THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 261 



is true that the strait between them is narrow, but the water is 

 very deep, and the larger animals included in the fauna of 

 Borneo are not found in the Philippines, especially the ele- 

 phant, tapir, and orang-outang. There are no beasts of prey in 

 the Philippines except a small one — "el gato del monte " — a 

 species of wildcat, and even that is not very plentiful. The wild 

 animals are buffalo — not the. bison of our western plains, mis- 

 called buffalo, but the East Indian animal — deer, hogs, which 

 are doubtless descendants of domesticated animals that have 

 taken to wild life in the woods, and monkeys. There is also re- 

 port of the existence on the island of Mindoro of a mysterious 

 animal called tumarao, which the natives describe as a cross be- 

 tween the buffalo and deer. , 



The tamed buffalo, called the water buffalo, from its delight 

 in wallowing in water and mud, is the most useful of the quad- 

 rupeds and is universally employed in agricultural work and" 

 the transportation of freight, both as a pack and draft animal. 

 Goats, sheep, dogs, and cats are plentiful. Flying squirrels are 

 numerous in the forests, and bats of enormous size, frequently 

 measuring five or six feet from tip to tip of their wings. 



Snakes, lizards, and other reptiles abound ; also insect pests 

 of various kinds, among which are the destructive white ants, 

 mosquitoes, tarantulas, and other spiders of enormous size. 



Pigeons and domestic fowls are abundant, and there is an 

 immense variety of parrots and other wild birds, many of which 

 are comparatively little known, even by name, to American or 

 European ornithologists. . ' 



CLIMATE 



The extreme length of the Philippine group being from north 

 to south, their northernextremity reaching nearly to the northern 

 Limit of the tropical zone, causes considerable variety of climate, 

 although the general characteristics are, of course, tropical. On 

 the western side of Luzon, where Manila is situated, the hottest 

 season is from March to June, the greatest heat being felt gener- 

 ally in May, before the rains set in, when the maximum ranges 

 from 80° to 100° in the shade. The coolest weather occurs in 

 December and January, when the temperature falls at night to 

 60° or 65° and seldom rises in the day above 75° ; in fact, dur- 

 ing the months from November to February the sky is bright, 

 the atmosphere cool and dry, and the weather in every way 

 delightful. 



