128 



KILBOL'RNE. 



Beriberi lias been endemic among the native population since the 

 occupation of the Philippines by the American forces in 1898, and several 

 cases have been reported among the whites. Although I have examined 

 several white soldiers and civilians, said to have beriberi, I can not 

 say that I have ever seen a genuine case in this class, and am of the 

 opinion that the disease is extremely rare among them. In the Tropics 

 it is easy to confuse multiple neuritis from other causes with true 

 beriberi. 



The relationship of rice to beriberi is so well established that a con- 

 sideration of one must include the other ; therefore, a brief outline of 

 the rice-eating habits of the inhabitants of the Islands is here given. 

 Nearly all the tribes of the Philippines are of the Malay race, and 

 though not all are of the same religious belief, their modes of preparing 

 rice for eating are practically identical. None, as far as I can ascertain, 

 use parboiled rice. There are a considerable number of Chinese and a 

 lew East Indians all of whom use polished rice, either native or imported. 

 The latter prefer an Indian polished rice, which they import in small 

 amounts for their own consumption. 



The inhabitants of the interior rise irrigated rice, when practicable, 

 and mountain or upland rice when water is not accessible. Those in 

 the lower lands, for the greater part, consume irrigated native rice. 

 The inhabitants of the coastal plains use the latter, or imported rice 

 brought, principally, from the British and French East Indies and 

 from Siam. 



For twenty-one years preceding, and since the American occupation, 

 there has not been enough native rice produced to supply the population. 

 Before 1877 this was not so; then the rice exported exceeded that im- 

 ported. The various sources and amounts of rice imported since the 

 American occupation are given in the following table, compiled from 

 the records of the Bureau of Customs. 



Table II. — Sources of imported rice — fiscal years ending June 30 — weights in 



kilos. 



Year. 



United 

 States. 



United 

 King- 

 dom. 



France. 



Spain. 



Japan. 



British 



East 

 Indies. 



Dutch 



East 



Indies. 



French 

 East Indies. 



Siam. 



Other 

 Asia. 



1899 









859,272 

 6,619 



136,405 

 16,713 

 42,040 

 30,859 

 19,381 

 25,872 

 17,901 

 35,773 



5,727 



129 



147 



85,421 



8,258 



7,287 

 9,837 

 11,616 

 31,398 



3,172,052 



5,589,964 



4,624,958 



22,819,860 



27,687,089 



38,443,895 



18,432,723 



8,412,494 



971,600 



1 ,209,207 



7,500 

 1,919 



29,547 



198,535 



1,376 



2,739 



6,774,902 

 149,999,369 

 161,647,368 

 179,719,833 

 262,930,276 

 264,317,216 

 208,772,632 

 120,312,056 

 106,673,410 

 152,799,230 







1900 













1901 





505 



82 



12,188,900 



13,414,030 



16,481,171 



C) 



(") 



M 



' 5,311,105 

 8,427,425 





1902. _ 

 1903_. 

 1904__ 



218,298 

 6,665 



700,780 



630,354 



26,519,980 



28,606,778 



9,988,451 











1905- 







100 



1906__ 







1907 . 









1908 





















1 Siam rice 1904-1906 is included in that from "Other Asia." 



