246 



A discussion on the steam-pipe, hot-air oven, and its future 

 place in Philippine agriculture was brought up. 



Reference was made to the author's pamphlet, : ' The 

 Philippine Coconut Industry" (Bulletin No. 25: Bureau ot 

 Printing, Manila), which gives full information on this subject. 



[DISCUSSION.] 



Mr. BARRETT, in reply to a question by Mr. Lowitz as to 

 the price paid to the labourer, said : It depends very much 

 on the locality and on the time of the year. For instance, in 

 the province of Lacuna, which is the oldest coconut area of 

 large extent in the world, where the palm was plentiful long 

 before any such thing as copra was known, the native does not 

 eat the 'coconut. Those coconuts were planted for vino or oil, 

 and it was only recently that the export of copra began in that 

 province. There, as it is heavily populated, you can get a 

 good labourer for a shilling a day in most months of the year. 

 But if you want a labourer at rice planting, or rice harvest 

 time, or at sugar time, you will have to pay 50 per cent. more. 

 In the Southern Islands it is difficult to get a good labourer 

 at any price; you may have to pay up to one peso per day 

 throughout the year. In the Saboo you have to pay is. 6d. 

 to is. pd. per day, and that does not include food. The 

 labourer generally looks 'after himself. You cannot get a 

 steady sure supply of labour anywhere at any time. If you 

 try to make contracts and to ensure having steady labour 

 supplies, you will, in many cases, find yourself tied up with the 

 old custom of demanding money advances. 



The CHAIRMAN: I would like to ask Mr. Barrett whether 

 the further development of the coconut industry in the 

 Philippines has affected the area devoted to the cultivation of 

 Manila hemp. 



Mr. BARRETT : .No, it has not affected the industry in any 

 way, generally speaking. In very few cases they are growing 

 hemp with coconuts, but only in one of the islands, and in the 

 south-east part of the main island, where hemp is the prime 

 crop. They are not planting many coconuts, because the 

 good ground available is under cultivation with other crops. 

 Practically only in one part do you find hemp and coconuts 

 planted together, and 1 that is in a very narrow fringe in the 

 south and round the coast, because nobody thinks of going 

 into the interior, where there is no transport and the natives 

 are dangerous. 



In reply to a question by Mr. Wernham as to the yield per 

 acre of coconuts and the cost of planting, Mr. Barrett said : 

 Without going into details, I will give you a very few facts. 



