306 The Philippine Journal of Science ma 



stop at Mulanay somewhat less frequently. The nearest railroad 

 station is at Lucena, about 70 kilometers northeast of Catana- 

 uan. None of the rivers in the oil field are navigable. No 

 improved roads have been built on the peninsula ; there are poor 

 trails between Catanauan and Mulanay, Mulanay and San Narci- 

 so, Mulanay and Bondoc, and between Bondoc and San Andres. 

 A few of the smaller outlying villages are connected by trails, 

 but these are used so little that they are not kept open and are 

 generally hard to follow. The principal trails are indicated on 

 the map. 



CLIMATE AND VEGETATION 



The months of March, April, and May constitute the dry sea- 

 son, and are the best months for field work on the peninsula. 

 The rains begin in June, and continue regularly through July 

 and August. During the other months of the year the rain- 

 fall is intermediate between that of the dry season and that 

 of the wet season. The Weather Bureau has no station in 

 this region, and consequently exact meteorologic data are not 

 available. 



The more precipitous valleys and the mountainous regions are 

 wooded. Parts of the woods are good forest and fairly open, 

 but a large area has been cut over by the natives and is now 

 an impassible jungle of undergrowth. The country of inter- 

 mediate elevation is usually not wooded, but is covered with a 

 rank growth of cogon. Mangrove swamps are encountered near 

 the mouths of some of the rivers and on other areas of low 

 ground along the coasts. 



POPULATION 



In 1903 the total population in the area shown on the map 

 was 10,088. More than 40 per cent of this number lived in the 

 municipality of Catanauan. Bondoc and San Narciso, which 

 were listed as municipalities in the census of 1903, subsequently 

 fell to the rank of barrios, although the latter again has been 

 made a municipality within the last year. The population is 

 little if any greater, and it may be slightly less, than in 1903. 



Coconut growing is the main resource of the region. Small 

 herds of cattle are encountered in the interior, but the number 

 is far less than the available grazing territory could support. 

 There are limited areas suitable for the cultivation of rice at a 

 number of places, but here again the opportunity is not generally 

 improved. A natural asset of the country is the buri palm which 

 grows without cultivation everywhere. From it the native se- 

 cures the material for his house and for the manufacture of 

 mats and bags — a household industry. His shoes are of buri 



