The evening times., 1898-11-25
Dr.. Becker's Official Report on
Crops in the Islands.
THE NEED OF IRRIGATION
Conditions Do Not Agree With the
Flattering Antcipatfons.' -
Soil and Rivers Have HeeE Neglect
ed-The Most Important Prod--,,
net Is Ricc.-...- t..l. 49,

An exhaustive report on Agriculture IN
the Philippines has been given out for
publication by the Department of Ag
riculture. 1t was compiled hy, DR.. George
F. Becker, of the geological survey. and
submitted to the Secretary of the Interior.
who placed it at the disposal of the Ag
ricultural Department.
DIR. Becker has had special facilities for
acquiring information on the subject he
treats of. having, by arrangement with
the War Depart rtment. accompanied an ex-
pedition TO the Philippines for the pur-
pose Of collecting geological and other in
formation. The report is in part as fol-
lows:
The tropical and insular climate of the
Philippines archipelago, the diversity of
its mineral constitution, the thick mantle
Of vegetable matter which has accumu-
lated upon the surface as the. centuries
have rolled by, the periodic inundations
and the constant humdity-all these cir
cumStanceS afford grounds for inferring
that the territory of the Philippines must
be extremely fertile and rich in the prod
ucts of tropical climates, while they do
not exclude products of temperate zones
where local conditions favor their devel-
Opment.
The facts. however, do not correspond
to such fiattering anticipat,ons on account
of the sparseness or the population, the
. failure 10 make use of the rivers for irri-
cation or the generation of motive ener-
sy, the lack of sufficient roads, and the
insufficient energy of the population. In
addition to these obstacles to agriculture
which might be modified by human means,
there are others independent of this will,
such as typhooHS and locustS
A ninth part of the territory e. .257 C5g
hectares, equal to S0Sl. .25l acres) is under
cultivation; and while the total area is
almost as great as that of the United
kingdom, the population according to III.
| last census Of 1887 is only about six mil
Hon inhabitants. IL is clear. therefore.
that the country is capable OF a greatly
increased productveness
Iaportnnt Crop Is Rice.
The first and, most important crop is
rice, the stan Of life 10 the indigenous
population. More than one hundred va
rieties of this grain are known and many
Of these are veFs,. generally cultivated
The variety called minis is most highly
valued on account of its white and trans
/ lucent grain, aromatic smell and agreea-
/. be taste. Earsy varieties, such as the
quinamalig permitted the growth of two
crops in the same Year The ordinary
lrice of rice in the husk, or palay at the
point of production is 81. 10 10 S0S7 l-2
spanish. per caTan tseventy-siX liters, or
2.lr bushels. and that of clean rice 81 10
10 Si.S1 L. per caVan.7 The annual produc-
ti"n Of paiay in the Philippines is some
100000 cavdns, which, however, even
with the addition of the maize. potatoes.
} ~.
for home consumption. More than mil
lion caYans of rice are imported annually
from Saigon. the mean value OF which is
TWO and one-half million dollars. .s.t....
IN some provinces OF the Philippines
maize is employed instead o. rice: such
is the case in Casayan and Isabella, OF
the island Of Luzon. where the culture of
maize alternates with that OF tobacco In
the other provinces maize Is an indispen-
sable supplement in case of the loss OF the
rice crop, on account OF the rapid growth
ef this grain. particularly the early va
rieIieS. The maize crop j. estimated al
/ some two million cayans, and its price
after sheliing, at 80 10 90 1-2 cents per ca
van.
Beans potatoes the tapioca root and
a great variety Of other nutritious food
plants are also grown besides a long list
of vegetables and fruits.
The cnly producing plant en-
p'oyed industrialIy in Lie Philippines is
the cane. The yellow Otahtian variety
and the purple Batavan are among those
employed. The sugar product of the en-
tire archipelago is estimated at 100000
p,cuis tore hundred and forty English
pounds on the average, with a mean an
nual value of s.. 800, oG0- The principal Gus
toner for this article is the United States
to which Sa.010G00 worth is exported There
follow in the order of importance Eng
land, Spain. China, etc Almost all the
sugars produced in the Philippines are
raw. There was in 1894 single centrifu-
gal refinery in Manila.
Cultivation of Abnca
Among the iibrous and textile plants.
the first place is taken by abaca (musa
textilis L., the external appearance of
which is identca with that of the plan
tain, although its fruit is smaller and in
edible. 1t is produced especially in the ex-
treme southeastern portion of Luzon and
in the more southern Islands of Marin
duque, Leyte, Cebu, Mindoro. Samar.
MindanaO, and Negroes
The finest quality of abaca is pearl
cDlored and is called lupis or quiiot the
inferior grades being called corriente-