l population of the Philippine Islands, subject to the authority
of the king, is equal to three millions.

[Cotton.] Among the varied productions of the Philippines, for many
reasons, none is so deserving of attention as cotton. Its whiteness
and find staple give to it such a superiority over that of the rest of
Asia, and possibly of the world, that the Chinese anxiously seek it,
in order pereferably to employ it in their most perfect textures,
and purchase it thirty per cent dearer than the best from British
India. Notwithstanding this extraordinary allurement, the vicinity
of a good market, and the positive certainty that, however great the
exportation, the growth can never equal the consumption and immense
demand for this article, it has, nevertheless, hitherto been found
impossible to extend and improve its cultivation, in such a way as to
render it a staple commodity of the country. Owing to this lamentable
neglect, is it, that the annual exportation does not exceed five
thousand "arrobas" (125,000 lbs.) whereas the British import into
China at the annual rate of 100,000 bales, or 1,200,000 "arrobas,"
produced in their establishments at Bombay and Calcutta, and which,
sold at the medium price of fifteen "taels," for one hundred thirty
pounds, yield the net amount of $4,800,000.

[Its advantages.] This want of attention to so important a branch
of agriculture is the more to be regretted, as the Islands abound
in situations peculiarly adapted for the cultivation of cotton, and
the accidental failure of the crops in some provinces, might easily
be made up by their success in others. The culture of this plant is
besides extremely easy, as it requires no other labor than clearing
the grounds from brush-wood, and lightly turning up the earth with a
plough, before the seeds are scattered, which being done, the planter
leaves the crop to its own chance, and in five months gathers abundant
fruit, if, at the time the bud opens, it is not burnt by the north
winds, or rotted with unseasonable showers.

[Restricted cultivation.] The provinces of Ilocos and Batangas
are the only ones in which the cultivation of cotton is pursued
with any degree of zeal and care, and it greatly tends to enrich
the inhabitants. This successful example has not, however, hitherto
excited emulation in those of the other provinces; and thus the only
production of the Philippine Islands, of which the excellence and
superior demand in trade are as we