THE IRHIGA TWN A GE. 19 1 



MANGOES. 



The mango farms of the Philippines are among the important 

 features of interest. These great, rich farms would be very profitable 

 if the natives knew how to hancSVe the crops to advantage. The fruit 

 is sweet and nourishing and is eaten by foreigners to a large degree. 

 The shipment of the fruit to Japan and other countries has been car- 

 ried on recently with good returns. The native labor, however, is 

 shiftless, and the fruits are often rendered inferior by the crude meth- 

 ods of labor used. One of the first steps towards the improvement of 

 the Philippine farms by irrigation and cultivation should be the intro- 

 duction of tool with which to work. One will see farmers down on 

 their hands and knees turning the soil with crude wood devices. The 

 plows are all wood and inferior in workmanship. There ought to be 

 a large number of plows sent here as well as general farming tools 

 and machinery. Some of the poorly paying plantations could be 

 turned to profitable account if this were done. 



