284 MANILLA. 



species of Andropogon), of which it is very difficult to rid the fields. 

 The bolo or long-knife, a basket, and hoe, complete the list of imple- 

 ments, and answer all the purposes of our spades, &c. 



The buffalo was used until within a few years exclusively in their 

 agricultural operations, and they have lately taken to the use of the 

 ox ; but horses are never used. The buffalo, from the slowness of his 

 motions, and his exceeding restlessness under the heat of the climate, 

 is ill adapted to agricultural labour; but the natives are very partial to 

 them, notwithstanding they occasion them much labour and trouble in 

 bathing them during the great heat. This is absolutely necessary, or 

 the animal becomes so fretful as to be unfit for use. If it were not 

 for this, the buffalo would, notwithstanding his slow pace, be most 

 effective in agricultural operations; he requires little food, and that of 

 the coarsest kind ; his strength surpasses that of the stoutest ox, and 

 he is admirably adapted for the rice or paddy fields. They are very 

 docile when used by the natives, and even children can manage them ; 

 but it is said they have a great antipathy to the whites, and all 

 strangers. The usual mode of guiding them is by a small cord at- 

 tached to the cartilage of the nose. The yoke rests on the neck before 

 the shoulders, and is of simple construction. To this is attached what- 

 ever it may be necessary to draw, either by traces, shafts, or other 

 fastenings. Frequently this animal may be seen with large bundles of 

 bamboo lashed to them on each side. Buffaloes are to be met with on 

 the lake with no more than their noses and eyes out of the water, and 

 are not visible until they are approached within a few feet, when they 

 cause alarm to the passengers by raising their large forms close to the 

 boat. It is said that they resort to the lake to feed on a favourite grass 

 that grows on its bottom in shallow water, and which they dive for. 

 Their flesh is not eaten, except that of the young ones, for it is tough 

 and tasteless. The milk is nutritious, and of a character between that 

 of the goat and cow. 



The general appearance of the buffalo is that of a hybrid of the bull 

 and rhinoceros. Its horns do not rise upwards, are very close at the 

 root, bent backwards, and of a triangular form, with a flat side above. 

 One of the peculiarities of the buffalo is its voice, which is quite low, 

 and in the minor key, resembling that of a young colt. It is as fond 

 of mire as swine, and shows the consequence of recent wallowing, in 

 being crusted over with mud. The skin is visible, being but thinly 

 covered with hair ; its colour is usually that of a mouse ; in some 

 individuals darker. 



Rice is, perhaps, of their agricultural products, the article upon 

 which the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands most depend for food 



