[Cotton.] Of cotton they raise a considerable quantity, which is of a fine quality, and principally of the yellow nankeen.  In the province of Ilocos it is cultivated most extensively.  The mode of cleaning it of its seed is very rude, by means of a hand-mill, and the expense of cleaning a picul (one hundred and forty pounds) is from five to seven dollars.  There have, as far as I have understood, been no endeavors to introduce any cotton-gins from our country.

[Wages.] It will be merely necessary to give the prices at which laborers are paid, to show how low the compensation is, in comparison with those in our own country.  In the vicinity of Manila, twelve and a half cents per day is the usual wages; this in the provinces falls to six and nine cents.  A man with two buffaloes is paid about thirty cents.  The amount of labor performed by the latter in a day would be the ploughing of a soane, about two-tenths of an acre.  The most profitable way of employing laborers is by the task, when, it is said, the natives work well, and are industrious.

The manner in which the sugar and other produce is brought to market at Manila is peculiar, and deserves to be mentioned.  In some of the villages, the chief men unite to build a vessel, generally a pirogue, in which they embark their produce, under the conduct of a few persons, who go to navigate it, and dispose of the cargo.  In due time they make their voyage, and when the accounts are settled, the returns are distributed to each according to his share.  Festivities are then held, the saints thanked for their kindness, and blessings invoked for another year.  After this is over, the vessel is taken carefully to pieces, and distributed, among the owners, to be preserved for the next season.

The profits in the crops, according to estimates, vary from sixty to one hundred per cent.; but it was thought, as a general average, that this was, notwithstanding the great productiveness of the soil, far beyond the usual profits accruing from agricultural operations.  In some provinces this estimate would hold good, and probably be exceeded.

[Indigo.] Indigo would probably be a lucrative crop, for that raised here is said to be of quality equal to the best, and the crop is not subject to so many uncertainties as in India:  the capital and attention required in vats, etc., prevent it from being raised in any quantities.  Among the productions, the bamboo and rattan ought to claim a particular notice from their great utility; they enter into almost every thing.  Of the former their houses are built, including frames, floors, sides, and roof; fences are made of the same material, as well as every article of general household use, including baskets for oil and water.  The rattan is a general substitute for ropes of all descriptions, and the two combined are used in constructing rafts for crossing ferries.

I have thus given a general outline of the capabilities of this country for agricultural operations, in some of the most important articles of commerce; by which it will be seen that the Philippine Islands are one of the most favored parts of the globe.