Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-06

harvested as l have described and the rice
threshed. After this the hulls have to be
pounded from the stalks in mortars, so that
altogether every grain costs much work.
In raising rice on the share, the first
crop goes to the tenant. In the second the
tenant gets half and in the third only one
fourth. The crop is always divided in thu
sheaf, the hulling and threshing being
extra. The hulling is done by women in
mortars, and the threshing is at home in
stead Of at the mills. The poor often have
to borrow to put in their crops. They pay
an interest rate in kind of as much as 100
per cent. A man will loan his money
on cons Iteration CT so many arobas of rice
to be delivered at harvest time. He can go
to the fields and get his interest; this is
so much that it takes the profit and the
rice usurers thus keep the country poor.
C%OcOHnut Plantations.
There is one investment in the Phi lippines
that requires but little hard work. This IS
raising cocoanuts. The cocoa palm grows
on all the islands, but some places better
than others. On the island of Jolo there
are magnificent c~ocoanuts, and on Minda-
rao there are millions Of fine trees. The
trees are planted in regular order and after
seven years each yields about a score of
large nuts every month. The nuts are al
lowed to drop of themselves. They are
then picked up, husked and the meat taken
out and dried. After drying the cocoanut
meat is known as copra, and is ready for
shipment to Europe or the United States.
About $4,000 tons Of this stuff were sent
abroad in 1897, and the probability is that
/ the shipments will shortly be many times
t this amount. The planters figure that
5 every cocoanut tree should yield a net profit
e of 81 O. year, and as you can put a large
h number Of trees on a small area a good
e cocoanut plantation means a fortune.
e know of some men who have plantations o.
S 10000 trees or more, and who are rich from
I cocoanuts.
l have already spoken of the money il
e hemp. This is the most wonderful crop o
It the Philippines. - brings to the islands
a about SIS, 600, 900 every year, and it form
y the money crops of some of the largest o
N the Philippine states. There is an enor
IS nous profit in the business; but, neverthe
ID less, there are undeveloped hemp lands, an
* crops could easily be quadrupled. Til
le lands which are under cultivation sell 70
az high prices, but near them are other land
to which can be gotten for a song, which nee
is only a little work to make them availabl,
he This is especially so Of Mindanao.
ay l believe that the methods of cultivatio
d. and cleaning the hemp might be much in
proved, At present a large proportion
nd the crop goes to waste, everything col
aw nected with it being done by hand. I'll
re plant is much like the banana, and n
to hemp comes from the fiber Of the leay
ley and stalks. 1t is dried on the ground al
1t. shipped in bales to Manila. A good hen
ms crop is Just as salable as so much wheat
zen rice. There is a regular demand for 1t al
ere 1t has its fixed prices in the markets
ore Europe and the United States. Some Of I
estates are now paying IS per cent.
so Railroads and Electricity.
be There will be many railroads built in I
ep- Philippines within the next few wear
are Lines are already planned to open I'D I
are greater part Of Luzon, and one especia.