Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-09-18
IS A FLORAL PARADISE.
Beautiful Orchids and Lilies of the
Philippine Archipelago;
NATIVES STRANGE MODE OF LIFE;
CHEAP HoMEs-RICH YIELD or
TOBACCO AND SILK.

Nature has made the Philippine ISL
ands a floral paradise. There are over
thirty varieties of orchids in the for
ests, and dozens OF lilies OF mammoth
proportions, that are never seen out
side OF the tropics The Malapo lily
is the largest. Its leaves are often six
feet long and two feet wide, while its
stems are three inches in diameter. 1t
is in bloom five months in the year,
and its blossoms are as large as peck
measure Carnations grow in pheno-
menal variety all over the rural dis
tricts, and frequently cover an acre
or more, while geraniums, whose lux
uriance excites eXclamations Of de-
light from nearly every beholder for
the first time, grow like trees and
great cumps of bushes. Geraniums
that have grown up the trunk and
along the shrubs of immense forest
trees are to be seen frequently. The
lazy, Indifferent natives seldom touch
them, and they grow on and on for
years. Along the rural roads there
are everywhere wild peoples of the
most delicate yellow flowers and large
stems.
From the trees in the forest there
are hundreds Of vines and parasites OF
the most brilliant blossoms, and in
the spring season the air all over the
several islands is for a time fairly
heavy with floral fragrance.
Neither the Tagals nor the Bocals
have any taste for the superb fora
Of the Philippines, and one seldom sees
any sort of flower or vine cultivated
at the home Of native.
The Philippines deserves to be called
the Thousand Islands of the Orient,
for there are not less than 1,2lS islands
large and small, but only 20 of them
are Of fairly good size. The area of
the whole group is 123, 900 square miles
and $1,000 square miles OF these COM
prise the 20 principal islands The
numerous rivers form natural, self
maintaining highways, over which
loads can be carried TO the foot OF the
mountains. Here the cocoa palm -four
ishes, tree that not only supplies the
natives with meat and drink, but
with material for building and domes-
tic utensils. The luxuriant bamboo
tree is the islanders unfailing re-
source. 1t not only excels in majestic
beauty, but is converted into all kinds
Of utensils.
The seeker Of strange modes Of life
and the student Of the habits Of people
who have had little contact with civili-
cation and have primitive homes, can
be satisfied by visit TO almost any of
the other larger islands than Luzon In
the Philippine Archipelago, as. for in
stance, Negroes Palawan, Mindano and
Samas. In any Of these Islands there
can be found tens OF thousands Of ma
tives who, like generations OF their an
cestors, have never left their little is
land homes, and have not the faintest
idea that there Is any world beyond
these islands. Here the race IS mixed
and the residents are almost OF az light
compl- xions as the residents OF Man
Tia. The young men and women are
comely. and great many OF the women
between the ages u 10 and 20 are OF
striking beauty.
On many islands there live the Be-
Gals. who are supposed 70 be the abor-
igines OF the archipelago and 10 the
Malay origin. Travellers who have
been almost all over the globe say that
the Bocals In the Philippine islands. snd
the Psnays In Borneo. are without
Doubt the LATEST people that live. They
do absolutely nothing that IL unEeces-
sary for living and d-samingA They
have immense families. often \ child
ren In a house. and there are kmulti-
tubes OF cases OF parents having 5 and
IS boys and girls Every family tas It's
own house. but IS will build larke and
superior bamboo hut. and 81 willlmake
| Z 6etter domicile than thousands bf IL