Part 13

The filling of a cigar is called tripa, or tripe; the wrapper, capa, or overcoat. From the factory I have mentioned, alone, a million and a half of cigars are shipped to Europe every month. The strong, dark brands go to Spain. England takes every kind. The lighter colors are preferred in America.

Tobacco-leaves for cigarettes are cut into thread--generally called "long cut,"--and the whole process of making is done by one machine. I have seen nine of these hard at work, each turning out 12,000 cigarettes a day, making 38,000,000 in a year.

Smoking, a Universal Habit.

Smoking goes on in the Philippines everywhere but in church--in the hotel dining-room as soon as coffee is served, and at the theatre or opera while the audience is gathering, and between the acts. Even your cab-driver will offer you a cigar, if he thinks you have none. Spanish women of wealth and rank--grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and nieces sit on the balconies of their beautiful residences in the capital, puffing away at their cigarillos,--a tiny brand made especially for feminine consumption; while in some homes men and women help themselves from the same box.

It is an incongruous sight, and one hostile to the accepted ideas of a splendid type of primitive man, to see in the depths of remote provinces native men and women, young and old, of striking physical proportions, the men nude but for the flimsy breech-clout, smoking away at cigars, cigarettes, and even pipes; and at every possible and impossible angle of incidence.

For cigars and cigarettes have for many years been sold everywhere throughout the colony,--in even the remotest hamlets.

Besides, considerable stimulus has been given to the smoking habit in the wildest provinces by travelers, who, to ingratiate themselves with the half-savage natives of distant provinces, or to keep them from speculating whether one is a Spaniard or not, and thereby arousing their ire, bountifully dispense cigars and cigarettes wherever they go.

And so the dominant and absorbing habit of the Filipinos is to smoke.

Indeed, the common habit of smoking makes it possible to realize the Arabian Nights' stories of fabulous fortunes made in the Philippines in a short time from the cultivation, preparation, and manufacture of the fragrant leaf.

THE CULTIVATION OF COFFEE.

The Origin of the Industry.

In the early part of the nineteenth century several Spaniards began the cultivation of coffee in a little valley away at the north end of Luzon. The trees they planted were the first coffee plants ever known on the island. A small wild animal, somewhat like a weasel, somewhat like a fox, began eating and scattering the growing berries, until in this way myriads of the little creatures had unwittingly sown coffee seeds over all the island.

Some of these original plants still bear fruit, thousands of pounds being gathered from the wild bushes. Plantation owners in that vicinity, the province of Batangas, have, indeed, assured me that the trees possessed by their grandfathers are still vigorous; while it is also a well-known fact that in many other coffee-producing colonies the plants are quite exhausted by the end of the thirtieth year.

Manila coffee is highly prized in Spain and her dependencies. They have, of course, nothing so rich in flavor as the Mocha bean of Arabia, but a kind, called caracolillo, that resembles it in taste and in shape. It has only one seed to the berry, while, on the other hand, all other varieties have two.

The merchants in Manila are extremely cautious in their dealings with the provincial planters, giving the preference to coffee from Cavité, Batangas, and La Laguna. In Mindanao coffee is sent to the market without being looked over, the result being a distasteful compound of good and bad beans. This is sold to the unfastidious natives at very low prices, but is wholly unfit for European consumption.

Indifference of Coffee-planters.

Cavité planters--whether Spaniard or Indian--show an indifference to a dozen details that their competitors in the other provinces named are extremely particular about. They are careless in the selecting of sites for their plantations, which should be on hilly ground; careless in the choice of the soil, of the seed, in pruning, in attention to the ripe fruit; in detaching the bean from its outer coating; and, above all, in many places, careless to separate the good beans from the bad. All this is due to the inertness of the planter and to the indolence of his laborers.

And while this continues, the Philippines will never be known as one of the great coffee-producing countries of the world; though its possibilities in that direction are simply incalculable.

Speculation in Coffee.

Coffee is a good deal of a speculation in the islands. Collectors drive about paying for crops still ungathered. Moreover, if the large planters do not produce enough to fill their contracts, they depend upon the small plots of the natives,--which will account for much variety in the bean, and for the occasional extremely-poor quality already spoken of. The money advanced is always gauged by the price per picul that coffee brought the year before in the Manila market.

For instance, if it then cost $12 a picul, $8 will be advanced to the planter on the crops in the ground. The collector always tries to protect himself by a pretty good margin. He occasionally loses, however. In one case, some years ago, coffee advanced to $31 a picul, and enormous fortunes were made.

Fluctuations are constantly occurring in the coffee market, owing to the peculiar nature of the transactions, as purchases are invariably made before the crop has come to fruition. But a startling rise like the one mentioned, is unprecedented in the history of the trade, and is hardly likely to occur again.

Methods of Cultivation.

A coffee-site, as I have said, should be chosen on high ground, and on the side of a hill; for the reason that, while the body of the plant requires a great degree of moisture, which is given by the heavy rains of the country, the roots, on the other hand, must be kept dry.

The ground is cleared--generally by fire--and fenced in. Like hemp, the coffee tree needs careful shading, and to insure this the next process is to plant slips of the madre cacao, in straight rows, about one Spanish yard apart. When these reach the height of three feet, the coffee-shoots are placed at intervals in the holes prepared for them, having been soaked for two or three days in water.

As the plantation becomes too thick, trees and plants are removed--care being taken, however, to preserve the symmetrical appearance of the whole, as it is imperative for the health of the tree that no coffee-shoots or branches should touch one another.

In its natural state, the tree grows to the height of twenty-five feet, but constant pruning is necessary, and the tree, when properly cared for, is kept down to seven or eight feet. Returns are expected four years after planting.

There are few things more beautiful than a well-ordered coffee estate in full bloom. Straight and stately avenues cross each other in every direction. The plant has long glossy leaves, like the laurel; the blossoms are snowy-white, and in shape resemble the jasmine, and their fragrance is exquisite; while overhead the madre foliage grows dense, protecting the more delicate plant from too much sun, too pelting a storm, too wild a blast. The fruit, when ripe, is of a dark scarlet color, and the ordinary berry contains two seeds, glued together and covered with a membrane. The mocha of Arabia and the caracolillo of Manila are richer in flavor than the other varieties, and, as already stated, have but one bean, thus differing in shape from those of the ordinary berry.

The neighborhood of Lipa is noted for its wealth and for many coffee estates round about. A number of the planters there have sedulously done all in their power to attain perfection in the growing, dressing, sorting, and marketing of the bean. Along their own lines, too, they have overcome obstacles, and have effected certain success. And some of the estates are beautiful and most prosperously ordered. I have driven through them and ridden over them, and have invariably admired them, and, admiring, I have marveled at the landscape-gardening effects produced on what was seemingly so commercial a basis. Ruskin's own ideas of beauty in every-day life and in lowly occupation can not find a more delightful and satisfying illustration than in the environment in which masses of laborers delve and toil upon some of the Lipa coffee estates.

In the Philippines the coffee berries are gathered by hand from the trees,--men, women, and children assisting in the process. The fruit is then put aside in heaps, and in a few days is washed. In this way much of the pulp is detached and discarded. The remainder is placed in a mortar and pounded until the clean bean emerges, which, in the bulk, forms the coffee of commerce. This is sent, in coarse bags of hemp, to Manila for sale.

The ripe berries, when sun-dried, lose over 50 per cent. of moisture.

Harsh Methods of the Government.

The Government at Madrid, with its usual heavy, tyrannous policy, has imposed extra licenses on the planting of coffee, and laid a heavy import duty on the machinery lately introduced and used to prepare the bean for market.

The formation of the Philippine Archipelago is peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of coffee and hemp. To say it once more: Both need high altitudes, and to be grown on the sides of hills or mountains. On most of the islands a range runs north and south, rising sometimes to the height of nine thousand feet.

The laborers on a coffee estate expect to receive one-half the produce for their work in caring for the crop, which includes ploughing,--something essential to the health of the tree,--cultivating, picking, and drying the fruit, and preparing the bean for transport to Manila.

The hard methods of the Government regarding the coffee bean, the difficulties of the grower in obtaining reliable assistance, and the fluctuations of the trade will probably account for the small quantity produced under Spanish auspices. The island of Negros alone is so accessible that the coffee production there ought to be enormous. In 1897 the exportation amounted to about $250,000. Under almost any other government it would have reached $3,000,000.

BETEL NUT, GRAIN, AND FRUIT-GROWING.

The Areca Palm and the Betel Nut.

Every wild country, it appears, has its favorite soporific, and in the Philippines the fruit of the areca palm is a necessity to most of the natives, just as opium is to the average East Indian, but it is far less deleterious. The manner of its use is as follows: A slice of the nut is wrapped in a buyo leaf, covered with lime, made from oyster shells, and then chewed. The whole is called betel, and the betel-eater is constantly spitting what seems arterial blood; this, together with the sanguinary appearance of his gums, teeth, and lips, makes him disgusting to contemplate.

The areca palm for its nut, and the buyo palm for its leaf, are carefully and extensively cultivated. The latter must be used fresh, and quantities of the green leaves are sold in the markets daily. The effects of betel-chewing seems to be similar to that of the coca of Peru; in moderation, the stimulus to the stomach is excellent; and in both cases it is possible to labor for hours without food, if only the native--Philippine or Peruvian--has an ample supply of his favorite drug. Temperate use of either is positively beneficial. Abuse, in both cases, produces delirium and death.

There are nearly one thousand warehouses and retail shops in Manila for the sale of the areca nut, or for the fresh buyo leaf and lime necessary in its preparation; or for the slices wrapped and ready for immediate use. The buyo leaf is hot to the taste. When bruised and placed on the wound it is an antidote to the bite of the most venomous snakes. It is useful in cholera; and water in which the leaf has been steeped, is used by mothers as an outside application in cases of infant colic.

The Nipa Palm and Nipa Wine.

The nipa palm looks like a gigantic fern. It grows in swamps, and its leaves are deemed invaluable for the thatching of native huts. A tall grass, called cógon, is also used for this purpose. From the fruit-stalks of the nipa a wine is distilled that is a Government monopoly; and the art of manufacturing brandy from sugar-cane seems to be aboriginal. The inhabitants of the most distant islands and provinces have a patient, slow, inglorious way of making their favorite drink. The fermented juice is boiled in four-gallon jugs; the steam then escapes through bamboo pipes, is cooled, and condensed by a primitive arrangement overhead, running water passing through a hollow log,--and the liquor falls into another large stone jug. It is extremely strong and pure, and small quantities of the drink are not unhealthful. The natives of the Philippines, as I have said so often, hate to trouble themselves about anything, and are impatient of slow processes; they will, however, take infinite pains in the distillation of sugar-cane brandy. The rewards, though slow, are definite, enchanting, and, above everything else, personal.

Various Fruits of the Islands.

The fruits of the Philippines include many varieties well-known in American markets,--bananas, shaddocks, oranges, lemons, citrons, and pineapples. Others are the usual ones found in the tropics, and nowhere else; and none is to be compared to the apple, peach, grape, cherry, and strawberry of the temperate zone.

The durian, however, is extremely luscious. It is large as a pineapple, and has a delicious white pulp. It requires a great deal of courage to open it, as the rough outside-skin has a monstrous odor of decaying flesh.

The favorite fruit is the mango. Of this, quantities are partaken daily in the season.

Guava, from which jelly is made, grows wild.

The pawpaw tree also grows wild, and is valuable to the natives. The bruised leaves exude a saponaceous liquid, that is used in the washing of clothes, and has the cleansing effect of soap. The fruit is cooling, but tasteless. It is said to contain pepsin, and is used by invalids with weak digestion.

Bananas are both wild and cultivated; seventy-seven varieties are found on the islands. The fruit is a staple article of food; and a cloth is woven from the fibre that natives make up into garments. A coarse paper is also made of it.

Cereals and Vegetables.

A native cannot own land. He may hold it under certain conditions. What these are in the tobacco districts has been stated. The regulations outside these districts are as follows:--

He must plant useful trees, suitable to the soil; raise wheat, rye, maize, vegetables, cotton, pepper; maintain every species of appropriate cattle; keep fruit growing in his orchards and around his house; have at least twelve hens, one cock, and a sucking pig. Failing in these impossible conditions, the land may be confiscated at the end of two years.

The missionaries have always helped the natives to divide their farms, plan their cultivation, and garner their harvests; they introduced the useful maize and wheat, as well as melons and garden-truck--peas, beans, cucumbers, onions, and other vegetables. Potatoes are very much in demand, but, so far, have not been successfully cultivated; being literally what the Americans call "small potatoes and few in a hill."

Cotton and Indigo-planting.

Cotton is cheaply produced, and in quantities sufficient to supply the domestic trade. There is no reason why it should not be made a matter of large foreign export.

Indigo plants grow in the wildest luxuriance throughout the Philippines. Owing to the richness of the soil but little labor is required in their cultivation, and annual returns are expected of 50 per cent. on the capital employed. There are people now living magnificently in Paris and Madrid that owe their revenues to indigo plantations in the colony; the Alvarado family, for instance, whose immense estate is on the island of Sámar, and whose income from this source is nearly $55,000 a year.

There was once a prejudice against Manila indigo among European purchasers. This, however, has been removed by improved processes and greater care on the part of growers and manufacturers. The crops are not so certain as those of hemp, tobacco, or coffee. They are likely also to be injured by hurricanes and eaten by caterpillars. Nevertheless, the estate-owners seem to flourish.

The Cocoa Industry.

Cocoa and chocolate are the product of the cacao tree, introduced early in the history of the islands by missionaries from Mexico. The fruit is red in color and shaped like a large cucumber. The beans, or kernels, are arranged in regular rows through the pulp, varying in size and in number. They average twenty to the single fruit, and generally have the size, and always the appearance, of almonds, with hard skins. They are also very bitter. Whether dried in the sun or roasted in ovens, the process must be done as soon as the fruit is gathered, else the flavor of the kernel is injured. The beans are very oily, and in manufacturing cocoa much of the fat is extracted. This makes the drink more suitable for children and invalids.

To make chocolate, the beans are dried, the skins removed, and the mass is pounded in a mortar, then placed upon a rolling board and rolled. Quantities of sugar are added to neutralize the bitterness of the kernel, with vanilla to give the whole flavor. This makes a paste that is a great favorite with all classes of Spaniards and natives, both as a confection and when made into a beverage; yet but little more of the fruit is grown on the islands than is necessary for home consumption. The dried bean is safe as an export, but the cacao tree has many enemies; and when the crop has come to ripening, in spite of threatened disease and destroying vermin, it may be ruined by a tempest in a single hour. These vicissitudes discourage the planter, who seldom tries to do more than secure enough of the cacao bean for family use. The trees are usually planted in gardens near the house, and the chocolate-paste is made at home. A small quantity of the bean is sent annually to Spain; and there is a chocolate factory in Manila for the benefit of those that do not care to trouble themselves with either the growth of the fruit or the preparation of the kernel. The oil of the cocoa is used also for lighting the houses and streets.

It is impossible to find better chocolate than that made by the friars of the Philippines. Special pains are taken with the cacao tree, which is planted in the orchards and gardens of the monasteries, and in the manufacture of the paste and in the making of the beverage. Care must be used in the selection of soil and locality; the tree must be shaded by the taller banana; the planter must be able to risk the loss of an occasional harvest, caused by vermin, disease, or tempest; and in good years the planter will get a return of 90 per cent. on his capital. The fact remains, however, that few colonists are willing to take chances in a crop, that, at the last minute, can be easily ruined.

The Traffic in Birds' Nests.

The Philippine Islands are rich in growths that would seem strange to an American--edible birds'-nests, roots, nuts, grasses, fruits, and the like. The bird's nest is sold in large quantities to the Chinese, who make a soup of it,--nauseous, indeed, to foreigners. It is built by a little creature resembling the swallow; is pasty-white in appearance, dotted with red spots. The nests are found high up, in almost inaccessible caves, on cliffs above the sea. Nest-gathering is an occupation by itself, very dangerous, and followed by natives of only extreme hardihood and agility. The birds are robbed of their nests as soon as they are completed, and this first gathering is sold to the Chinese at enormous prices. The bird patiently builds another home, and is again despoiled. The second gathering, however, is deemed second-class in the market; and the third gathering is even more inferior. And 'tis only the approach of the rainy season that protects the bird in the laying of its eggs and in the care of its young.

USEFUL WOODS AND PLANTS.

The Huge Forests.

There are great forests of costly woods in the colony, mahogany, sapan-wood, log-wood, iron-wood, ebony, and cedar; beside fifty varieties not known to European markets, but eagerly sought for by merchants from China. The cedar is almost exclusively used in making cigar boxes; and I have seen beautiful knotted and polished war clubs of iron-wood used by the remoter savages in their battles with other tribes; they are as black as ebony, and nearly as hard as steel. These various woods yield logs from eighteen to seventy feet in length. The molave is especially valuable: the sea-worm cannot bore it, the white ant eat it; nor is it affected by water or by climate. It is used for the frames of vessels, and would be unsurpassed for railroad ties, being practically invulnerable.

The palma brava is used in the making of bridges, piles, and piers--wherever, in short, resistance to water is necessary.

Lanete-wood is useful in carving and in the making of musical instruments, or elsewhere where delicacy is required, as well as strength.

From sapan a rich crimson dye is extracted. This is obtained by cutting the smaller branches into little pieces and soaking them in boiling water. This dye is much esteemed, but is not so permanent as that made from cochineal.

There are many hundreds of islands in the Philippines with thousands of miles of virgin forests, with woods suitable for ship-building, houses, cars, fittings, furniture, wharves, bolts, axe-handles, carriages, wheels, and everything else that timber is used for; besides some exquisite pink, red, yellow, and veined varieties, capable of high polish, and suitable for veneering and for dye-woods. The saps of many trees, also, give a hard, durable glaze.

Magnificent orchids abound in all parts of the Philippines. One specimen was recently sold for $500. And there are rubber trees that have hardly been worked, but have, nevertheless, a future of great importance.

The Bamboo Plant and its Uses.

The most beautiful plant in the colony is bamboo. It grows everywhere except in marshy places--on the hills, along the banks of rivers, in open spaces, and in woods. Groups of bamboos are invariably cultivated by the natives in the vicinity of their homes. It has a light, feathery, tufted top, that waves in the slightest breeze and gives a spirited look to the landscape. It frequently grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet, is from five to eight inches in diameter, and strongly jointed, every joint strengthened by an inside web.

There are also many smaller kinds.

The plant is constantly propagated by the natives from young shoots; for bamboo-sticks always bring their price in Manila markets, according to size and season. There are several varieties; and the uses to which they are put are endless, the wood being tough, flexible, and elastic.

From bamboo-sticks huts, houses, and churches are made; and even roofed and thatched. For the latter, however, nipa palm and cógon grass are preferred. Bridges are constructed of them several hundred feet in length, over which a drove of elephants could safely cross; they are used in the making of furniture, walls, flooring, rafts, scaffolding, carts, baskets, vessels to contain liquid, and measures for wheat, organs, and small instruments, and every kind of household utensil used by the natives. They are used, also, for weapons, for cordage, for hats, for mats, for palings, for carrying poles, for blowers to a furnace, and for condensing-pipes in making brandy,--and for a hundred other articles of amusement or convenience.