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, it is not extensively cultivated, as the birds and insects destroy a large part of the crop.

The malagequit is very much prized, and used for making sweet and fancy dishes; it becomes exceedingly glutinous, for which reason it is used in making whitewash, which it is said to cause to become of a brilliant white, and to withstand the weather.  This variety is not, however, believed to be wholesome.  There is also a variety of this last species which is used as food for horses, and supposed to be a remedy and preventive against worms.

The rice grounds or fields are laid out in squares, and surrounded by embankments, to retain the water of the rains or streams.  After the rains have fallen in sufficient quantities to saturate the ground, a seed-bed is generally planted in one corner of the field, in which the rice is sown broadcast, about the month of June.  The heavy rains take place in August, when the fields are ploughed, and are soon filled with water.  The young plants are about this time taken from the seed-bed, their tops and roots trimmed, and then planted in the field by making holes in the ground with the fingers and placing four or five sprouts in each of them; in this tedious labor the poor women are employed, whilst the males are lounging in their houses or in the shade of the trees.

The harvest for the aquatic rice begins in December.  It is reaped with small sickles, peculiar to the country, called yatap; to the back of these a small stick is fastened, by which they are held, and the stalk is forced upon it and cut.  The spikes of rice are cut with this implement, one by one.  In this operation, men, women, and children all take part.

The upland rice requires much more care and labor in its cultivation.  The land must be ploughed three or four times, and all the turf and lumps well broken up by the harrow.