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Location. — Pampanga is located just north of Manila in the plain 

 of central Luzon and is the principal province in the Valley of the 

 Eio Grande de Pampanga, This river is navigable for small steamers 

 as far as Arayat, There is a dike on the vrest bank of the river 

 extending from Apalit to Arayat, a distance of 40 kilometers, and 

 constructed to prevent the flooding of the lands there during the 

 rainy season. The Candaba swamp, a rich alluvial plain on the ea^t 

 side of the river, is still subject to overflow, especially when the liio 

 Chico in the northern part of the province is flooded. The Parac 

 River and many tidal streams from Manila Bay afford ample means 

 of water transportation for the southern and western part of the 

 province. The Manila Railroad passes through the province and has 

 branches to Florida Blanca, Camp Stotsenburg, and Magalang. The 

 province has fairly good roads between all of the municipalities. 



Soil. — The soil of Pampanga Province is principally light, sandy 

 loam with a tendency in many parts to pure sandy soil of great depth. 

 But little fine silt and clay land is devoted to sugar cane. The soils 

 of finer textures generally lie so near the sea level that they are suitable 

 only for rice growing and are devoted to that industry. In general 

 the soils of Pampanga Province are very easy to break and cultivate, 

 but they are subject to drought and deficient in the essential elements 

 of plant food. As no fertilizers are in general use in the growing of 

 sugar cane in this province the resulting crop is very small and many 

 times of an inferior quality. 



Cane. — The cane in general use throughout Pampanga is of the 

 purple variety and known as zehu. It is reputed to produce a very 

 pure juice, but owing to the very crude methods of manufacturing 

 the quality of sugar made is as a rule poor. As in Negros the number 

 of points planted to a hectare averages between 25,000 and 30,000. 



Planting. — The planters seem to entertain the opinion that when 

 cane grows small it can be planted closer together, thereby increasing 

 the tonnage yield. This idea has led to the planting of cane in rows 

 as close as 60 centimeters, and 75 to 90 centimeters may be considered 

 as the prevailing width for cane rows. They also plant it very thick 

 in the drill and before it has reached a height of 1 meter it thoroughly 

 shades the ground. This system of planting has the disadvantage of 

 dwarfing the growth of the cane and makes its cultivation practically 

 impossible without serious injury after the stalks have attained any 

 considerable height. It possesses some advantages, the principal of 

 which are the conservation of moisture, destroying grass and weeds, 

 and rendering further cultivation unnecessary. 



Ratoons. — It is a common custom to abandon the stubble after 

 harvesting the crop of plant cane and either allow the land to lie 

 fallow for one year or plant it in corn or some other crop. The few 



