6 r FARMERS' BULLETIN. 



tion, notwithstanding the fact that there are extensive areas distributed 

 throughout the Archipelago which are admirably adapted to the grow- 

 ing of rice. Indeed, the natural conditions for the production of this 

 crop are so favorable that it would not be surprising to see the Phil- 

 ippines become, within the next ten years, one of the leading rice- 

 producing countries of the world. 



It was stated above that no obstacles exist to the introduction of a new 

 system of rice culture in this country. We may go further and say that 

 it is absolutely necessary that it should be done. Ever since the occupa- 

 tion of these Islands by the American Army four years ago the price of 

 labor has steadily increased, and as American customs are gradually 

 introduced we may look forward to a further advance. It is needless to 

 say that every industry will be profoundly affected by this, and the rice 

 industry will be one of the first to feel its influence, for it is a crop which 

 must be grown cheaply in order to be profitable. To pursue the same 

 system of cultivation as in China, however, and to have to pay three and 

 four times as much for labor is out of the question. Hence, the rice 

 farmer will have to adapt himself to the new condition if he wishes to 

 compete successfully with foreign rice, and it is with the view of 

 outlining a new system that this bulletin is published. 



Of course it will take time Vfore the methods indicated can be carried 

 out in the remote provinces. There are difficulties to be overcome, chief 

 among which is the question of draft animals, but that a revolution in 

 rice culture is inevitable there can be no doubt, and the sooner it is 

 realized the sooner a beginning will be made. 



In concluding these preliminary remarks, a few words might be said 

 with advantage in regard to cheap labor and labor-saving machinery. 

 Cheap labor is by no means the cheapest article on the market. In 

 support of this statement the following figures are submitted : The labor 

 of a Filipino in the rice fields of the Philippines has been estimated at 

 $20 gold and board per annum. The amount of land which he can culti- 

 vate is 2| acres, yielding 1,500 pounds of paddy. In Texas or Louisiana, 

 on the other hand, a laborer receives $200 gold and board, but he 

 cultivates 80 acres of land, and the cultivation is so superior that with 

 irrigation water alone he produces 160,000 pounds of paddy. In short he 

 receives ten times the wages, but he produces one hundred times more rice 

 than the Filipino laborer. 



It is not claimed that such results can be obtained in the Philippines. 

 This is a question which can only be definitely settled in the field, and as 

 soon as possible practical work will be undertaken to determine exactly to 

 what extent local conditions may modify the results obtained in Louisiana 

 and Texas. 



