48 PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE 



Kew, near London, was measured and compared in 1866. 

 In April there was 20 times as much light at Para as at 

 Kew, and in August 3.3 times as much. 



Rainfall Important. The amount of rainfall, and its 

 distribution throughout the year, are more important 

 than the temperature in determining what crops can 

 profitably be grown in any place. A favorable temper- 

 ature is plainly of no service where the climate is too dry 

 to let plants thrive. Even without rain, a moist atmos- 

 phere is an advantage to plants. 



Maguey and pina are the only Philippine crops which 

 are very productive where there is not a heavy rainfall 

 fairly evenly distributed through all the months. Other 

 crops can endure a shorter dry season, and most of them 

 can be kept in excellent condition if failure of rain is 

 made up by irrigation. Abaca is injured by even a brief 

 drought, but coconuts would probably thrive best with 

 no rain at all, if properly irrigated. Sugar, rice, and 

 maize want dryness as they mature. 



Rainfall in the Philippines. There are great local dif- 

 ferences, that is, differences between places near together, 

 in the rainfall in the Philippines, and these determine 

 what crops can be raised in the various sections. The 

 rainfall at different places from September, 1902, through 

 August, 1903, was as follows, the figures being the 

 number of millimeters : 



Masinlok, 3862.9 Balanga, 1908.1 



Borongan, 3452.7 San Fernando de Union, 1869.7 



Caraga, 3165.2 Surigao, 1781.5 



