The greatest treasure of those islands, and that in which their wealth consists, is commerce, which demands a more extended treatment. It is divided into domestic and foreign. Of the latter, which is the rich commerce, we shall treat later. [_In the margin:_ "In the year--_sc._: number--20 to 37."] The domestic, which is slight, consists in the fruits and commodities produced in their lands, which are cultivated by their inhabitants: rice in the husk, and cleaned; cotton, palm wine, salt, wax, palm oil, and fowls; lampotes, tablecloths, Ilocan blankets, and medriñaques. These are the products in which the Indians pay their tributes, and in nothing else--except some who pay them in taes of gold, of eighteen carats, which is that obtained in those islands, and which is worth eight reals. Nutmeg, as good as that of Borneo, is found in them, as is mentioned in a royal decree of October 9, 623, in which it was ordered to bring some to these kingdoms. [20] There is abundance of swine and cattle, deer, and carabaos or buffaloes. The coast waters are full of fish, the fields of fruits, the gardens of produce and vegetables. The most useful plant is the palm, from which an infinite number of articles are obtained. There are groves of them, as there are vineyards in España, although they require less labor and care. From the rice they make the ordinary bread, which they call _morisqueta_. What most shows the wealth of the country is the gold that its natives wear; for scarcely is there an Indian of moderate means, who is not adorned with a chain of this rich metal, of which the women use most. Number 16. Number and diversity of Indians in the islands What most assures the provinces of the new world is the greater or less number of the natives. In that the Filipinas are eminent, for there are the indigenous Indians, who are tributarios; but these are not many, as not all of them are pacified. Of those who have been pacified some, the larger encomiendas, have been assigned to the royal crown. There are other foreign Indians whose number is great in Manila and its environs, and where there are Spaniards, to whose service the Indians engage themselves for their day's wages. These include an infinite number of nations: Chinese, Japanese, Champanes, Malucans, Borneans, Joas [_i.e._, Javanese], Malays, and even Persians and Arabs. But those who are tributary to the royal crown are: Number 17. Indians tributary to the royal crown in the Indias In the provinces of Oton and Panay, twelve chief villages, which have 6,035 tributes. In the island of Zebu, three which have 2,529 tributes. In that of Camarines, there are 87 tributes of vagrant Indians and Sangleys (who are Chinese Christians). In Mindoro and Luban, 1,612 tributes. In the province of Tayavas, in five villages 1,343 tributes. In that of Bay, in nine villages, 2,232 tributes. On the coast of Manila, in twenty-eight villages, 4,250 tributes.