VEGETATION IN THE PHILIPPINES. 



"K yr UCH attention has of late been 

 /y\ devoted to the Philippines, and 

 J^ V ^s one result considerable in- 

 terest has been evinced in their 

 natural products. In the matter of 

 vegetation they are highly favored. 

 Fruits grow in great abundance, and 

 the reputation of some of them is 

 already established abroad, as is the 

 case, for example, with the mango. 

 Other fruits grown in the islands are 

 the ate (the cinnamon apple of the 

 French colonists), the mangosteen, the 

 pineapple, the tamarind, the orange, 

 the lemon, the jack, the jujube, the lit- 

 chi (regarded by the Chinese as the 

 king of fruits), the plum, the chico- 

 mamey (the sapodilla of the West In- 

 dies), the bread fruit, and the papaw. 

 The last named is eaten like a melon, 

 and is valued as a digestive; its juice 

 furnishes an extract which is used as 

 a medicament under the name of papa- 

 ine, or vegetable pepsin. The banana 

 grows abundantly and is a great boon 

 to the poor people, supplying them 

 with a cheap, delicious, and exceed- 

 ingly nutritive food; there are many 

 varieties, ten of which are in particular 

 highly esteemed. 



Plants which are cultivated for in- 

 dustrial purposes include the sugar 

 cane, of which four varieties are grown 

 — yellow cane, Otaheite cane, purple 

 or Batavia cane, and striped cane. 

 Of vegetables there are several pulses 

 used as food by the natives which never 

 appear on the tables of the European 

 settlers. These include the mango, 

 mentioned above, and three or four 

 kinds of beans, such as the butingue, 

 the zabache, the Abra bean, and the 

 Patami bean. These suit the natives 

 much better than the garbanzos, or 

 chick peas, that are so highly prized 

 by the Spaniards. Among the tuber- 



ous roots valued as food the sweet po- 

 tato ranks first, with an annual produc- 

 tion of 98, 000,000. pounds. The com- 

 mon or white potato, although of infe- 

 rior quality, stands nextin importance. 

 Then follows the camotengcahoy or 

 manihot (cassava), the root of which is 

 made edible by the removal of its poi- 

 sonous juice in the same way as in the 

 West Indies. After expression of the 

 juice the pulp forms a sort of coarse- 

 grained flour that is very nutritious, 

 pleasant to the taste and easy to digest. 

 Besides these tubers other plants, such 

 as the ubi, the togui and the gabi, are 

 cultivated in the fields for the sake of 

 their edible roots. Other edible vege- 

 tables include calabashes, melons, water- 

 melons, cucumbers, carrots, celery, 

 parsley, tomatoes, egg plants, peppers, 

 capers, cabbages, lettuce, endives, mus- 

 tard, leeks, onions, asparagus, and peas. 

 Of the cocoa palms the ordinary co- 

 coanut tree is the most important, the 

 oil of which is put to many and varied 

 uses. The bamboo is much valued, 

 the young and tender shoots making a 

 very acceptable article of food, in the 

 form of salads and other dishes, and 

 the fibre is used for numerous purposes. 

 Tobacco as a cultivated crop is gener- 

 ally grown in the same field as maize. 

 Of spices the Philippines grow cinna- 

 mon, nutmegs, pepper, ginger, and ma- 

 joram. Of medicinal plants the most 

 familiar are the papaw, already men- 

 tioned, and ipecacuanha. 



Among aromatic and ornamental 

 plants may be mentioned magnolias, 

 camellias, clematis, several kinds of 

 roses, dahlias, ylang-ylang, papua, 

 jessamine, and many species of or- 

 chids and ferns. These, however, 

 grow wild in such profusion that little 

 care is bestowed upon their cultivation. 

 — Gardener s Magazine. 



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