50 The Philippine Journal of Science i»is 



at a shameful percentage above the retail Manila price. The 

 islands, particularly Itbayat, have plenty of pasture land, and 

 cattle raising could be carried on somewhat extensively. Land 

 suitable for garden purposes, however, is scarce and widely 

 distributed over the islands, hence the population must always 

 be a limited one. 



The inhabitants have been spoken of as hard working and 

 industrious. My observations do not support this statement. 

 It is true that they must of necessity put in long hours of 

 labor, but this is largely due to the fact that the cultivable 

 land is widely scattered. A great deal of time is, therefore, 

 required to go to and from the fields or rather little garden 

 patches. Having secured something to eat and some clothing, 

 the people seem to be quite content. Day laborers are difficult 

 to secure at any reasonable wage, and the workmen are 

 slow. It is customary for several members of a family to go 

 to the fields in the early morning and return about sunset or 

 later. Some of the families go to the fields on Monday morning 

 returning Saturday afternoon. During the week it is not 

 unusual for them to rest during the day and work at night if 

 there be a moon. Little shacks are put up in the pastures for 

 their protection during these periods. 



The homes on Itbayat are made of coral rock foundation, plank 

 floor, and sides and roof of cogon grass. On Batan and Sabtang 

 they are made of coral rock with cogon grass roofs. Rarely a 

 shack is found on these two islands. The better home consists 

 of two parts, a kitchen and a dwelling portion, but in the vast 

 majority of cases there is only one room to serve as kitchen, 

 dwelling-room, and bedroom. Inside of this room a wood fire 

 is made on a few stones and, since the house is unprovided with 

 a chimney, the smoke at times becomes almost unendurable and 

 the dirt is frightful. The great majority of the homes are poorly 

 ventilated, and it is the custom of the natives, as elsewhere in 

 the Philippines, to close their homes as tightly as possible at 

 night. Sudden changes in the temperature are not rare, and 

 there is not sufficient fuel available to keep a continuous fire 

 when it is indicated. Hence the houses are uncomfortably cool 

 and damp at times. The small amount of money at its disposal 

 and the exorbitant prices prohibit a family from having enough 

 clothing for the cooler portions of the year. 



Cattle, hogs, goats, and chickens are almost the only posses- 

 sions of this people and naturally are guarded carefully, espe- 

 cially during the night, when they are kept close to the house. 

 Indeed it is not a rare event to see the family pig or the family 



