drought, and may be cultivated without much labor at all times of the year. Early in the nineteenth century the cultivation of the wild plant was begun, and to-day the production consists principally of the cultivated plant, although some uncultivated varieties are still produced. In the older districts the holdings are very small due to the scarcity and immobility of labor. Hemp buyers, through advances on the crop, usually gain control of the crop, although in the newer districts larger plantations are growing up which are largely independent. As most of the fiber must be stripped by hand, the necessary labor for this operation is difficult to obtain and often demands, as wages, a share in the product. The hemp stripper is usually not a farmer, but when the price of hemp falls, there is generally an exodus of strippers from the hemp fields to the rice fields where they engage in harvesting the rice. The question of transportation of the hemp from the hill fields to the coast is a serious one, and the market price of the product usually determines whether much of the hemp shall not be left to waste on the stalk rather than be transported to the coast by the costly labor of man and beast. Carelessness in drying and delay in drying and stripping are the principal causes of low quality hemp production, which has shown a steady tendency to increase in recent years. This tendency has been heightened by the fact that the local hemp buyers maintain a discrepancy in prices in favor of lower grades, twice as much of which can be produced in an hour as of the high grade, at only something like a 25 per cent reduction in price. This is due, of course, to the high cost of labor in the stripping process which absorbs half the value of the product. Most of the high-grade fiber is produced by growers who are independent of the local buyers and who sell directly to Manila. The local buyers are seldom expert judges of quality and prefer to buy low-grade hemp, not being such good judges

of the quality of the high-grade product. Moreover, such buyers make their commission at so much per picul (133 pounds) and their gains are greater if they buy more piculs of low-grade hemp than less piculs of high-grade hemp.

There are three distinct problems facing the hemp industry in the Philippines: (1) to raise the quality of the product; (2) to increase the size of the holdings and to decrease the number of middlemen handling the fiber; and (3) the greater use of machinery in stripping.

In a sense the two last problems are contributory to the first, for until the high cost of hand stripping is eliminated the tendency to produce low-grade hemp will continue to exist, and with many small holdings, whose product is controlled by local buyers, the possibility of relief from price discrepancy in favor of the low-grade product is remote.

Like all export crops, the state of the hemp market is determined by factors entirely removed from domestic considerations, and the fall and rise of the price due to foreign demand, influences directly the production and the attraction of labor to hemp raising and stripping. Good crops in the United States, causing a brisk demand for binder twine, react immediately upon the price of hemp and its production in the Philippines.

Copra.-The Philippines produce about one quarter of the world's coconuts, and while the export of the dried coconut meat, or copra, practically all of which went to the United States, dropped from 103,000 long tons in 1918 to 14,000 long tons in 1919, the export of coconut oil increased in the same years from 71,000 long tons to 128,000 long tons, 120,000 of which went to the United States. Coconut trees are grown in two ways, in large groves owned by landholders and in small patches around the homes of small farmers. Pests, including insects, mammals, birds, and diseases which infect the trees, destroy a

great deal of the product annually, and the most harmful of these is the rhinoceros beetle which attacks the bud in the palm, although the red weevil, which bores into the trunk, destroys a great deal. These insects breed in rubbish consisting of old leaves and husks which accumulate around the bases of the trees, and, for this reason, the best results are obtained from groves that are kept free from this rubbish. The wild pig roots up the seedlings in many places and can be kept away only by strong fences. But larger losses in production are suffered from poor harvesting and drying. The fear of thieves stealing the ripened fruit, the need of ready money, and the tendency to gather all the nuts in a cluster, whether they are ripe or not, cause green nuts to be harvested at a consequent loss in quality. Copra is cured either by sun drying or smoking. The product of the drying process is suitable for food, but the product of the smoking process contains creosote, which limits its use only to the manufacture of soaps, candles, etc. Due to crude drying methods, 10 to 15 per cent of water is left in the copra when shipped, which often causes it to mold and deteriorate. In order to avoid this, the introduction of mechanical driers which evaporate the moisture by hot air is being urged.

For the reasons outlined above the low quality of the Philippine copra causes it to command the lowest price in the market. Local buyers, by advancing money on crops, also thwart any incentive to produce better copra.

Sugar. The Philippines became prominent as a sugar producing country about 1869 when the opening of the Suez Canal and the great demand and high price of sugar during the Crimean war made it an important source of supply. A British central was established in 1877, but closed in 1880 as unprofitable. In 1893 the production was 300,000 tons, of which 261,000 tons were exported. The Island of Negros was the leading producer. After peace was re

stored in 1899 the Philippine sugar production was reduced to almost nothing. Since then failure to adopt modern methods has held the production below the 1893 figures, which have only been equalled during the past few years. The exports for 1918 were 225,000 long tons and in 1919, 236,000 long tons. The principal markets are the United States, which take 91,000 long tons; Hongkong, 66,000 long tons; China, 40,000 long tons; Japan, 35,000 long tons; and other countries, 4,000 long tons. A very recent move has been made to replace the antiquated methods employed in sugar milling by modern centrals at a consequently lower cost of production, and it is hoped that Philippine sugar will gain a preeminent place in the world's market.

Tobacco. In 1919 the Philippines exported 397,000,000 cigars, 276,000,000 of which went to the United States, 34,000,000 to China, 8,000,000 to Australia, 8,000,000 to Hongkong, and 71,000,000 to other countries. In the same year 48,000,000 pounds of unmanufactured tobacco were exported, 22,000,000 pounds of which went to Spain, 9,000,000 pounds to France, 3,000,000 pounds to the United States, and 14,000,000 pounds to other countries. In addition to these exports there is a large domestic consumption of locally grown leaf and Manila made cigarettes. The aim of tobacco growers is to produce a sufficient quantity of higher grade leaf for the increasing demand for Philippine cigars in the United States. This requires the training of more cigar makers at Manila. The chief causes of low grade tobacco production is the lack of supervision over the small growers who produce the bulk of the tobacco and are ignorant of the proper culture and curing methods. These small growers sell to the factory agents through local buyers. Just as in the hemp trade, these buyers are ignorant of quality and offer the same price for all grades of tobacco with the result that there is no incentive for the small growers to cultivate the high-grade

leaf. Moreover, the small growers are often at the mercy of the buyers who lend them money on their crops and compel them to turn over their product at a very low price. The Government is now attempting to improve these conditions by instruction and example through experimental stations.

Fibers.-Maguey fiber, obtained from the agave cantala, was introduced into the Philippines from Mexico where henequin and sisal had long been grown. This plant thrives on poor soils, and is consequently raised in Ilocos, Norte, Cebu, and Bohol, where other crops could not be made to pay. The production is still small and only 9,000 tons were exported in 1919.

Kapok trees grow in some abundance, but the gathering of the fiber has not reached the importance it has in Java. One or two plantations exist, but most of the trees grow along the roads and their fiber is lost. Only 100 tons are exported.

Other Possible Crops.-Among other minor and possible crops are fruits, and rubber, the cultivation of which is handicapped by the 2,500 acre limitation in the land laws; silk, for which a plentiful supply of labor is lacking; essential oils, particularly for perfumery and coffee, which has never recovered from the 1889 pest, and does not yield the certain returns of copra and other crops.

Animal Industry.-The Philippines furnish an excellent grazing country in over 40 per cent of the area. The carabao is indigenous to the Philippines, while cattle, horses, and goats were introduced by the Spaniards from Mexico, China, and Spain. Since 1888 the rinderpest, surra, and internal strife have reduced the number, of animals until they no longer nearly fulfill the agricultural needs of the community. The carabao does 90 per cent of the agricultural work and transportation in the Philippines, and, being by nature fitted to work in the muddy