288 
MANILLA. 
rice is a very prolific crop, yet it is subject to many casualties, from 
the locusts and other insects that devour it; the drought at other 
times affects it, particularly the aquatic varieties. There is a use to 
which the rice is applied here, which was new to us, namely, as a 
substitute for razors; by using two grains of it between the fingers, 
they nip the beard, or extract it from the chin and face. 
Among the important productions of these islands, I have mentioned 
hemp, although the article called Manilla hemp must not be understood 
to be derived from the plant which produces the common hemp (Can¬ 
nabis), being obtained from a species of plantain (Musa textilis), called 
in the Philippines “ abaca.” This is a native of these islands, and 
was formerly believed to be found only on Mindanao; but this is not 
the case, for it is cultivated on the south part of Luzon, and all the 
islands south of it. It grows on high ground, in rich soil, and is propa¬ 
gated by seeds. It resembles the other plants of the tribe of plantains, 
but its fruit is much smaller, although edible. The fibre is derived from 
the stem, and the plant attains the height of fifteen or twenty feet. The 
usual mode of preparing the hemp is to cut off the stem near the ground, 
before the time or just when the fruit is ripe. The stem is then eight or 
ten feet long below the leaves, where it is again cut. The outer coating 
of the herbaceous stem is then stripped off, until the fibres or cellular 
parts are seen, when it undergoes the process of rotting, and after being 
well dried in houses and sheds, is prepared for market by assorting it, 
a task which is performed by the women and children. That which 
is intended for cloth is soaked for an hour or two in weak lime-water 
prepared from sea-shells, again dried, and put up in bundles. From all 
the districts in which it grows, it is sent to Manilla, which is the only 
port whence it can legally be exported. It arrives in large bundles, 
and is packed there, by means of a screw-press, in compact bales, for 
shipping, secured by rattan, each weighing two piculs. 
The best Manilla hemp ought to be white, dry, and of a long and fine 
fibre. This is known at Manilla by the name of lupis; the second quality 
they call bandala. 
The exportation has much increased within the last few years, in 
consequence of the demand for it in the United States; and the whole 
crop is now monopolized by the two American houses of Sturges 
& Co., and T. N. Peale & Co., of Manilla, who buy all of good quality 
that comes to market. This is divided between the two houses, and the 
price they pay is from four to five dollars the picul. The entire quantity 
raised in 1840 was eighty-three thousand seven hundred and ninety 
piculs; in 1841, eighty-seven thousand. 
The quantity exported to the United States in 1840, was sixty-eight 
