The needs of the Philippine Islands in the matter of land legislation may be briefly summarized as follows:-- More judges in the Court of Land Registration so that the cadastral survey work may be expedited, and the poor man may be able to obtain title to his holdings promptly and at small expense. The employment of more surveyors on public land work. A renewal of the privilege of obtaining free patents on the old conditions during a period of at least ten years. The employment of more public land inspectors to inform the poor and ignorant of their rights, and to assist them in obtaining them. More liberal legislation relative to the size of the tracts of public land which may be purchased, and the number of mining claims on a given vein or lode which an individual may record. Authorization for the sale of public agricultural lands outside of town sites for residence purposes, business purposes, and for cemeteries. CHAPTER XXXI THE PHILIPPINE FORESTS Would that I had adequate words in which to describe the wonders of the Philippine forests, through which I wandered almost daily for four years, and which I love to revisit whenever the opportunity presents itself! Their majestic stateliness and magic beauty defy description. I have seen them swept by hurricanes when huge branches crashed down and mighty trees thundered to earth, imperilling life and limb, and I have seen them in the still noons of the tropics when not a leaf stirred. At times they are vocal with songs of birds and ceaseless din of insects, and again they are as silent as the grave. Who could do justice to the endless variety and beauty of tree-trunk, leaf and flower; the exquisite drapery of vines, ferns and orchids which covers the older forest monarchs; the weird masses of aërial roots which lead superstitious natives to believe some trees to be haunted, and small wonder; the ever changing light and shade bringing out new beauties where one least expects to find them; the endless differences in the flora due to variations in altitude and in the distribution of moisture? In Mindoro, Palawan and Mindanao we find tropical vegetation in its absolute perfection; in the highlands of northern Luzón we meet our old friends, the pine and oak, while beside them grow strawberries, raspberries, huckleberries, jacks-in-the-pulpit and other friends of our childhood days.