Luzon
the pricipal and most northerly island of the Philippine group; between the Chinese Sea and the Pacific Ocean; area, 40,969 square miles; pop. (1903) 3,798,507; capital, Manila. The surface of the island is mountainous, showing volcanic formations, and there are also vast tracts of swampy land.
There are also indications of mineral resources, including gold, coal, copper, lead, iron, sulphur, marble and kaolin. Luzon yields crops of rice and corn, in quantity usually inadequate for home consumption. The best quality and largest amount of tobacco is grown on Luzon, and in the S. portion of the island hemp and cocoanut are cultivated extensively. There is a large internal commerce between Manila and the different islands in the group, carried on almost exclusively by water.
At the time of the cession of the islands to the United States there was but a single line of railway, extending from Manila N. to Dagupan. The roads in the immediate vicinity of Manila are macadamized and generally in good condition; elsewhere they are of dirt, and become almost impassable in the rainy LUZULA season. The different provinces of the island are connected with Manila by telegraph, and there are cables from that city to the S. islands in the group, and also to Borneo, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
See PHILIPPINE ISLANDS and MANILA.
LUZULA (lö'-), wood-rush; a genus of Juncacex (rushes). It has soft, plane, generally hairy leaves, a glumaceous perianth of six leaves, and a one-celled, three-valved capsule with three seeds.
About 40 are known, all from temperate or cold climates.