e manner in which the sugar and other produce is brought to market
at Manila is peculiar, and deserves to be mentioned. In some of the
villages, the chief men unite to build a vessel, generally a pirogue,
in which they embark their produce, under the conduct of a few persons,
who go to navigate it, and dispose of the cargo. In due time they
make their voyage, and when the accounts are settled, the returns
are distributed to each according to his share. Festivities are then
held, the saints thanked for their kindness, and blessings invoked
for another year. After this is over, the vessel is taken carefully
to pieces, and distributed, among the owners, to be preserved for
the next season.

The profits in the crops, according to estimates, vary from sixty
to one hundred per cent.; but it was thought, as a general average,
that this was, notwithstanding the great productiveness of the soil,
far beyond the usual profits accruing from agricultural operations. In
some provinces this estimate would hold good, and probably be exceeded.

[Indigo.] Indigo would probably be a lucrative crop, for that raised
here is said to be of quality equal to the best, and the crop is
not subject to so many uncertainties as in India: the capital and
attention required in vats, etc., prevent it from being raised in
any quantities. Among the productions, the bamboo and rattan ought to
claim a particular notice from their great utility; they enter into
almost every thing. Of the former their houses are built, including
frames, floors, sides, and roof; fences are made of the same material,
as well as every article of general household use, including baskets
for oil and water. The rattan is a general substitute for ropes of
all descriptions, and the two combined are used in constructing rafts
for crossing ferries.

I have thus given a general outline of the capabilities of this
country for agricultural operations, in some of the most important
articles of commerce; by which it will be seen that the Philippine
Islands are one of the most favored parts of the globe.

[Locusts.] The crops frequently suffer from the ravages of the locusts,
which sweep all before them. Fortunately for the poorer classes, their
attacks take place after the rice has been harvested; but the cane
is sometimes entirely cut off. The authorities of Manila, in the vain
hope of stopping their devastations, employ persons to gather them and
throw them into the sea. I understood