The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1900-03-27

-
ing occupying large space
Tho market place OF each town is
filed with men, women and children
with their baskets, and fruits aud
other articles Tor sale. Although
bananas and cocoaauts grow in our
yards, we take care not to modest any
thing, but purchase of the natives.
At first, prices were reasonable, but
now We pay about cent, Mexican,
apiece for bananas and about five
cents apiece, Mexican, for cOcoauuts.
The natives bring very nice little
fish to us, which they catch near the
town.
The relations between tho soldiers
Of my command and the people are
most cordial. Our soldiers protect
them in every right, and as they sell
market products to the soldiers at
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
great deal OF labor, and they and tho
men often wear hats made Of grass
palm leaves or bamboo which are
sometimes thirty inches in diameter.
These hats turn wCter and serve as IN
umbrella as well as to protect the head
from the sun. / often see women
working in the fields with umbrellas
like those in use i'm America.
The sugar mills are very primitive,
very much like those first constructed
in Cuba and other sugar countries. III
the methods of cultivation now in use
III the Hawaiian Islands and Louisi-
ana were used, and if the improved
machinery which these localities now
have were introduced, the amount of
sugar produced in the Philippines
could be increased many fold. Tho
exports of hemp have greatly in
creased.
] learn the following about cotton
from reliable sources: The cotton
tree is found growing in an unculti-
waited state in many of the islands of
the archipelago. Long staple cotton
was formerly extensively cultivated
in the province of Ilocos Norte, when,
many years ago, large quantities of
good cotton stuiTs were exported.
This industry still exists. The Guilt
Walton of this staple was, however,
discouraged by the local governors,
in order to urge the planting of TO-
bRcco for tho Government supplies.
IL has since become difficult TO revive
the cotton production, although an
Lot 4 ii Oh
prize was awarded in Mudrid) was
grGtuitously distributed over the COLI
ony in 1885 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 tho staple is extreme
ly short, but perhaps by hybridization
and careful attention its culture might
become valuable to the colony. Tho
n is clIiptical aud the cotton which
bu o. from il at maturity is snow
white. II is used for stuGing 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 tho
branches
Railroads iudiciously located could
be built very cheaply, and the dense
population and the freight which must
exist where the production is so
abundant, could make the railroads
very profitable.
The native horses or ponies
abound. They are small but swift
and strong. The domestic animal is
fed on rice, mopsses and grass. These
ponies are also found wild in tho
forests. The buffalo or carabao Is
the draught and pillow animal Of the
islands. It is powerful, docile and
easy to train or manage. IT is very
slow and must be immersed in water
every day and during hot weather two
or three times day. The flesh of
the cnrabao is used for food When
wild it is dangerous and even when
tanned is dangerous it deprived Of
water baths Sheep do not thrive,
but oxen, goats, dogs, cats, pigs,
chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese
are more or less abundant s few
deer arc tanned; in n wild state thcy
are frequently seen. The pigs lro
thin, but show marked traces of lne
Overwhelmingly species