As for such jungle produce as gum-damar, canes, and rattans, if the reader will refer to my remarks on Palawan he will see that the most valuable products are mostly worked out, and that in any case this is not white man's business. There is, however, one branch that, in view of increasing scarcity and rising price, should be carefully looked after by the Philippine Administration; I refer to the collection of gutta-percha in Mindanao. This caused quite a boom for a short time, but as usual the Chinamen got hold of the stuff and mixed it with various kinds of rubbish, so that it was soon discredited in the European market. An official of high-standing might be appointed to the double office of Protector of the Natives, and Conservator of the Forests in Mindanao, and rules for collecting the gutta without destroying the trees should be prepared and enforced by personal visits from the conservator and his deputies, to whom all the gutta should be handed, being paid for in cash. This would probably yield a large revenue to the Government and greatly benefit the natives, for they might receive half the value of the gutta instead of the minute fraction the Chinese now give them. The reader who has perused the previous remarks will no longer be liable to be caught by tales of the fabulous riches of the Philippine forests. And, above all, he should keep clear of any companies that may be formed to exploit them. Energetic and tactful individuals may succeed, but the success will be due to personal qualities, and will be contemporaneous with that gifted party and disappear with him. This is what happened to the "Laguimanoc Saw Mills and Timber Company" as soon as the founder left. A large proportion of the jungle produce of Mindanao, Palawan, and the smaller Southern Islands is smuggled away by the Chinese traders to Sandakan or Singapore. All that appears in the Table of Exports is two or three hundred tons of gum copal shipped each year from Manila. CHAPTER XVI. THE MINERALS.