The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-02-08

The relations between the soldiers
of my command and the people are
most cordial. Our soldiers protect
them in every right, aud as they sell
market products to the soldiers al
higher rates than formerly obtained,
they appreciate this as one of the ad-
vantages our occupation is to them.
There is no limit to the bamboo.
which grows with great rapidity, and
is used in building houses.
The leaves of the nipa palm are
used for an outside covering OF the
roofs of houses. The women do a
great deal of labor, and they and the
men often wear hats made of grass
palm leaves or bamboo, which are
sometimes thirty inches in diameter.
These hats turn water and serve as all
umbrella as we'll as to protect the head
from the sun. / often see women
working in tho fields with umbrellas
like those in use in America.
The sugar mills are very primitive,
very much like those first constructed
in Cuba and other sugar countries. II
the methods of cultivation now in use
IN tho Hawaiian Islands and Louisi.
ana we're used, and il the improved
machinery which these localities now
have were introduced, the amount of
sugar produced in the Philippines
could be increased many fold. The
exports OF homp have greatly in.
creased.
learn the following about cotton
from reliable sources: The cotton
tree is found growing in an unculti-
vated state in many OF the islands Of
tho archipelago. Long staple cotton
was formerly extensively cultivated
in the province of Ilocos Norte, when,
many years ago, large quantities of
good cotton stulfs were exported.
This industry still exists. The culti-
vation of this staple was, however,
discouraged by the local governors,
in order to urge the planting of to-
bacco for the Government supplies.
1t has since become difficult to revive
the cotton production, although an
essay in pamphlet form (for which
prize was awarded in Madrid) was
gratuitously distributed over the col
ony in 1888 with that object. Never
theless, cotton spinning and weaving
is still carried on, on reduced scale,
in the Iloco provinces Luzon west
coast).
Wild cotton is practically useless
for spinning, as the staple is extreme
ly short, but perhaps by hybridization
and careful attention it's culture might
become valuable to the colony. The
pod is ellipticol and the cotton which
bursts from it at maturity is snow
white. 1t is used for stufling pillows
and mattresses.
1T is a common thing to see wild
cotton trees planted along the high
road to serve as telegraph posts; by
the time the seed is fully ripe, every
leaf has fallen and nothing but the
bursting pod remains hanging on the
branches.
Railroads judiciously located could
be built very cheaply, and tho dense
and the freight which must
exist where the production is so
could make the railroads
very profitable.
The native horses or ponies
abound. They are small but swift
and strong. The domestic animal is
led on rice, mo,Gsses and grass. These
ponies are also found wild in the
forests. The buffalo or carabao is
tho draught and plow animal of the
islands. 1t is powerful, docile and
easy to train or manage. 1t is very
slow and must be immersed in water
every day and during hot weather two
or three times day. The flesh of
the carabao is used for food When
wild it is dangerous aud even when
tamod is dangerous il deprived of
water baths. Sheep do not thrive,
but oxen, goats, dogs, cats, pigs,
chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese
are more or less abundant. A few
deer are tanned; in wild state they
are frequently seen. The pigs are
thin, but show marked traces of the
Berkshire-Kentucky species.