Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 15.djvu/809

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. pony, originally from Spain, is an excellent saddle horse, and useful in teams as a carriage horse, but not strong enough for heavy work. The carnivora have no large representatives, and only a small wild cat, two species of civet eats, and the binturong are conspicuous. The islands have nearly 600 species of birds, among which are the jungle fowl, hornbill, fruit pigeon, the snipe, curlew, and other waders; also the species of swift whose nests (edible birds' nests) are highly esteemed in China as an article of food. Marine fish are far more important than fresh-water fish and form the largest part of animal food, the natives also eating many varieties of ‘shell fish.’ The pearl oyster, yielding a considerable quantity of shell and jewels, is fished in the Sulu Archipelago. Crocodiles and snakes are abundant. Swarms of locusts sometimes devastate the fields, and rice and tobacco have other insect enemies. . The geology of the archipelago has not yet been systematically studied. In broad outline the islands appear to consist of ancient eruptive rocks that have been covered by volcanic outpourings of the Tertiary, Quaternary, and present epochs, and in the lower levels by alluvium. Fossils are not found in the higher altitudes, and deposits of marine fossils are of small extent in recent geological times. There are twenty-three well-known volcanoes, of which eleven are more or less active. The most famous among them, and perhaps the most beautiful volcanic cone in the world, is Mayón, or the volcano of Albay, near the Bay of Legaspi, in Southeastern Luzon. Mayón is 8274 feet in height, and some of its eruptions in the past three centuries have been very serious. The surrounding country has been well-nigh buried under its streams of lava, and its clouds of volcanic dust have been carried through the air as far as the coast of China. Another remarkable volcano is Taal, which is an island in the middle of Lake Bomhon, Luzon, with an area of 220 square miles, built up from the bottom of the lake by the outpourings from several craters. The archipelago is a centre of seismic as well as volcanic energy, and the volcanic centres are often the sources of the severest earthquakes. Most of the very violent shocks from which Manila has suffered, for example, have radiated from the Taal centre. For the eighteen years 1880-97 there was an average of 53.4 earthquake days in the year, or 4.5 per month.

The mineral resources are supposed to be very large, but their extent is not yet known. Better transportation facilities and more capital and labor will be required to develop these sources of wealth. True coal has not been found, but the highly carbonized lignite of Tertiary age which takes its place is supposed to be the chief mineral product. It is a fairly satisfactory fuel for steamers, and is widely distributed over the archipelago, especially in Luzon, Mindoro, Masbate, Panay, Samar, Cebú, Negros, and Mindanao. At present it is mined chiefly in Cebú, where as soon as the transportation shall have been perfected the output is expected to be 5000 tons a month Gold is found in many localities, and has long been mined by natives, employing very rude and wasteful methods. Explorations have proved that the alluvial deposits in many parts of Luzon, Mindanao, and other islands are extensive and gold-bearing quartz is found among the mountains of Northern Luzon, in Mindanao, and elsewhere, some of it being crushed by the natives between heavy stones and the metal extracted by washing. The prospects of gold-mining in Luzon are very favorable. Copper ore is reported from many islands, but the deposits have not yet been worked to any extent. Iron ore is abundant in Luzon, Cebú, Panay, and other islands. Some of the ore of Luzon yields 85 per cent. of pure metal, but thus far the ores are almost unworkcd except to a small extent in Luzon. Silver occurs in association with lead; sulphur may be obtained in large quantities around some of the volcanoes; and salt, gypsum, and a few other minerals of commerce are found.

. Though agriculture is the most important source of wealth, it is in a very backward condition. Farming implements are of the most primitive sort. The cultivator, farm roller, and many other implements were never seen in the Philippines till the United States authorities opened the Government experimental farm. The natives do not understand the use of fertilizers, and know so little about forage crops that all the fodder for the horses and mules in the Government service has been imported. The indolence of the natives has also been unfavorable to large agricultural development. Nearly all the tilled lands are between sea level and 700 feet above the sea. The staple products in order of importance are Manila hemp (abaca), tobacco, sugar, coffee, and rice. Hemp is produced chiefly in the provinces of Luzon south of Manila, in the islands of Samar and Leyte, and on a smaller scale in the other islands north of Mindanao, and on the north coast of Mindanao. The bast, or fibrous outer leaf, yields the coarse, strong fibre which is the best material for sailcloth and cordage. From the fibre yielded by the inner stalks are woven fabrics that are superior in softness and lightness. These fabrics are seldom exported, but the bast, of which, under the best conditions, 3000 pounds to the acre are produced, is the greatest export commodity, the average yearly shipments amounting to nearly 100,000 long tons. Cotton and ramie fibre are also produced to some extent, but cotton has declined, owing to the increased use of foreign textiles. Tobacco is of excellent quality, though it does not equal the favorite grades of the Cuban crop. The best leaf is grown on the wide plain of the Rio Cagayan (Isabela and Cagayan provinces), North Luzon. This favored tobacco region supplies most of the leaf sent to foreign lands or manufactured in Manila. The inferior, though good, tobacco grown in the more southern islands is chiefly consumed at home, but the leaf of North Luzon is famous throughout Southeastern Asia and many Western countries. Sugar-cane, grown in all the islands, is of great importance, and though it is cultivated with little intelligence, and raw sugar is produced by the crudest methods, its value for export is second only to that of hemp. The coffee of Luzon and Mindanao is of excellent quality, comparing favorably with Java, but the crop has declined on account of insect enemies. Rice is grown everywhere, and is the great food staple of the common people. It was formerly exported to China, but for years the supply has been short of the home demand, and large quantities are imported from Cochin-China. Maize thrives throughout the archipelago and is grown especially on land that is not fitted for rice. While its use as food is