although edible. The fibre is derived from the stem,
and the plant attains the height of fifteen or twenty feet. The usual
mode of preparing the hemp is to cut off the stem near the ground,
before the time or just when the fruit is ripe. The stem is then eight
or ten feet long below the leaves, where it is again cut. The outer
coating of the herbaceous stem is then stripped off, until the fibres or
cellular parts are seen, when it undergoes the process of rotting, and
after being well dried in houses and sheds, is prepared for market by
assorting it, a task which is performed by the women and children. That
which is intended for cloth is soaked for an hour or two in weak
lime-water prepared from sea-shells, again dried, and put up in bundles.
From all the districts in which it grows, it is sent to Manila, which is
the only port whence it can legally be exported. It arrives in large
bundles, and is packed there by means of a screw-press in compact bales,
for shipping, secured by rattan, each weighing two piculs. [A picul is
about 140 pounds.]

The best Manila hemp ought to be white, dry, and of a long and fine
fibre. This is known at Manila by the name of lupis; the second quality
they call bandala.

That which is brought to the United States is principally manufactured
in or near Boston, and is the cordage known as "white rope." The cordage
manufactured at Manila is, however, very superior to the rope made with
us, although the hemp is of the inferior kind. A large quantity is also
manufactured into mats.

In the opinion of our botanist, it is not probable that the plant could
be introduced with success into our country, for in the Philippines it
is not found north of latitude 14 deg. N.

The coffee-plant is well adapted to these islands. A few plants were
introduced into the gardens of Manila about fifty years ago, since which
time it has been spread all over the island, as is supposed, by the
civet-cats, which, after swallowing the seeds, carry them to a distance
before they are voided.

The coffee of commerce is obtained here from the wild plant, and is of
an excellent quality. Upwards of three thousand five hundred piculs are
now exported, of which one-sixth goes to the United States.

The sugar-cane thrives well here. It is planted after the French
fashion, by sticking the piece diagonally into the ground. Some, finding
the cane has suffered in times of drought, have adopted other modes. It
comes to perfecti