376 TOBACCO CULTURE, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 



they, from filaments taken from the leaves of the etuana, 

 make cambric of a texture much finer than that of France ; 

 and they also manufacture coarse strong cloth for sails, and 

 ropes and cables of all dimensions ; they tan and dress leather 

 and skins to perfection ; they manufacture coarse earthen 

 ware, and forge and polish arms of various kinds ; they build 

 ships of heavy tonnage, and also light and neat boats ; and at 

 Manilla they frame and finish-off beautiful carriages ; they 

 are also very clever workers in gold, silver, and copper ; and 

 the Indian women are specially expert in needlework, and in 

 all kinds of embroidery. 



" The island of Luzon is the largest of the Philippines, and 

 extends from north to south for the length of about six 

 degrees. It is divided throughout its whole extent by a 

 chain of mountains, which in general owe their formation to 

 volcanic eruptions. In the provinces of Laguna and Batan- 

 gas there is the high mountain called Maijai, one of the lofti- 

 est in Luzon, which is beyond doubt an ancient crater ; on 

 the summit a little lake is found, the depth of which cannot 

 be measured. At some period the lava that then flowed 

 from the summit towards the base, in the neighborhood of the 

 town of Naearlan, covered up immense cavities, which are 

 now recognizable by the sonorous noise of the ground for a 

 great extent ; and sometimes it happens that, in consequence 

 of an inundation or an earthquake, this volcanic crust is in 

 Borne places broken, and exposes to the view enormous 

 caverns, which the Indians call ' the mouths of hell.' In the 

 district about the town of San Pablo, which is situated on 

 the mountain, are found great numbers of little circular lakes 

 and immense heaps of rotten stones, basalt, and different 

 descriptions of lava, which show that all these lakes are 

 nothing else than the craters of old volcanoes. Altogether 

 the soil to the southward, in the province of Albai, is com- 

 pletely volcanic, and the frequent eruptions of the volcano 

 bearing that name may, as the natives say, be attributed to 

 the same cause as the earthquakes so often felt in the island 

 of Luzon. Over almost the whole of these mountains, where 

 fire has played so conspicuous a part, there is a great depth 

 of vegetable earth, and they are covered with a most splendid 

 vegetation. Their declivities nourish immense forests and 

 fine pastures in which grow gigantic trees palm trees, rat- 

 tans, and lianas of a thousand kinds, or gramineous plants 

 of various sorts, particularly the wild sugar cane, which rises 

 to the height of from nine to twelve feet from the ground ; 



