panied by almost absolute neglect of the trees and their cultivation. 

 The bureau has imported seed and reared a large number of plants of 

 the Liberian and Maragogj^pe hybrid, which have been successfully 

 transplanted to the thoroughly prepared ground. Experiments will 

 be made in securing resistance to disease and insect injuries by the 

 selection of vigorous-growing varieties and the adoption of the best 

 system of cultivation and treatment. 



The agricultural college and experiment station at La Carlota, in 

 Western Negros, was transferred to the Bureau of Agriculture from 

 the Bureau of Education in November, 1902, and a director appointed 

 the following March. This estate, which comprises at present about 

 2,000 acres, is located in a province where the chief industry is sugar 



