for a perch, but the snake's tail has a loving twist around the owner's
neck. What for?--well, the python has a sweet tooth for rats and mice
and the sweet tooth of this particular snake is on edge for a square
meal. Years ago foreign ships brought rats from various countries. In
the course of time rats and mice became so numerous that it became a
question whether Manila should exterminate the rats or the rats
exterminate Manila.

Now, those same ships ought to have brought some cats along, too. But it
is just as well that they did not, for one python is worth half a dozen
cats or rat terriers when business is on hand. The only drawback occurs
when the python insists on getting into bed with his owner to keep warm.

When in Manila, go to Duck-town by all means. It is only a short
distance from the near-by market. The feeding grounds and hatcheries
extend for two miles along the river. Hundreds of thousands of ducks are
reared at the hatcheries, some for eggs, and others for food. The ducks
are fed on shell-fish, and foreigners imagine that both the meat and the
eggs have a fishy flavor. Eggs and edible bird's nests are also brought
from neighboring sea-cliffs to the Manila markets; and both are
considered great delicacies.

[Illustration: Manila hemp as it is brought in from the country]

Manila is the largest city of the Philippines, but there are also
several other cities of good lusty growth. Bauan, Lipa, Laoag, and
Batangas--all in Luzon--and Ilo-ilo in Panay are growing in population
and business as the resources of the islands develop. Since the
American occupation, Uncle Sam has done a great deal to make these ports
centres of business; harbors have been deepened; railways have been
extended; good roads have been built; and rivers have been made
navigable.

There are several exports that will always tend to make the Philippines
rich. Tobacco is an important crop and the Manila leaf, as it is called,
is of very fine quality. There are those who whisper it about that much
of the leaf is shipped to Cuba to be made into "Havana" cigars. Sugar is
also a great export crop, and when the railways now under way are
completed sugar will become one of the foremost exports. The export of
copra, or dried cocoanut, is a leading industry, and the Philippine
Islands produce a large part of the world's product.

One Philippine product, however, connects the islands with almost all
the rest of the world, namely, Manila hemp.