Turning now from the sugar to the rice crop, I may say that it is the staple food of the people, the crop upon which the very existence of the people depends. It is grown in every province, rice-cultivation being the only branch of agriculture that the people thoroughly understand, and into which they enter with the zest of evident enjoyment. Rice, a native plant of the East, has from time immemorial been the leading food-product of all the nations of Eastern Asia. The wild plant, from which all the cultivated varieties have been derived, is still plentiful in the marshy, tropical countries of southern Asia and northern Australia; while the people of India, China, and the islands of the ocean live very largely on this nutritive grain. It is known by as many as 1,300 different local names, and it is said that Bengal alone has displayed 4,000 distinct forms of rice. These differences are in color, shape, and size, and may be all referred to a few well-marked varieties of Oryza sativa, the rice plant. In India and the Philippines rice in the husk is called paddy, and this word comes constantly into play in speaking of the cultivation of the plant. Formerly, rice was the main crop of the Philippines; a considerable quantity being exported. Twenty years ago Sual was an important port for the shipment of rice to China. It has now declined to an insignificant village. In fact, the extension of sugar culture has so reduced that of rice, that not enough is now produced for use, and large quantities are imported from Siam, Burmah, and China. Pangasinan is still a large rice-growing province, but all its product is consumed within the country. Sugar is a much better-paying crop, its minimum profit being equal to the maximum profit on rice. Rice-planting, in fact, is not profitable, and few carry it on largely; yet, inasmuch as it is necessary for the subsistence of the populace, some degree of attention compels its culture. Methods of Rice-cultivation. There are over twenty different kinds of rice-paddy grown in the Philippines. These constitute two groups,--the highland rice, grown in localities where inundation cannot be used, and the lowland, with which inundation is easy. The latter, known as Macan, is of much the finer quality, the most esteemed variety being that of white grain. Paga, or highland rice, is in large proportion of red grain. Its return is but half that of the Macan rice, but only one crop of the latter can be grown annually, while usually three crops of Paga rice are raised. One difficulty in Paga rice-cultivation is the presence of a fly that sucks the flower and prevents seeding. These the planters whisk off morning and evening with a bunch of straw, tied to the end of a stick.