e requires little food, and that of the coarsest kind;
his strength surpasses that of the stoutest ox, and he is admirably
adapted for the rice or paddy fields. They are very docile when used
by the natives, and even children can manage them; but it is said they
have a great antipathy to the whites, and all strangers. The usual
mode of guiding them is by a small cord attached to the cartilage of
the nose. The yoke rests on the neck before the shoulders, and is of
simple construction. To this is attached whatever it may be necessary
to draw, either by traces, shafts, or other fastenings. Frequently this
animal may be seen with large bundles of bamboo lashed to them on each
side. Buffaloes are to be met with on the lake with no more than their
noses and eyes out of the water, and are not visible until they are
approached within a few feet, when they cause alarm to the passengers
by raising their large forms close to the boat. It is said that they
resort to the lake to feed on a favorite grass that grows on its bottom
in shallow water, and which they dive for. Their flesh is not eaten,
except that of the young ones, for it is tough and tasteless. The milk
is nutritious, and of a character between that of the goat and cow.

The general appearance of the buffalo is that of a hybrid of the
bull and rhinoceros. Its horns do not rise upwards, are very close
at the root, bent backwards, and of a triangular form, with a flat
side above. One of the peculiarities of the buffalo is its voice,
which is quite low, and in the minor key, resembling that of a young
colt. It is as fond of mire as swine, and shows the consequence of
recent wallowing, in being crusted over with mud. The skin is visible,
being but thinly covered with hair; its color is usually that of a
mouse; in some individuals darker.

[Rice.] Rice is, perhaps, of their agricultural products, the article
upon which the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands most depend for
food and profit; of this they have several different varieties; which
the natives distinguish by their size and the shape of the grain:
the birnambang, lamuyo, malagequit, bontot-cabayo, dumali, quinanda,
bolohan, and tangi. The three first are aquatic; the five latter
upland varieties. They each have their peculiar uses. The dumali
is the early variety; it ripens in three months from planting, from
which circumstance it derives its name: it is raised exclusively on
the uplands. Although much esteemed,