The evening times., 1899-04-08
RESOURCES OF
THE PHILIPPINES
Agricultural and Mineral
Wealth of the Islands.
Monthly Summary Issued by the Bu-
Peau Of Statistics.
Only One-ninth of the Surface Now
Under Cultivatien-Opp0r
ties for Development.

The agricultural, mineral, and COM
! mercial opportunities in the Philippines
are discussed in detail in the monthly sum-
| mary Of commerce and finance. Just issued
| by the Treasury Bureau of Statistics. This
discussion shows that although agriculture
| Is the chief occupation of the inhabitants
Of the islands, yet only one-ninth Of the
surface of the islands is under cultivation.
| The soil is fertile, and even after deduct
| ing the mountainous areas it is probable
that the area of cultivation can be largely
extended, and that the islands can support
a population equal to that OF Japan, A.
| 0O0, 600.
The chief products are rice. corn. hemp
sugar, tobacco cocoanuts, and cocoa. Cot
fee and cotton were formerly produced in
large quantities-coffee for export and cot
ton for home consumption-bnt the coffee
plant has been almost exterminated by in
sects. and the homemade cotton cloths
have been driven out by the competition
of those imported from England. The rice
and corn are principally produced in Lu-
zon and Mindoro. and are consumed in the
islands. The rice crop is about 755, 600
tons. II is not sufiicient for the demand.
and $4,000 tons OF rice were imported in
1894, the greater portion from Saigon and
the rest from Hongkong and Singapore;
also. 1863 tons go, 900 barrels) of -four of
which more than two-thirds came from
China and less than one-third from the
United States.
Cocoa is raised In the southern Islands.
the best quality of it in Mindanao Tae
production amounts to only $50 tons. and
it is all made into chocolate AMI consumed
In the islands.
The sugar cane Is raised in the Ti;ayas
The crop yielded in 1884, about 235 ,0C1 tons
of raw sugar. of which one tsnth Was con-
sumed in the islands and the remainder o.
10000 tons. valued at s11.OJ0, 600, was ,S-
ported, the greater part to China. Great
Britain and Australia The hemp is p-o-
duced in southern Luzon Mindoro the
Nisayas and Mindanao. Ii is nea.iy all
exported in bales. In 1894 the amount was
$4,000 tons, valued at sI2, 900. 900 Tobacco
is raised in all the islands but the bes.
quality and greatest amount IN Luzol. A
large amount is consumed in the isiGrdr.
smoking being universal among women as
well as men. but the best qualitJ is ex-
ported. The amount in 1894 was .G6a ton,
OF leaf tobacco. valued al 81, 15O, ,000 Spain
takes so per cent and Egypt 10 Per cent of
the leaf tobacco. OF the manufacture to-
bacco 20 per cent goes TO China and Sinea-
pore, 10 per cent to England and per
cent to Spain. Cocoanuts are grown in
southern Luzon. and are used in varioas
ways. The products are largely consumed
in the islands. but the exports in 1851 were
valued at s2,fo0.000.
Cattle. goats and sheep have been in
troduced from Spain. but they are not nu-
merous. Domestic pigs and chickens are
seen everywhere in the farming districts
The DriUcipll heaSf of - ba
bao. or water buffalo, which is used for
plowing rice fields. as well as drawing
heavy loads on sledges or on carts. Large
horses are almost unknown. but there are
great numbers of native ponies from nine
to twelve hands high. possessing strength
and endurance far beyond their size.
Gold is found in a vast number of To-
calities in the archipelago from northern
Luzon to central Mindanao. In most cases
the gold is detrital, and found either in ex-
listing water courses or in stream deposits
now deserted by the current These last
are called "alluviones'' by the Spaniards.
1t is said that in Mindanao some of the
grayels are in an elevated position and
adapted to hydraulic mining. There are
no data at hand which intimate decisively
the value of any of the placers. They are
washed By natives largely with cocoanut
shells for pans. though the batea is also
in use.
In the province of Abra at the northern
end of Luzon. there are placers. and the
gravel of the River Abra is auriferous. |
In Lapanto there are gold quartz veins as
we'll as gravels. Gold is obtained in this |
province close to the copper mines. In |
Bensuet the gravels OF the River Ango |
carry gold. There is also gold in the prov |
ince OF Bontoc and in Nueva Eciia. The |
most important of the auriferous prov !
inces is Camarines More. Here the town.
ships of Mambulao. Paracale, and Labo |
are especially well known as gold-pr |
ducing localities. Herr Drasche. a we'll
known German geologist. says that there
were seven hundred natives at work on
the rich quartz veins Of this place at the
time Of his visit about twenty-five years
ago.
AT Paracale there are parallel quartz |
veins in granite one OF which is 20 feet in |
width and contains chute in which the |
ore is said to assay thirty eight ounces of |
gold to the ton. One may suspect that |
this assay hardly represented an average |
sample Besides the localities mentioned, |
many others of this province have been |
worked by the natives. The islands of Min
1oro, Catanduanes, Suhuyan. Panay, Cebu.
and Bohol. are reported to contain gold,
but no exact data are available. At the
south end OF the small island of Panaon,
which is just to the south Of Leyte. there
are gold-quartz veins. one of which has
been worked to some extent 1t is feet |
IN thickness, and has yielded from $6 to
y ton. In the island of Mindanao there
ire two known gold bearing districts. the
province of Surigao. where Placer and 9TH
,r townships show gravels and veins. and
he province of Misamas. Near the settle
nent of Imponan and on the Gulf OF Maca-
alar there are said to be many square
zilometres of gravel carrying large quanti-
les of gold. with which platinum is asso-
,iated. The product Of this district was
estimated some years ago at 150 ounces a
month. all extracted by natives with bat
as or cocoanut-shsll dishes.