prices when they sell these products. The Sugar Central Board and the Philippine National Bank are especially interested in assisting the sugar planters in producing their crop and in marketing their sugar at good prices.

66. Assistance to Farming by Other Bureaus.Other branches of the Government besides the Bureau of Agriculture are interested in farming. The Bureau of Education in its agricultural courses and farm schools assists in the improvement of agriculture. The Bureau of Commerce and Industry tries to find better markets for agricultural products. The Bureaus of Customs and Public Works desire to have good communications so that farm products can be sold easily. Besides, the farmer shares with all other citizens the many services of the Government, such as health, education, etc.

67. Mutual Help by Farmers.-The farmers have many ways by which they can help one another. For instance, they meet every year in a great Agricultural Congress in which matters of general agricultural interest are discussed and are then presented to the Philippine Legislature in order that necessary laws concerning them may be passed.

The farmers in any community can organize rural agricultural coöperative associations and loan societies for their mutual benefit. There are now about five hundred of these associations, having resources of over two million pesos. It is the duty of every one to do all he can to organize such a coöperative association or loan society in his municipality. Any farmer can write to the Director of Agriculture for information. By organizing such

an association or society, you will be doing something of practical value for your municipality and thus for your country.

68. Public Lands.—If you will study the diagram, you will find some figures to think about. The total land area of the Philippines is 29,629,000 hectares. Only about one-sixth of this land is controlled by private individuals. Only about one-ninth of this land is under cultivation. These figures tell why the Philippines is not rich and show also how the Philippines can be made rich. And how is this, you ask?

The answer is that more persons should be the owners of what is called a "homestead." A "homestead" is a piece of agricultural public land not larger than twentyfour hectares which the Government grants to persons on certain conditions. The Government wants every one to earn a living and to own a home and a farm. Any Philippine citizen who is over eighteen years of age or the head of a family is entitled by law to become the owner of a homestead. After selecting the land he desires in a municipality or province opened by the Governor-General to the public, all that he has to do is to make application to the Director of Lands, paying four pesos a year for five years, cultivating his land and living on it for two years before he receives his certificate of ownership.

If a person does not desire to have a homestead, he can rent land from the Government. He can also purchase agricultural public land, but not more than one hundred

hectares for an individual, or one thousand and twentyfour hectares for a corporation.

The Bureau of Lands has charge of the administration of public agricultural and mineral lands. Land districts, each with a district land officer, surveyor, or provincial treasurer in charge, are established throughout the Islands. The Bureau conducts the surveys which permit one to obtain title to his property. It has charge of the Friar Lands which were purchased by the Government from the religious corporations. The Bureau conducts a school for surveyors in coöperation with the Bureau of Education.

69. Forests.-A forest is a tract of land covered with trees.

Next to a fertile soil the greatest natural resources of the Philippine Islands is its forests. We have about twenty million hectares of forests, including mangroves, which cover about 67 per cent of the total area of the Philippines. More than 99 per cent of the forests belong to the public. Their timber and other products are worth hundreds of millions of pesos.

The Philippines has some of the finest timber in the world. Camagon, narra, tindalo, ipil, acle, and molave are the most important species. Large quantities of timber and lumber, such as narra, tanguile, almon, lauan, apitong, guijo, and yakal, are shipped to other countries. The lumber industry of these Islands furnishes employment to thousands of people.

Many countries have permitted the people to cut trees at will. The result has been a shortage of timber. Since

forests regulate waterflow and prevent erosion, farming has been injured by the destruction of forests. To remedy this, some countries are now spending hundreds of thousands of pesos to reëstablish their forests.

The Philippines has some of its forests destroyed by caiñgin makers, who have a practice of clearing extensive areas covered with valuable trees for the purpose of planting rice, corn, and similar crops. These people, after using the cleared areas for a year or two, make other similar clearings in the forests with the result that there are now extensive areas of cogon or grass lands which offer breeding places for locusts. Caiñgin makers do not realize that the value of the products obtained from such clearings is much less than the value of the timber destroyed.

What is forestry? Forestry may be defined as "the science and art of managing forests in continuity and utilizing land suitable for growing timber for various human utilities." The management of the forest as a crop and not as a mine is the essence of real forestry.

The Bureau of Forestry has control over all public and private forests. Its principal work is to manage these forests in such a way that not only this generation but also future generations may have an abundant supply of timber and other forest products. In administering the forests for the interests of the public, the Bureau of Forestry uses every means to protect and perpetuate them.

The Bureau of Forestry issues licenses to regulate the use of the forests. These licenses.allow individuals or firms to cut and collect forest products. If the product