has been planted with these trees. They thrive well also in most
low districts along the coasts; in 1902 about 375,000 acres were
devoted to the culture of them.
Rice is the staple food of the natives. When the Philippines were discovered by the Spaniards it was the only cultivated crop of importance, and until the 19th century it was the chief article of export, but as the culture of the more profitable crops of hemp, sugar and coco-nuts was extended it became an article of import. As late as 1902, however, about one-half of the land under cultivation was sown to rice. It is grown most extensively in the lowlands of the south half of Luzon, in north Panay and in Negros, but the culture of either the lowland or the upland varieties for local consumption is very general. In some districts Indian corn is the staple food instead of rice, and the production of this cereal in small quantities for livestock is general. It is grown most extensively in the valley of the Cagayán river, in 1902 the total acreage in the archipelago was about 254,470. For several years prior to 1891, coffee, grown principally in the provinces of Cavite, Batangas and Lepanto-Bontoc, Luzon, was nearly as important a crop as tobacco, but between 1891 and 1898 most of the coffee plantations were destroyed by insects and disease. A small quantity of coffee is grown in the province of Benguet, Luzon, and is of superior quality. Cotton, the cultivation of which was discouraged by the Spanish government as a means of increasing the cultivation of tobacco, is a very small crop, except in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur on the west coast of north Luzon; in 1902 there were in these provinces about 5525 acres of cotton. Many tropical fruits grow wild but their quality is often inferior; those cultivated most extensively are mangoes and bananas. Grapes, blackberries, figs and strawberries have been introduced from the United States and are grown successfully in the province of Benguet. The natives care little for the garden vegetables common to Europe and America, but in the vicinity of Manila and other large centres of population the Chinese grow many of these for consumption by European and American inhabitants.
With the exception of the water-buffalo, which is indispensable for agricultural purposes, the domestic animals are very inferior in quality and few in numbers. The horses, which are of Mexican, Spanish and Chinese origin, are small and poorly cared for; some American horses have been introduced for the purpose of improving the breed. The neat cattle, which are of Australian and Indian origin, are raised chiefly for beef, their hides and their horns; about nine-tenths of them were destroyed by the rinderpest and the war at the close of the 19th century. Swine are numerous but they are of a kind known in the United States as “razorbacks.” There are many goats but only a few sheep. In one district near Manila duck-raising is of considerable importance, but the principal branch of the poultry industry consists in the raising of game-cocks for cock-fighting, which is the national sport.
Mineral Resources.—Numerous mineral deposits have been discovered, but little has been determined with respect to their value. Sub-bituminous coal is widely distributed. That near the surface is generally poor in quality and the difficulties of deep mining may be great because of folds and faults in the rocks. There are, however, promising fields near Danao, in Cebú; on the island of Polillo, off the east coast of Luzon; in the south part of Mindoro; on Batán Island, off the south-east coast of Luzon; on Dinagat Island, off the north coast of Mindanao; and in the north-east corner of Negros. Gold has been found in small quantities in nearly all the provinces. There is some rude gold mining by the natives. As the result of favourable indications extensive gold-mining operations have been instituted in the provinces of Benguet and Ambos Camarines in Luzon, and on the island of Masbate. Copper is scarcely less widely distributed than gold, but the production of it awaits smelters and better facilities for transportation. There are extensive deposits of iron ore (magnetite and hematite) in the province of Bulacan, Luzon. Iron ore has been found in other provinces of Luzon and in the islands of Cebú, Panay and Marinduque. There are outcrops of lead in Marinduque and Cebú, and in Marinduque considerable silver is associated with the lead. Among other minerals are sulphur, lime, gypsum and phosphate.
Manufactures.—The manufacturing industry consists mainly in preparing agricultural products for market, and in the production by the natives of wearing apparel, furniture, household utensils, and other articles required to supply their primitive wants. The most important factories are those for the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes, but most cigars and some of the cigarettes are made by hand. In the manufacture of sugar most of the mills in use extract only about three-fourths of the juice from the cane; in 1902 about 73% of it was manufactured by 528 mills operated by steam; 17% by 470 mills operated by hand or by a carabao; and 10% by 77 mills operated by water-power. In the principal rice-producing districts the rice is threshed and cleaned by machines, but in other districts more primitive methods are employed. Most of the cloth which the natives wear the women weave in their own homes. There are three principal varieties: sinamay, which is made from selected hemp fibres and is worn by both men and women; jusi, which is made from a mixture of hemp and pineapple-plant fibres with or without the addition of some cotton and silk and is used for making women’s dresses and men’s shirts; pina, which is made from the fibres in the leaf of the pineapple-plant and is used for making women’s garments, handkerchiefs and scarfs. Nipa, made from the fibre of the agave or maguey plant and worn by women, is less common. Hats are made of palm leaves, alacá leaves, banana leaves, split bamboo and various grasses. Mats, rugs and carpets are made principally of split bamboo; chairs and beds of balinag and other woods and of rattan. Alcohol is distilled from nipa, coco-nuts, buri (Corypha umbraculifera), cauong (Caryota onusta), pugahan (Caryota urens) and Indian corn. Other manufactures of the natives include vehicles of various kinds, harnesses, indigo, coco-nut oil, soap, salt and lime.
Communications and Commerce.—The first railway in the Philippines was the line from Manila to Dagupan (120 m.) which was built by an English corporation under a guaranty of the Spanish government and was opened in 1892. There was no further construction for ten years. But in 1902 and 1903 the Philippine government, as established in 1902 by an act of the Congress of the United States, granted franchises for the extension of the Manila-Dagupan railway to Cabanatuan (55 m.) and to Antipolo (24 m.). The first of these branches was completed in 1905, the second in 1906. In February 1905 Congress authorized the Philippine government to aid and encourage the construction of railways by guaranteeing 4% interest on bonds; the duty on imported materials used in the construction of railways and the internal revenue on Philippine forest products used for that purpose have also been removed. With this assistance the Manila Railroad Company, organized under the laws of the state of New Jersey, agreed to construct about 600 m. of railway in Luzon; and the Philippine Railroad Company, organized under the laws of the state of Connecticut, agreed to construct about 300 m. in Panay, Cebú and Negros. In 1909 there were in operation more than 300 m. in Luzon, 60 m. in Cebú and 50 m. in Panay. At the beginning of the American occupation the roads were very bad and in many of the islands there were none; but in 1909 there were at least 400 m. of good roads. The Cagayán river, which is navigable for native boats 160 m. from its mouth, and for rafts 40 m. farther up, is an important highway of commerce in north Luzon. Many miles of inland water communication with small boats or bamboo rafts are afforded by the Pampanga, Agno, Abra, Pasig and Bícol rivers in Luzon, and by the Agusan and Rio Grande de Mindanao in Mindanao. There are few harbours which admit vessels drawing more than 15 ft. of water, but many which admit smaller vessels, and at the close of 1909 there were 151 steamboats and 424 sailboats engaged in the coasting trade. Manila is the principal port of entry, and since the American occupation Manila harbour has been made accessible to vessels drawing 30 ft. of water. Cebú in Cebú and Iloilo in Panay are ports of entry second and third in rank, although small in comparison with Manila; there are others of minor importance.
The foreign commerce of the Philippines consists chiefly in the exportation of Manila hemp, dried coco-nut meat (copra), sugar and tobacco, both in the leaf and in cigars and cigarettes; and in the importation of cotton goods, rice, wheat-flour, fresh beef, boots and shoes, iron and steel, illuminating oil, liquors, paper and paper goods. The value of the exports increased from $19,751,068 in the year ending the 30th of June 1900 to $32,816,567 in the year ending the 30th of June 1908, and the value of the imports increased during the same period from $20,601,436 to $30,918,357. A very large part of the trade is with the United States and Great Britain. The imports from Great Britain exceed those from the United States, but the exports to the United States are much greater than those to Great Britain, and the total trade with the United States is greater than that with any other country. In 1909 8.05% of the imports were from the United States and 17.8% of the exports were to the United States; in 1908 16.4% of the imports were from the United States and 31.4% of the exports were to the United States. In 1909 free trade was established between the United States and the Philippines in all goods which are the growth, product or manufacture of these countries, with the exception of rice, except that a limit to the free importation from the Philippines to the United States in any one year is fixed on cigars at 15,000,000; on wrapper tobacco and on filler tobacco, when mixed with more than 15% of wrapper tobacco, at 300,000 ℔; on filler tobacco at 1,000,000 ℔ and on sugar at 300,000 gross tons. In the case of manufactures the law provides that only those articles which do not contain more than 20% in value of foreign materials shall be admitted free.
Population.—The total population of the archipelago as enumerated in the census of 1903 was 7,635,426. Of this number 6,987,868 were classed as civilized and 647,740 as wild; 7,579,288 or 99.2% were native-born and 56,138 were foreign-born; 7,539,632 were of the Malayan or brown race, 42,097 were of the yellow race, 24,016 were of the black race, 14,271 were of the white race, and 15,419 were of mixed races. Of the black race 23,511, or 97.8%, were Negritos, who are believed to be the aborigines of the Philippines. Nearly all of them live in a primitive state in the interior of Luzon, Panay, Mindanao and
