One of the richest and most fertile parts of the whole island is Albay (äl bī´) Province, in the southeastern corner. This is a particularly beautiful part of the island. Here is Mayon volcano, which is called by scientists the most beautiful volcano in the world. It is the most perfectly formed and symmetrical, but it is no more desirable a neighbor than are volcanoes anywhere. In past years it has wrought great destruction in the country, but of late has been quiet, and seems to be on its good behavior.
MAYON VOLCANO.
The rich volcanic soil of this district will produce almost anything that can be made to grow in a tropical country. Very fine hemp grows here, probably the best that the islands produce. Cocoa, coffee, sugar, and rice all do well. Cocoanuts, bananas, all the fruits and vegetables of the islands, grow in Albay, with scarcely any cultivation. The climate is mild, and very healthful, and near Tibi are hot sulphur springs which are said to cure rheumatism and numerous other ills.
The most important of the smaller islands lying out from Luzon are Mindoro (mēn dō´rō) and Masbate (mäs bä´tā). These are small and very mountainous. Mindoro is deeply wooded, but only a little is known of the interior of the island.
The great bay of Manila is twenty miles long and thirty-two miles wide. It has a depth in some places of seventy feet. It is entered by two channels, one on either side of Corregidor Island. The main one is called the Boca Grande (bō´kä grän´dā); the other, which is smaller, the Boca Chica (bō´kä chē´kä). The bay is so large that it is more like an inland sea than a bay; in fact, it is too large to afford secure anchorage for vessels during great storms.
The Visayas form the second large division of the Philippine archipelago. This is a group of islands, six in number, which lie between Luzon and Mindanao. They are very thickly populated. The Visayan people seem almost a distinct race—different from those of Luzon, and from their neighbors of Mindanao. They speak a language of their own, and are inclined to regard themselves as a separate people. Now that new conditions prevail in the islands, and there is better communication between the Visayas and Luzon, much of this feeling of separation among the people will probably soon be overcome. It is to be hoped that it will be. The people of the Philippines must come to feel that they are one people, with common interests, and that all must work together to develop the whole country.
Iloilo, the principal city of the Visayas, is on the island of Panay. It is an open seaport, and will in time become a very important city. It was destroyed during the insurrection, but is now rapidly building up again. Under good management it will some day be one of the main shipping centers of the archipelago.
WEAVING JUSI.