216 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



"first, the determination and study of the physical properties of the tillable soils 

 of the region; second, mechanical analysis of the same; third, physical-chemical 

 analysis of the same; fourth, qualitative analysis of the same; fifth, analyses and 

 experiments by the scholars and their employment in actual practice; sixth, study 

 of systems of irrigation, quantity and quality of water, epochs and times of irri- 

 gation best adapted to cultivation; seventh, analysis and study of seeds, methods 

 of sowing and grafting; eighth, study and analysis of secondary products of agri- 

 cultural products and their uses; ninth, experiments with classes of labor, and 

 with machines and instruments best adapted to cultivation; tenth, experiments 

 with new kinds of products, and studies of their adaptability and cultivation; 

 eleventh, study of the climate and its action upon*products, of the natural fertility 

 of the soil, the assimilation of atmospheric and other elements, and the manner of 

 changing them; twelfth, study of the expense and products of actual cultivation 

 and of reforms in the economy of production; thirteenth, studies with reference 

 to herds and their races, qualities, feeding, care, and the acclimatization of new 

 species and breeds; fourteenth, study of agricultural industry, industrial prod- 

 ucts, machinery, and reforms in industrial methods; fifteenth, study of the dis- 

 eases or pests affecting crops and animals and the means of combating them and 

 conserving products; sixteenth, solution of all other problems of technical or eco- 

 nomical character which affect, or may affect, the agriculture of the region." 



In addition to the above, agricultural instruction was given in the University 

 of Manila and at the Municipal Atheneum. The laws under which they were 

 conducted required that the directors and professors of the schools and farms 

 should be agricultural engineers, with skilled graduated farmers for their assist- 

 ants. In 1887 the first model farm in this system was established at La Carlota, 

 near the principal center of agricultural activity of the archipelago. A little later 

 a second was established at San Pedro de Magalang, Luzon. After 1888 this sta- 

 tion paid especial attention to horse breeding, a stud of Arabian horses being 

 maintained for crossing with the smaller horses of the islands. Other stations 

 were maintained at Albay, Isabela Luzon, Iloilo, Ilocos Sur, and at Cebu. Stations 

 were also established at Jolo and Leyte, but were discontinued September 10, 1888, 

 and December 7, 1891. These stations were designed to show what cultures could 

 be successfully maintained in their vicinity, and received a limited number of stu- 

 dents, who were trained as overseers for large plantations. Since January, 1894, 

 there has been published an official journal entitled Boletin Oficial Agricola de 

 Filipinas. It was designed to give accounts and to place on record the various inves- 

 tigations undertaken at the agricultural schools and stations. A few numbers of 

 this bulletin have been received at the Library of this Department, but they give 

 little data regarding the work done, the principal articles being reprints or reports 

 of agriculture in other countries. S|nce the American occupation of the Philip- 

 pines but little appears to have been Mlone in the maintenance of these schools and 

 stations. At least, the available information regarding education does not men- 

 tion at all, or but briefly, the subject of agricultural instruction in the islands. 

 That the Philippine Commission is alive to the necessity of the subject is shown 

 by the fact that it has established a bureau of forestry, which is placed in charge 

 of a competent officer with a corps of assistants, and examinations have been held 

 by the United States Civil Service Commission to supply a register for instructors 

 in agriculture and some of its allied branches. The necessity for the introduction 

 of modern methods of cultivating and handling crops ie apparent to anyone who 

 reads any of the numerous publications which treat at all fully of the conditions 

 existing in the islands. But little stimulus would be required to restore many of 

 the almost abandoned industries to a state in which they would be remunerative, 

 and the possibilities of extending the cultivation of such crops as rice, sugar, cof- 

 fee, and tobacco seem to be almost unlimited, if the reports at hand are to be 

 believed. 



It would, in my judgment, be best to confine the preliminary 

 investigation in the Philippines within the area of the islands con- 

 trolled by the civil government, and to limit it to such studies as are 

 necessary to determine the most suitable location for an experiment 

 station which could at once take up a few lines of work of the most 

 pressing importance. With headquarters for agricultural investiga- 

 tions once established, and a single experiment station well organ- 

 ized, it would be easy to extend the work of agricultural research 

 so that it would take into account the special needs of different local- 

 ities. I therefore recommend that an initial appropriation of $15,000 

 be made to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to institute agricul- 



