284 Voyage of the Novara. 



of considerable dimensions, viz. Luzon, or Manila, which is 

 about the same size as Galicia, Moravia, and Silesia taken 

 together, and Mindanao, which, in superficial area, is about 

 equal to Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. 



As in size, so in fertility, natural advantages, and com- 

 merce, Luzon is the most important island in the Archipelago, 

 as it is likewise one of the most delightful spots in the 

 tropics. The climate is adapted to the cultivation of all 

 the plants and various forms of vegetation alike of the torrid 

 and the temperate zones. On the coast the thermometer never 

 falls below 71°. 6 Fahr., nor rises above 95° Fahr. In the 

 highland valley of Banjanao, 6000 feet above the level of the 

 sea, albeit not above 36 miles distant from Manila, the thermo- 

 meter frequently descends as low as 44° . 6 Fahr. The highest 

 register of the thermometer is during the rainy months,* from 

 May to September ; but we were assured over and over again 

 that in Manila the heat is very equably distributed over the 

 entire year, and never attains such a high degree as many 

 summer days in Madrid. The most valuable and most ex- 

 tensively used plants of the tropical and sub-tropical zones, 

 such as sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton, bananas, maize, tobacco, 

 and rice, flourish here. The forests abound in all the most 

 valuable descriptions of cabinet-wood, but the narrow-minded 

 illiberality that has always characterized the colonial policy 



* In Manila the minimum annual rain-fall is 84 inches, the maximum 102 

 inches. 



