ce, which, it appears, is a
matter of very nice judgment, as it is usual to explain or account
for the cause of the bad quality of a lot by saying that the planter
has beat it for too long or too short a time, and that he did not
know exactly when to stop.

This article is very liable to adulteration, at which both native and
Chinese dealers are so peculiarly expert, that purchasers trusting
solely to their own knowledge are very liable to be deceived by them.

The blues of the country are much brighter than any of the British or
continental dyes, and are in consequence much preferred by the natives.

_Cotton_.--Cotton is only grown in a very small quantity, principally
in Ylocos and Batangas provinces. Some of it is sent to China, but
the major part of the crop is used in the country. It is seldom or
never well cleaned, the rude machines employed for doing so being
usually worked by the hand or foot, very imperfectly and slowly,
cleaning only a small quantity of the wool in a day.

_Cocoa-nut oil_.--Cocoa-nut oil is made in the province of Laguna
and in Bisayas. That coming from the Laguna is of the best quality,
and generally sells for a good deal more than the Bisayas oil,
which does not give so good a light, and has a worse smell than the
other. The manufacturing processes employed in producing it are very
rude in both of these districts, although that followed in Laguna
is the better of the two; but both are bad. It has been proposed,
however, to remedy this by establishing proper machinery at Manilla
for carrying on its production on a large scale, as is done in Ceylon.

The chief difficulty of exporting the article appears to be the want
of knowledge of the proper means of seasoning the tanks in which
it is shipped. These have not as yet been well made at Manilla; and
some merchants have been in the habit of getting their empty tanks
from Batavia, as they are usually better made there than they are
procurable in Manilla. The best mode of seasoning them appears to be,
to fill them all with oil, and to place them in the sun, after being
well coopered, above a large vat or other receptacle to catch all the
oil which may leak out of them; and after they have stood for some
time in this way, the pores of the wood get filled up by the oil,
which prevents further leakage.

When filled with water, as has been the practice for some time past
at Manilla, on the oil being shipped, the effect, as has been found,
is to