A Revelation of the Filipinos 141 



cigars will compare favorably with the 

 best Habana cigars. No estimate can 

 be made at this time of the productive- 

 ness of the islands in hemp, inasmuch as 

 it grows wild as well as under cultiva- 

 tion, and there are many acres of wild 

 hemp which have never been touched; 

 moreover, the methods employed in 

 stripping hemp are of the crudest kind. 

 This valuable crop and its full develop- 

 ment merely await the influence of 

 American invention and capital. 



As compared with the total area of the 

 islands, the amount of land under culti- 

 vation is small, but it should be remem- 

 bered that the islands of Mindoro, Para- 

 gua,and Mindanao, which are among the 

 largest of the group, are very little cul- 

 tivated. Again, the methods followed, 

 including the implements in use, are 

 most crude, and something better must 

 be substituted before the yield will equal 

 the production of intelligent American 

 farmers. Rotation in the crops, irriga- 

 tion, and the use of fertilizers are al- 

 most unknown, nature receiving but 

 little aid from artificial means.* 



THE HEAI/THFULNESS OF THE 

 ISIvANDS 



No better illustration of the salubrity 

 and healthfulness of the climate of the 

 Philippine Islands could be given than 

 that afforded by the health report of the 

 army, both in war and peace. This 

 shows conclusively that, under the in- 

 telligent management of our medical 

 staff and the care bestowed on the sol- 

 diers by their regimental and company 

 officers, men who are in good health 

 when they arrive in the Philippines, and 

 who observe the health rules laid down 

 for their guidance, are, on the whole, as 

 nearly immune from disease as within 

 the territory of the United States. The 

 statistics of the Surgeon General of the 

 Army show that for the calendar year 



* See "Progress in the Philippines," pp. 

 116-118, National Geographic M agazine, 

 March, 1905. 



1902 the number of soldiers constantly 

 sick in the United States was 5.33 per 

 eent of the command, and in 1903, 4.85 

 per cent ; in the Philippines, for the 

 same period, the percentage of con- 

 stantly sick was 6.88 and 6.62, respect- 

 ively, an average difference of 1.66 per 

 cent. 



That long exposure to the climate is 

 enervating there can be no doubt, but 

 the effect is easily avoided by periodical 

 changes to a colder climate. This has 

 been conclusively proven by the old 

 Scotch, English, and other white resi- 

 dents of the islands, who, after a resi- 

 dence of over forty years, broken by such 

 removals, enjoy excellent health. For- 

 merly it was necessary to take a sea voy- 

 age in order to find relief, but with the 

 completion of the electric railroad at 

 Baguio, in the province of Benguet, this 

 will no longer be needful, as the climate 

 at that altitude will afford the requisite 

 change. 



TEACHING THE PEOPLE TO TAKE 

 CARE OF THEIR HEALTH 



Nothing that has been done by the In- 

 sular government deserves more com- 

 mendation or reflects more credit on the 

 administration than the measures taken 

 to arrest and stamp out cholera, bu- 

 bonic plague, and smallpox, to prevent 

 the spread of leprosy, and to teach the 

 natives how to guard against the dread 

 diseases, tuberculosis, dysentery, and 

 malarial fever. Only those acquainted 

 with the native character and the in- 

 sanitary conditions formerly prevailing 

 everywhere, and particularly in Manila, 

 can fully appreciate what has been done 

 or that many years must pass before a 

 majority of the native population will 

 recognize the benefit of medical treat- 

 ment and adopt sanitary rules. On the 

 other hand, a large part of the popula- 

 tion has already been benefited, and the 

 experience thus gained is sure to be in- 

 fluential. 



A serious feature in the mortality 



