16 FARMERS' BULLETIN. 



they can be otherwise properly reclaimed. Open drains, to be efficacious, 

 must be constantly kept clean and in repair. This entails constant labor 

 and a very considerable and unnecessary sacrifice of land. Stone-filled 

 drains made of broken stone of graduated sizes are expensive, and in time 

 are apt to become clogged with fine silt. Tile drains will be the final 

 recourse,, and the excellence and abundance of the clay and the skill 

 shown by the Filipinos in its manipulation are additional reasons for 

 advocating their use. The financial condition of the planters at this time 

 justifies a recourse to the expedients previously mentioned, and the hope 

 is expressed that the profits arising from a better scheme of cane growing 

 may eventually enable them to place their fields in the highest and most 

 profitable condition. 



It is well known that a perfect system of tile drainage is almost a guar- 

 antee against the evil effects of drought. To those who lack full compre- 

 hension of the subject it appears paradoxical that a system primarily 

 designed to dispose of surplus water in the soil will, at the same time, act 

 as an agent for its restoration. Such is the case, however, and, on the 

 principle that nature abhors a vacuum, there can be no evaporation of the 

 surface waters without a supply constantly being drawn from below to 

 replace it. Further, this, like ail ^ater that is in motion, is pure, sani- 

 tary, and drawn upwards through the cane roots in just such quantities 

 as they can appropriate with the greatest benefit, and in dry seasons, 

 unless in excess, never flows to waste in the drains. It is, in short, the 

 auxiliary to the planter in the valley, that irrigation is to the cane grower 

 on the uplands. 



The uplands promise to be of long-enduring value, and, ultimately, 

 more profitable than the valleys. The abundant water supply that pre- 

 vails in all the districts where sugar is now grown, is available for the 

 reclamation of immense areas to this purpose. Here the planter has posi- 

 tive and complete control of the situation. He is free from the ever- 

 recurring possibility in tropical countries of disastrous flood or inunda- 

 tion, while the danger of protracted drought need not be considered as an 

 element of crop failure. His control, in short, is so perfect that he can 

 apply moisture at the times when it is most beneficial, and withhold it 

 completely as his crop approaches maturity, when continued rain or mois- 

 ture would increase the sap in the cane, at the sacrifice and loss of the 

 sucrose he has patiently striven to elaborate. 



Large areas of these uplands are frequently quite level, or with a gentle 

 slope towards the sea, and consequently present ideal conditions for the 

 ready distribution of irrigating waters. Some of the most valuable lands 

 are, however, more or less undulating, and although susceptible to irri- 

 gation, the successful manipulation of the water requires attention to 

 some simple engineering problems, which are, however, too extensive for 

 treatment at this time. 



