290 MANILLA. 



cleaning a picul (one hundred and forty pounds) is from five to seven 

 dollars. There have, as far as I have understood, been no endeavours 

 to introduce any cotton-gins from our country. 



It will be merely necessary to give the prices at which labourers 

 are paid, to show how low the compensation is, in comparison with 

 those in our own country. In the vicinity of Manilla, twelve and a 

 half cents per day is the usual wages ; this in the provinces falls to 

 six and nine cents. A man with two buffaloes is paid about thirty 

 cents. The amount of labour performed by the latter in a day would 

 be the ploughing of a soane, about two-tenths of an acre. The most 

 profitable way of employing labourers is by the task, when, it is said, 

 the natives work well, and are industrious. 



The manner in which the sugar and other produce is brought to 

 market at Manilla is peculiar, and deserves to be mentioned. In some 

 of the villages, the chief men unite to build a vessel, generally a 

 pirogue, in which they embark their produce, under the conduct of a 

 few persons, who go to navigate it, and dispose of the cargo. In due 

 time they make their voyage, and when the accounts are settled, the 

 returns are distributed to each according to his share. Festivities are 

 then held, the saints thanked for their kindness, and blessings invoked for 

 another year. After this is over, the vessel is taken carefully to pieces, 

 and distributed among the owners, to be preserved for the next season. 



The profits in the crops, according to estimates, vary from sixty to 

 one hundred per cent. ; but it was thought, as a general average, that 

 this was, notwithstanding the great productiveness of the soil, far be- 

 yond the usual profits accruing from agricultural operations. In some 

 provinces this estimate would hold good, and probably be exceeded. 



Indigo would probably be a lucrative crop, for that raised here is 

 said to be of a quality equal to the best, and the crop is not subject to 

 so many uncertainties as in India : the capital and attention required 

 in vats, &c, prevent it from being raised in any quantities. Among 

 the productions, the bamboo and rattan ought to claim a particular 

 notice from their great utility : they enter into almost every thing. 

 Of the former their houses are built, including frames, floors, sides, 

 and roof; fences are made of the same material, as well as every 

 article of general household use, including baskets for oil and water. 

 The rattan is a general substitute for ropes of all descriptions, and the 

 two combined are used in constructing rafts for crossing ferries. 



I have thus given a general outline of the capabilities of this country 

 for agricultural operations, in some of the most important articles of 

 commerce; by which it will be seen that the Philippine Islands are 

 one of the most favoured parts of the globe. 



