MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 587 



times destructive, but as compared with most temperate 

 and some tropical countries it is a negligible feature. 

 The rainfall for the lowlands of the northern (Luzon) 

 and central (Visayas) parts may be put down at about 

 60 to 80 in. per annum; in the southern section it 

 ranges from about 80 to 100 in. 



Insect pests are, with the exception of migratory 

 locusts, only ordinarily prevalent. Sugar-cane thus far 

 is remarkably free from troubles of this sort and 

 coconuts on the whole suffer surprisingly little from 

 either the red weevil or the rhinoceros beetle. 



Rinderpest, surra and a few other serious animal 

 diseases have called for very careful attention and some 

 stringent measures on the part uf the Bureau of Agri- 

 culture, and without expert supervision, rigid inspection, 

 and quarantine regulations both in infected zones and 

 in the ports of entry, it is probable that the Filipino 

 farmers would soon be practically without cattle and 

 horses. 



With 7,500,000 people scattered over an area of 

 119,542 square miles (31,000,000 hectares) the countiy as 

 a whole is rather under-populated. Labour therefore, 

 according to season and locality, is comparatively scarce. 

 The floating population in the interior provinces is 

 comparatively small; the custom, established by the 

 Spaniards, of a complicated rental system affording the 

 lessee comparatively little personal liberty and individual 

 privilege in the way of agricultural holdings either of 

 forest areas or crop lands, is still more or less in effect. 

 In other words, the Filipino planter is seldom obliged 

 to change his residence and, being able in almost every 

 case to satisfy his family's immediate wants by a few 

 days' labour on the share system in a neighbouring rice 

 field or abaca (Manila hemp) plantation supplemented 

 by a small patch of sweet potatoes, maize, and bananas, 

 he is naturally loath to travel even into the next town 

 to seek employment even at a comparatively high wage 

 rate. 



Looking at the matter in perspective, therefore, we 

 see a highly diversified country, inhabited by some thirty 

 more or less distinct branches of the Malay race. The 



