In the Province of Bulacan, land which in a great measure is exhausted and yields only an average of 21 tons of cane per acre, was valued (prior to the American occupation), on account of its nearness to the capital, at ₱115 per acre. In Pampanga Province, a little further north, the average value of land, yielding, say, 30 tons of cane per acre, was ₱75 per acre. Still further north, in the Province of Nueva Ecija, whence transport to the sugar-market is difficult and can only be economically effected in the wet season by river, land producing an average of 35 tons of cane per acre would hardly fetch more than ₱30 per acre. Railroads will no doubt eventually level these values.
In reality, Bulacan land is priced higher than its intrinsic value as ascertained by yield and economy of produce-transport. The natives are, everywhere in the Colony, more or less averse to alienating real estate inherited from their forefathers, and as Bulacan is one of the first provinces where lands were taken up, centuries ago, an attachment to the soil is particularly noticeable. In that province, as a rule, only genuine necessity, or a fancy price far in excess of producing-worth, would induce an owner to sell his land.
Land grants were obtainable from the Spanish Government by proving priority of claim, but the concession was only given after wearisome delay, and sometimes it took years to obtain the title-deeds. Then large capital was requisite to utilize the property, the clearance often costing more than the virgin tract, whilst the eviction of squatters was a most difficult undertaking: “Jʼy suis et jʼy reste,” thought the squatter, and the grantee had no speedy redress at law. On the other hand, the soil is so wonderfully rich and fertile that the study of geoponics and artificial manuring was never thought essential.
The finest sugar-cane producing island in the Archipelago is Negros, in the Visaya district, between N. latitudes 9° and 11°. The area of the Island is about equal to that of Porto Rico, but for want of capital is only about one-half opened up. Nevertheless, it sent to the Yloilo market in 1892 over 115,000 tons of raw sugar—the largest crop it has yet produced. In 1850 the Negros sugar yield was 625 tons.
The price of uncleared land there, suitable for sugar-cane cultivation, in accessible spots, was, say, ₱35 per acre, and cleared land might be considered worth about ₱70 per acre. The yield of sugar-cane may be estimated at 40 tons per acre on the estates opened up within the last ten years, whilst the older estates produce per acre nearly 30 tons of cane, but of a quality which gives such a high-class sugar that it compensates for the decrease in quantity, taking also into account the economy of manipulating and transporting less bulk.
Otaheiti cane (yellow) is generally planted in Luzon, whilst Java cane (red) is most common in the southern islands. Tubo is the Tagálog generic name for sugar-cane.
The following equivalents of Philippine land-measures may be useful, viz.:—
| 1 Quiñon | = 40,000 square varas = 10,000 square brazas. |
| = 5 cabans = 6.9444 acres = 2.795 hectares. | |
| 1 Balita | = 4,000 square varas = 1,000 square brazas. |
| = .69444 acre = .2795 hectare. | |
| 1 Loan | = 400 square varas = 100 square brazas. |
| = .06944 acre = .02795 hectare. | |
| 1 Square Braza | = 3.3611 square English yards. |
| = 4,355.98 square English inches. | |
| 1 Square Vara | = .8402 square English yards. |
| = 1,088.89 square English inches. | |
| 1 Acre | = 5,760 square varas = 1.44 balitas. |
| = .72 caban = .404671 hectare. |
The average yield of sugar per acre is about as follows, viz.:—
| Pampanga Province, say @ 6½% extraction | = 1.95 Tons of Sugar. |
| Other Northern provinces, say @ 5½% extraction | = 1.65 Tons of Sugar. |
| Negros Island (with almost exclusively European mills), say @ 7½% extraction | = 2.75 Tons of Sugar. |