American Development of the Philippines 201 



pelago. Eighteen thousand two hun- 

 dred and fifty packages of field and 

 garden seeds, including 134 varieties, 

 have been distributed to them. It has 

 been proved that fairly good Irish pota- 

 toes and peas will grow in the lowlands 

 near Manila. Beets also do well in the 

 same locality, and radishes are ready 

 for the table in three to four weeks after 

 planting. Improved varieties of oranges 

 and lemons brought from California are 

 flourishing. A new species of wild 

 grape has been discovered in the island 

 of Negros. An effort is being made to 

 improve it sufficiently for cultivation, 

 as no grapes to speak of have hereto- 

 fore been grown on the islands. Fifty- 

 two fiber-producing plants are known 

 to exist in the Philippines, but only 

 two of these have been of commercial 

 value. Experts are experimenting to 

 see whether some of the other fifty va- 

 rieties may not also be profitable. 



These are only some of the practical 

 devices of the government to better con- 

 ditions. The wasteful methods of the 

 different industries — such as the gutta- 

 percha, the tobacco, the sugar cane, 

 and the hemp — at present causing a loss 

 of full}- 50 per cent in the product, are 

 being corrected by educating the Fili- 

 pino to a more economical and hence 

 more profitable system. 



An experiment station for the grow- 

 ing of rice on a large scale is being es- 

 tablished. The present Filipino method 

 of rice growing seems ridiculously anti- 

 quated. Every blade of the millions of 

 stalks on a large rice plantation is now 

 planted by hand. The labor is most 

 exhausting, since it must be done in 

 stooping posture, either under the burn- 

 ing sun reflected from the muddy water 

 or under a mighty downpour of rain. 

 Looking over the paddy fields in the 

 month of October, it seems incredible 

 that every blade was planted by hand. 

 An effort is to be made to introduce the 

 American drill for planting. Modern 

 farming implements are being intro- 



duced and their use taught the natives. 

 An extensive stock farm for the breed- 

 ing of draft and dairy animals is also 

 being established. The funds for these 

 experiment stations are advanced by 

 the government, but the stations are 

 intended to be and will doubtless soon 

 become self-supporting. 



Professor Worcester believes that the 

 agricultural opportunities in the Philip- 

 pines for young Americans are consid- 

 erable. Only a small part of the soil 

 capable of producing sugar, hemp, and 

 tobacco is under cultivation. Large 

 areas of government lands are admira- 

 bly adapted to the cultivation of cocoa- 

 nuts, for which there is a large and 

 profitable demand. The trees can be 

 grown readily and with comparatively 

 little danger of loss. Under existing 

 conditions, the minimum annual profit 

 from a fairly good bearing tree is $1 

 Mexican, and frequently two or three 

 times this amount is realized. Other 

 crops, such as Indian corn and alfalfa, 

 can be grown between the rows of co- 

 coanut trees while the latter are matur- 

 ing, and used to fatten hogs, which 

 always bring a good price in the Phil- 

 ippine market. The demand for copra 

 in these islands is greatly in excess of 

 the supply and is steadily increasing, 

 while cocoanut oil now sells readily in 

 Manila at $1.25 Mexican per gallon. 



The lands along the coast of Min- 

 danao and Paragua are particularly 

 favorable to cocoanut growing, and in 

 the latter island trees are said to come to 

 bearing in four years. 



No other country has climate and soil so 

 favorable to cacao growing as Mindanao. 

 The cacao now produced in that island 

 is of superior quality and is nearly all 

 bought up for shipment to Spain, where 

 it brings an especially high price. There 

 are numerous other regions in the isl- 

 ands where cacao can be raised to great 

 advantage, but there is not today a 

 cacao plantation in the archipelago, the 

 Filipinos having almost invariably con- 



