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ANNUAL REPORTS: Saat | eae
A sist to Tenth Annual Reports of the Director of Baucation. 1901-10.
Surly
ie ‘foe the most. peer exhausted ‘and material obsolete,
a Ve School and Home Gardening. 1910. (Now being revised.)
82. Courses in Mechanical and Free-hand Drawing. 1910. (Baition exhausted.)
98. ‘Philippine Hats. 1910. (Edition exhausted.)
84. ‘Lace Making and Embroidery. 1911. ; ds We
» 85. Housekeeping and Household Arts—A Manual tor Work swith the Girls § in the AGN Sg
- Blementary Schools of the Philippine Islands. 1911.’ (Edition exhausted.) BAe ey
S186, Philippine. se eee School—Catalogue and Announcement. au (Edition « ex Pe Be pee
Nei hausted.) — i ; rate Hariri sons
_ 87. School Buildings and Grounds. 1912. as,
$8. School Buildings—Plans, Specifications, and Pills of Material. 1912. ;
89. A Manual of ‘Free-hand Drawing for Fhilippine rdeapnad “ati in: course ee
| of preparation.) —
‘els 140, Athletic Handbook for se Philippine Public. ssahneis’ 1911. Revised, 1913.
Neat ads Service Manual of the Bureau of Education. 1911, (Edition exhausted.) Sie:
42, Intermediate English, II—Notes, Directions, and General Aids to the Eregatae
/ tion of the Correspondence Study Course. 1911, Os
48. Philippine School of Arts and Trades—Catalogue. | OTe aes ee ree
| 44, Libraries for Philippine Public Schools. 1912. — hi 5
45. The School of Household Industries. 1912. t
46. The Industrial Museum,’ ‘Library, and Exhibits of the ‘Bureau of Education,
ait “1913. ; fae’ ;
41. Good Manners and Right Conduct. 1913, - GI PRE
hie sek (8. A Course in Civics. (In course of preparation.) pay alan
-\\. 49. Industrial Fiber Plants of the Philippines. 1913.
' -b0. Arbor Day and School Holidays. (In course of preparation. Dy ‘i if ») ff oe in Pea Mb
me Philippine School of Commerce. 1913. ate cay PRE » Mi NAL
* b2. Philippine School of Arts and Trades—Nautical Department. 1818, ise we ihr ew Ma
BB. Elementary Course in Plain Sewing. 1918.
' " OIVICO-EDUCATIONAL LECTURES: a tay
1, The Rights and Duties of Citizens of the Philippines. 1910. (Supply limited.)
2. The Prevention of Diseases. 1910. (Supply limited.) eV Beh Gea ha Heat
8, Rice. 1910. (Supply limited.) ORR iA aU
4. Diseases of Animals, 1910. (Supply limited.) uf Te
6. Coconut Beetles. 1910. (Supply limited.) © . ))) 0
6. The Housing of the Public Schools. 1910. (Supply limited.)
7. Coconuts. 1911. ay
8. Corn. 1912.
‘THE TEACHERS’ ASSEMBLY HERALD: ©
Volumes I-V. 1908-1912. (Supply exhausted.) | ' Parne
Volume VI. 1913. (Supply limited.) dive ia fie ate mnt
THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN: CY aR 23 IMA 0 SOR a
Volume I. 1912-13. (Supply limited.) ve hat: CIE AN a
» Volume I, (Now current.) tae nie
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BULLETIN No. 49—1913
BUREAU OF EDUCATION
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS
OF THE PHILIPPINES
A Description of the Chief Industrial Fiber
Plants of the Philippines, their Dis-
tribution, Method of Prepar-
ation, and Uses
By
Theodore Muller
MANILA
BUREAU OF PRINTING
1913
CHAPTER I.
II.
TEL:
Ly.
V.
Wii
VII.
VIII.
IX.
Daa
XI.
(
CONTENTS.
Ferns
Pandans
(Crosses ot ee patel 9 Bee AE SE nL eS te
The Bamboos
Sedees and similar’ plants:.£2 2...:..<2-2.---22cinmns--
Palms
RN ERGD pe eee ite th A 8 pec eet
Plants with leaf or petiole fibers of commercial
value :
Miscellaneous industrial fibers
pL Phnlippine “Basi HDGES oe. ack Tne ten ek
Appendix
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATE I. Spiny bamboo (Bambusa blumeana)............-.------ Frontispiece.
Facing page—
II. Nito (Lygodium circinnatum) ........----s0--0-e-s-eensesoenee 16
III. Nito (Lygodium flewwoswim) ...........-.c--cceeceeonecceeeeeeseeees 20
Kilog (Gleichenia linearis) — 2 2..n-c.sseenen neers ssensesaeoeee 20
MW. mG eecienire Lemire 2c ee NE owe eciciece 22
V. Common pandan (Pandanus tectorius) ................------- 26
SE Cee fer Mngt 1) 5 | ee a eae Re ee ek ai ee a 26
PF rurt Of Pa@ndGnus tector... = oi 8 a. ec arbre nseecn nes snore 26
Fruit of Pandanus wiilisetmus.........2.-.-..-2<c-c00-2-2--ecece- 26
Vite Saputan-Clandanus:sabotan) x... oko ee 28
VIII. Karagumoy (Pandanus simplex) .......................-...-.... 30
Pandan of Majayjay (Pandanus utilissimus)............ 30
IX. Vetiver (Andropogon zizanioides) ..........-....1-----s10ee---+ 34
De LCROCHUANY ANG USTAS OLIN Sa cccs <a ncenzadereccnereceranveeediecennnee 38
BS Sor ke an 1 00) a: a a a co a at ae 40
NT WOES OG ey Ml 0 Li | (1) Sc cr 42
XIII. The basal portion of Bambusa blumeana...................-.- 46
AIV. Bambusa vulgaris var- striata............2..--.2-.-scsenenesenne 48
ie UPeTUS MIGIAECENGte 0-3) a 54
Sear eM AYERS PYUES UW 1tI0R hee ee Se OEE le 58
NR OEPEIC IIS C1 WRUG once eee et nee ee 60
MEMULeSCEP PUR MUCTONGEUS 22a c oso ok an cack cache ete 62
XIX. Cat-tail (Typha Ae giao 8 ee a | aes 64
XX. Coconut palms ............... Raed, -1 SPE te ae ee 66
XXI. Areca nut palna. OS oe ate a a oe 66
A young Dumayaca palm (Arenga mindorensis)...... 66
XXII. The sugar palm (Arenga saccharifera) .............-.2.--.--- 68
PCat SE EWAL IO, GO SURAT DAB fo. < cin cc22 cine Ae mcneiintonee 70
_ XXIV. Young buri palm (Corypha elata)...................-----...0++ 72
iy. bur pam and fishtail palim-.-..: 2. :-2-.-2.-. 22.25.05. 74
OS RIB CTE UTR, ORR) 2) sae 78
0 SELESCETL SS 3 oo ga oR 80
meet. Cultivated ipa Swamp... 2.) <-.....---..--m 2053 84
(STN oT oo Sa a te Sn Rep ee ee 86
OP GS ernie oo | gee eee 88
XXXI. Calamus mollis (male inflorescence) .................--.------- 88
PLATE XXXII.
Facing page—
Calamus mollis (female inflorescence and
nit gb 4) lepeueeenay ale Cae Maus BeBe Fe Remire a Bes ce otha 90
XXXIII. Daemonorops gaudichaudit ...........2.-2----50-s-canee 90
XXXIV. Black amlong (Raphidophora merrillit) .............. 96
XXXV. Black amlong in the Botanical Garden, Manila,
DP si sec cet Mice cote et ee a 98
XXXVI. Pamago (Pericampylus incanus) .............----.-------- 100
SOR VEL. Macuey sin flower: 202-5. eae 104
ek AVL “Bineapples). <7 sc. ee ee ie ee 106
RAKIR. Abaca, (Musa texvtees)o-. 202 eee Cae 108
XL. Flower bud, flowers, and fruit of the banana
plant. 0.0.25. bed eco Ne ee 110
XLII. Kapok (Ceiba. nentowdra)y 2222022. ee 112
XLII. Irao (Dendrobium crumenatum) .............---.--------- 114
Banban (Donaz cannaeformis)> ......22:..---s-a 114
ALI. Jute (Corchoruscapsularis) ic: eee ee 118
KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS.
B.=Bicol. I].=Ilocano.
B. of S.=Bureau of Science. Isi.=Isinay.
E.=English. Pang.= Pangasinan.
F.= Filipino. Sp.= Spanish.
Gad.=Gaddan. T.=Tagalog.
Iban.=Ibanag. Vis.=Visayan.
7
. 1914
FOREWORD.
The first edition of this bulletin is a preliminary one.
No attempt is made to treat industrial fiber plants exhaus-
tively. The botanical description has been made as non-
technical as possible and the preparation and uses of fibers
have been discussed so as to give a general idea of their
treatment and possibilities. The publication is intended
primarily to serve superintendents and teachers as some-
thing definite and tangible on which to base suggestions,
criticisms, and improvements. If errors have crept in they .
should be reported to the General Office, so that any future
edition may be as accurate and as adapted to Philippine
needs as superintendents and teachers in the Bureau of
Education can make it. It is especially desired that a care-
ful check be made of all plant names given and that fiber
plants of economic value not described in this bulletin be
reported.
No definite rules have been adopted in this bulletin for
the spelling of native names. The most common way of
spelling a word as shown in the correspondence of teachers
with the General Office, Bureau of Education, has been
adopted for the present.
The bulletin was prepared under the direction of Mr.
Charles H. Magee, Assistant Director of Education, by
Mr. Theodore Muller, in charge of the industrial museum,
Bureau of Education. On a number of matters relating
to the bulletin, the writer had the advice and assistance
of Mr. Hugo H. Miller, head of the department of industrial
information, Bureau of Education.
The botanical specimens which were sent in by the field
to the Bureau of Education in response to Circular No. 175,
series 1910, and which form the basis for this bulletin,
were determined at the Bureau of Science.
9
10
Botanical descriptions are founded chiefly on “A Flora
of Manila’? by Mr. Elmer D. Merrill, botanist, Bureau of
Science, Manila, P. I., and on a study of the plant specimens
in the industrial museum of the Bureau of Education. The
writer is also deeply indebted to Mr. Merrill for many
helpful suggestions.
Drawings in this bulletin are by Mr. Juan Santos, a
student in the University of the Philippines.
Acknowledgment is due for the review of this bulletin
in the manuscript to Mrs. T. E. Borden, Mrs. C. E. Ander-
son, Messrs. H. H. Miller, E. D. Merrill, L. R. Sawyer,
J. F. Minier, Luther Parker, U. S. Andes, R. B. Robinson,
and Chester G. Farnsworth.
Credit for the information given on the preparation of
materials is due to the reports of division superintendents
and teachers kept on file in the industrial information
department, Bureau of Education, to the Albay Industrial
Bulletin No. 4, 1911, and to a number of publications of
the Bureau of Education. In part, the information has
been compiled from personal observation of the writer.
Prices for industrial fibers are not quoted in this bulletin,
although various kinds have a commercial value in places
where they have been used to any extent. The prices gen-
erally soar as soon as it becomes evident that the fibers
are desirable and needed in any quantity.
The uses of plants have been determined chiefly by ex-
amination of the articles kept in the industrial museum of
the Bureau of Education.
It is not possible to mention the hundreds of persons
whose ideas on different phases of industrial work, as
expressed in correspondence with the General Office, Bureau
of Education, have been of help to the writer; special men-
tion, however, is made whenever deemed of sufficient
importance.
Common names have been adopted for the industrial fiber
plants described in this bulletin. In most cases, these
* Practically a complete flora of the cultivated areas in the Philip-
pines. Descriptions, with keys, of over 1,000 species, 590 genera, and
136 families. Price #5. For sale by the Bureau of Science,
Manila, P. I.
rt
names are Filipino; in a few, English. It is hoped that
the names suggested will become general throughout the
Islands, not because of any special merit in any one of
them, but in order to facilitate communication and attain
some degree of uniformity in their use. No violence will
be done to the local name existing in any one locality, for
close questioning will bring out the fact that except for
the very common plants local names are not dependable
and are applied carelessly and indifferently to various
plants.
If more specific information is desired on any one point
discussed in the bulletin, it will be furnished whenever
possible by the Bureau of Education through its industrial
and publications division, or, if of sufficient general interest,
through the medium of THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN.
In order that the industrial museum of the Bureau of
Education may continue to be a success, it needs the active,
hearty codperation of division superintendents and teachers
at all times. Attention is therefore especially invited to
Bulletin No. 46 dealing with the industrial museum, library,
and exhibits of the Bureau of Education in which the aims
and purposes of the museum are fully discussed.
FRANK L. CRONE,
Director of Education.
MANILA, P. I., September 10, 1913.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS OF THE
PHILIPPINES.
Chapter I—INTRODUCTORY.
A number of household industries are firmly established in
the Philippines. These industries may, however, be further
developed if greater use is made of the fiber plants found
in the fields and forests throughout the Archipelago. The
Philippine sylvan plants that furnish industrial materials
are, as a rule, not massed together in great stands, but are
found scattered over a large territory crowded in among
many other species of plants.
At present, the market for Philippine fiber products is
excellent, and for many years the demand for them will be
greater than the supply. No foreign material need be
imported for the fabrication of these products, and only at
times is machinery of even the simplest type necessary for
the work.
In some places the petioles, midribs, and leaves of a
variety of palms, such as sugar, buri, nipa, coconut, and the
like, furnish the material. In other places, air roots are
found in plenty for the making of excellent articles. In
still others, the dried fiber or skin of the abaca petiole can
be utilized to advantage for many purposes. In some local-
ities, tropical vines (ex. pamago) are well adapted for
industrial work. In nearly all parts of the Islands the
stems of many species of ferns can be used in a number
of ways.
Banban.(Donax cannaeformis) is common along streams
and brooks in all provinces and makes an excellent industrial
material. The bast fibers of many trees can be utilized for
13
14
rope. Pandans (screw pines), rattan, sedges, or grasses
can be used, and for all ordinary purposes bamboo will be
found serviceable in many branches of industrial work. As
time goes on, more and more raw material will be found
well adapted for Philippine industrial needs.
In using the various plant fibers, it should be remembered
that they are more or less hygroscopic—that is, they will
often shrink or expand according to the amount of moisture
in the atmosphere. If it is desired to do a high grade of
work with fine straws of various kinds it is generally very
essential that they be worked at a time when there is the
most moisture in the air, which would be mornings, evenings,
or on rainy or cloudy days. It may be stated that, as a rule,
the more moist a fiber is, the more pliable it is; the drier,
the more brittle. It is equally true that the finer the fiber,
the more it seems to be affected by atmospheric conditions.
In basketry, most of the raw materials found in the Phil-
ippines require no artificial dyes to enhance the beauty of
their natural colors. Jet-black, brown, white, yellow, and
green of various tones are easily obtainable by proper
manipulation of the material.
The attempt is sometimes made to obtain industrial fiber
plants from a far-distant province in the erroneous belief
that such material is very superior. In many instances
just as good or better material can be obtained in the im-
mediate vicinity. In general, schools should work with
the industrial material they find in their own district or
province. If sufficient effort is made, such can usually be
found, though it may be harder in some localities than in
others. Industrial supervisors from the General Office have
gone to districts where it was alleged that little or no
industrial material existed and found material of one kind
or another in plenty, which had not been previously recog-
nized locally.
The use of foreign fabrics in the finishing of articles
from Philippine fibers should be avoided whenever possible.
For example, there is little need for velvet edges on buri
raffia cushions and mats, or for velvet straps on abaca
slippers, or for colored yarn on cheap sedge slippers. The
15
use of a native material in such and similar cases is not
only more economical, but often results in a better-looking
article.
In general, the aim in industrial work with fibers should
be to use Philippine raw materials exclusively and to produce
articles by hand or by simple implements operated by hand,
that can not be duplicated on power machines.
In collecting plants for industrial purposes too littie
attention is often given to the selection of the best material
available. The inexperienced person in search of industrial
material will often cut down industrial plants indiscrimi-
nately without heeding whether they are too young or too
old, good or indifferent, or whether they have flaws, decayed
spots, and imperfections. A little scrutiny in collecting
plants will save much trouble when the material is to be
worked up.
Every one collecting industrial materials should be
cautioned not to exterminate all specimens of a plant in a
given area. While it may be true that there exists a
bountiful supply of certain plant materials in a great number
of districts, yet care should be had for the future, and no
plants should be cut down that are not needed, nor should
the whole supply be wiped out. Some plants should always
be left. Better results are obtained by gathering some
material from young plants, some from old plants, some
from plants growing in the shade, and some from similar
plants in high places. By such procedure, variation in
design and better effects can be secured and a steady supply
of plants insured from year to year.
Few, if any, attempts have as yet been made to cultivate
the industrial fiber plants found at present growing wild in
field and forest. Experiments along this line would there-
fore prove of great interest.
To carry on industrial work successfully, supervising
teachers and division industrial supervisors will find it
necessary to make a close study of the plants within their
districts. It will be found convenient as well as instructive
to have each Filipino teacher in the district make a collection
of the industrial fiber plants found within the barrio. It is
16
a comparatively easy matter to dry, poison,’ and mount
specimens. Such a collection (herbarium) will be of value
to the school in many different ways. From the collection
of this material by barrio or other teachers the supervising
teacher should make his collection for the district. In turn,
the industrial supervisor should make a collection of the
industrial plants of the province to be kept on file in the
office of the division superintendent.
It is hoped that by a study of this bulletin teachers will
be able to classify and arrange many of the industrial plants
systematically. If any difficulty is.encountered in naming
plants, the specimens should be sent to the General Office,
along with accurate and detailed information concerning
the structure, habitat, preparation, and uses of the plant.
Duplicates should be kept and both these and the original
should be numbered so that a reply can be sent without
sending back the plant specimen. It would also be a good
plan to work out maps for the various districts showing |
where materials are found and in what quantities they are
obtainable.
*It is necessary to poison plants in the Philippines to keep them
from being destroyed by insects. Such poison is prepared by dissolving
2 tablets of bichloride of mercury in about 1 liter of denatured
alcohol (sufficient bichloride should be used to make a saturated
solution). The specimens are then dipped in this solution and dried.
Do not put the hands in the solution, but handle the specimens with a
pair of tongs made of bamboo or some other material.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE Il.
NITO (Lygodium circinnatum).
Chapter Il.—FERNS.
Ferns have leaves, roots, and stems like ordinary green
plants, but neither flowers nor seeds. Instead of these, they
have reproductive bodies known as spores, which generally
occur on the undersurface of the leaves.
In height, ferns vary greatly; some are small, hardly
rising above the ground, while others are treelike in size.
Young leaves are often fuzzy and hairy and curled like a
question mark.
Ferns are most often found in cool, shady places along
the banks of brooks and streams or in the shade of the
forest. In the Philippines, the young stems of some ferns
(ex. paco) are sold in the market for food, and the stems
of others furnish good industrial fibers.
(a) TWINING FERNS.
The term “nito” is commonly applied to all “twining”
ferns. Filipinos speak of different kinds of nito, but have
no special name for each kind. These various kinds cor-
respond to the different species of Lygodiwm.’
The species of Lygodium have underground rootlike
stems (rhizomes) and stems above the ground of indefinite
growth. They are found in the Tropics of both hemispheres
and extend to New Zealand, Japan, and the New England
States of the United States of America.
NITO.
(Lygodium spp.; L. circinnatum; L. flecuosum; L. japonicum; L.
semihastatum.)
The most common nito, occurring throughout the Philip-
pines, is Lygodium circinnatum.? In this species, the
petioles arising from the main stem generally divide into
two equal parts. Each of the two smaller petioles bears a
*The name Lygodium is derived from the Greek word meaning
“twining.”
*Nito (Lygodium circinnatum) : Nito (Antique, Bohol, Cagayan, Ca-
marines, Capiz, Cavite, Cebu, Ilocos Norte and Sur, Iloilo, Isabela,
Laguna, Leyte, Misamis, Occidental Negros, Oriental Negros, Pan-
gasinan, Sorsogon, Surigao, Tayabas, Union, Zambales); agsam
(Albay) ; naui (Zamboanga).
1201392 17
18
leaf. The leaf is divided almost to its base into a number of
lobes. These lobes are entire and usually about 15 cm.
long and from 1.5 to 3 cm. wide. The lobes bearing spores
are always smaller than the sterile ones.
Lygodium flexuosum* grows to be several meters long.
Its stem is somewhat ridged. The leaflets (segments),
rather lancelike in form, are from 15 to 20 cm. long, and
from 10 to 20 mm. wide and finely serrated at the margin.
The lower leaves are borne on short petioles, the upper ones
are almost sessile (without petioles). The species is widely
distributed in the Philippines and is also found from India
and southern China southward to Australia.
Another species, Lygodium japonicum,’ is a very slender
twining fern from 1 to 3 m. in length. It is found occa-
sionally in open dry grasslands, dry thickets, and similar
localities. It is widely distributed in the Philippines and
also occurs in Japan, from Korea to India, and southward
to Australia.
Lygodium semihastatum? is similar in appearance to
Lygodium circinnatum, but may be distinguished from it
by the presence of an earlike projection at the base, on one
side or sometimes on both sides of the leaf lobe.
The four species mentioned are the most prominent of
those spoken of as “nito,” though there are altogether about
10 species of twining ferns in the Philippines. As these
ferns get older and climb and twine around plants, they
lose many of their leaves and the stems become discolored,
the change being from green to light brown, brown, dark
brown, and finally black.
*Nito (Lygodium flecuosum): Nito (Cebu, Cavite, Iloilo, Samar) ;
nitu (Iban. in Isabela) ; kalulung (Iban. in Isabela) ; sasitang (Il. in
Isabela). Collected also by B. of S. in Bataan, Batangas, Cagayan,
Davao, Laguna, Oriental Negros, Nueva Vizcaya, Rizal, Union, Zam-
bales.
? Nito (Lygodium japonicum) : Nito (Il. in Isabela) ; karekay (Iban.
in Isabela). Collected also by B. of S. in Bataan, Batangas, Bontoc,
Benguet, Bulacan, Butuan, Cagayan, Davao, Ilocos Norte, Laguna, —
Leyte, Mindoro, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Tayabas, Zamboanga.
* Nito (Lygodium semihastatum) : Nito (Sorsogon) ; anton (Albay).
Collected also by B. of S. in Cagayan, Laguna, Mindoro, Occidental
Negros, Tayabas.
19
DISTRIBUTION.
Nito should be looked for in rather moist, shaded local-
ities. It is found growing on hillsides where timber is not
very heavy, in open woodland, and sometimes in or near
abaca plantations, bordering cogonales, or twining about
underbrush in moist places.
PREPARATION.
It is better and easier to prepare the material while fresh
than when hard and dry. Old material can be immersed
in water and made more pliable.
Nito splints.—To prepare nito splints, the stem is divided
into halves and quarters. If the diameter of the stem is
very small, a division into three parts will be sufficient.
In brown nito, the epidermis is generally first removed.
It is best to start the splitting with a knife at one end and
continue it to the other end by running the thumb in be-
tween the sections. The inside of these strips may then be
pared down to the thickness wanted. If it is desired to
have all strips of the same width, they may be passed
through a gauge (batakan) .*
Coloring nito.—The bottom of the stem, being older than
the rest, is often of a darker color. The major portion of
the stem itself may be of an uneven color. Browns give
richer and warmer color effects than blacks. The latter,
when used, must have uniform density :*
Take a young coconut about half grown and cut it into small
pieces. Secure a section of sappan wood (Caesalpinia sappan)—a
piece of the trunk is best, about a foot long—and split it length-
wise into thin pieces. Place both chopped coconut and sappan strips
in a pot or can with about a gallon of water and boil for half
an hour. Then take the nito and place it in the solution and let
it boil for about twenty minutes. Afterwards remove the nito and
bury it in moist mud, where it should be left for half a day. It
may then be removed and cleaned by washing. It will be found to
have a deep, jet-black color.®
+A “batakan” is easily made from the top of a tin can by punching
it full of openings of the desired diameter.
? THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, July, 1912, p. 76.
*Rattan, bamboo, and banban may also be dyed in the same
manner.
20
As a substitute for the mud bath, lime may be employed in the
dye mixture. A small amount should be added to the dyeing solution
after the coconut and sappan have been boiled together and the
material then placed in the solution and boiled. As a rule, this
method will give as satisfactory a color as the first.
Mr. Claude Miller, supervising teacher of Balanga,
Bataan, in a communication to the General Office of the
Bureau of Education, describes an interesting process of
obtaining all-black nito, in which neither boiling nor dye of
any kind is necessary. As it also has been found successful,
it is here given:
The results of experiments carried on in Balanga and other towns
of this district seem to show that nito of whatever shade of color‘
can be colored a jet-black by burying it in wet mud from three
to six days. The stems should be fully grown, or nearly so, and
at least partly dried, as the young nito or that which is full of
sap does not color successfully.
Most of the teachers and pupils prefer to split the nito previous
to burying it in the mud, because it splits easier and takes only
about half the time to color.
The length of time the nito should be left in the mud varies with
the original color, the lighter-colored stems requiring a longer time
to become black. The mud in which the stems are buried should be
very wet. The best results are obtained by burying the stalks in
the bottom of ponds or streams or ditches. When taken from the
ground, after being buried for from three to six days, the nito has
a dull color, but it can be polished by rubbing it for a short time.”
USES.
Basketry.—In Samar nito splints with the colored epi-
dermis scraped off are used in the manufacture of various
articles of basketry, such as circular button boxes, collar
and tie boxes, and the like. Although the splints used in
these baskets may not all be of the same shade at first, in
the course of time they assume an even, permanent brown
color. In many provinces nito is successfully used in the
decoration of the handles and rims of baskets.
*The following method for dyeing nito black has been used with
success by Mr. Manuel Bacosa, division industrial supervisor,
Palawan: “Into 5 liters of water put one glass of vinegar. Then
mash 3.4 liters of ‘canarem’ berries (Antidesma sp.) and mix with
the solution. Insert the prepared nito strips and boil for forty
minutes. Allow the nito to remain in the liquid for twelve hours
after boiling; then dry in the sun and polish with a dry cloth.”
“"NY34 ONINIML V
‘SSGISTIIH NO NOISNSOYd NI DSNIMOYD NY34 ONINIMLNON V ‘(Si1p2uy BeUaY2221D) DOTY ‘(wunsonxayf wnypodh'T) OLIN
“Wl 3LW1d [6P ON NILATING NOILvOnNaW 40 NvYaYNG—SINV1d Adal yA TWIMLSNGNT
21
Hats.—In Pangasinan and Albay some hats are made
entirely of nito or of nito combined with. Calasiao splints.
In a number of provinces the splints are used in the manu-
facture of the type of unblocked Philippine hat commonly
known as “salakot.”
Miscellaneous.—In several provinces very fine cigarette
cases, pocketbooks, and similar articles are made from nito
splints combined with Calasiao splints. Buri and nito are
used with good effect for small articles of various kinds by
having the under and wider strips of buri and the upper
and narrower of nito. If nito splints only are used, a very
_ pleasing effect can be secured by scraping away the black
epidermis from the sides, thus having a central strip of
black and on each side of it a white strip. Another varia-
tion consists in scraping the central part. This gives a
white central strip and two black strips.
Union and Camarines Provinces manufacture riding
whips in which black nito, or combinations of the various
colored splints obtainable from this fern, are wound around
rattan. To vary the designs on the whips, bamboo and irao
strips are often used besides nito.
At the first Philippine exposition in 1912, the schools of
Camarines showed napkin rings having a fotndation of
bamboo and wound about with bamboo and nito strips
combined so as to form various designs. The Mangyans
use the fern for belts or, with red-colored rattan, for head
ornaments.
(b) NONTWINING FERNS.
There are four species of nontwining ferns at present
utilized in industrial work. In these species, with one ex-
ception, the inner fibers are used, while in the twining ferns
the outer epidermis region is generally utilized.
LOCDO.
(Dryopteris pteroides.)
Loedo (Samar). Collected also by B. of S. in Ilocos Norte, Laguna,
Mindoro, Pampanga, Rizal, Zamboanga.
This fern grows to be over a meter high. It is usually
found in shady places on hillsides and in valleys. Its leaf-
lets are from 10 to 20 cm. long and about 2 cm. wide, and
22
taper to a point. The margins are cut in thirds to halves,
forming oblong or triangular lobes. Locdo is found not
only in the Philippines, but is of general distribution
throughout Polynesia.
PREPARATION.
The stem of the fern is crushed, after which the cordlike
inner fibers are readily removed.
USES.
The fibers may be used to obtain decorative weaves in
baskets. It is not considered to be a very good material.
KILOG.
(Gleichenia linearis.)
Kilog (Laguna). Collected also by B. of S. in Albay, Benguet,
Mindoro, Mindanao, Rizal, Tayabas.
This plant is a wide-spreading species of fern often
forming tangled thickets. Its most striking feature is the
peculiar forking leafy portion (frond). The fronds bear-
ing spores may be forked once or several times. At the
forking of the larger branches small leaflets occur. The
lower part of the stem is light or dark-brown in color and
several meters long (some by actual measurement were
found to be 10 to 11 m. in length) and entirely free of
leaves or branches. This is the part of the stem used as
industrial material.
| DISTRIBUTION.
The fern is found covering large areas on the sides of
hills. It has been reported to the Bureau of Education from
Laguna Province only, but also exists in other provinces,
as the plant is one of the most widely distributed ferns
in the Philippines.
PREPARATION.
The preparation of the material is simple. The hard,
outer covering of the stem is cracked or crushed. From
the soft light-brown inner tissue of the stem the dark-brown
ribbonlike splints are then easily pulled out.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE IV.
GLEICHENIA LINEARIS.
23
USES.
The splints are excellent weavers for coiled baskets. They
can also be used with success in belts. The schools of
Laguna learned the use of the material from its employment
now and in former times on rice baskets for decorative
purposes.
ALOLOKDO.
(Nephrolepis hirsutula.)
Alolokdo (Albay, Mindoro); korokalasag (Sorsogon). Collected also
by B. of S. in Abra, Laguna, Mindoro, Occidental Negros, Rizal,
Tayabas, Zamboanga.
The leaves of this fern are from 30 to 120 cm. long and
8 to 15cm. wide. The leaflets (pinnz), numerous and close
together, usually have a toothed margin. They are at first
more or less hairy on both surfaces, which later become
smooth. The spores of this fern are borne on or very near
the margin of the undersurface of the leaflets.
DISTRIBUTION.
The fern is found in dry thickets and is widely distributed
throughout the Philippines.
PREPARATION.
To obtain the fibers, the stem is cracked and the inner
fibers are pulled out. They are at first white in color but
soon turn brown.
USES.
The fibers can be used for hats, mats, and baskets.
JAGNAYA.
(Stenochlaena palustris.)
Jagnaya (Sorsogon); agnaya (Palawan); hagnaya (Capiz, Iloilo,
Laguna). Collected also by B. of S. in Butuan, Davao, Leyte,
Surigao, Tayabas.
This fern occurs in the Philippines from Luzon to Davao,
chiefly in thickets and in lowlands near the sea. The
24
whole leaf (frond) is from 50 to 80 cm. long and bears a.
considerable number of leaflets 10 to 12 cm. long and 2.5
em. broad. The margins of the leaflets are sharply and
finely serrated.
PREPARATION.
Ordinarily the stem is simply dried in the sun.
USES.
The fern is used for fish traps or twisted into rope. It —
is occasionally used in basketry, but should never be
employed when better material is at all available.
Chapter III—PANDANS.
Pandans,' or screw pines, are true tropical shrubs or trees.
In distribution, however, they extend to the subtropics.
They are called screw pines because the leaves of the plant
are similar to those of the pineapple and arise from the
stem in corkscrew fashion. The fruit also resembles that
of the pineapple. Even the finest leaves of pandan can
be distinguished from pineapple leaves, as in the former
a row of more or less prominent spines is always present
along the midvein. In texture, the coarsest pandan leaves
never attain the thickness of maguey leaves, and the pres-
ence of a middle row of spines in the pandan leaves makes
the distinction between them very evident.
Pandans occur along sandy beaches, in rather moist local-
ities, on the sides of the mountains near fresh-water lakes
and swamps. All develop more or less prominent air or
prop roots above the ground. The fruits are multiple or
composite. .
KARAGUMOY.
(Pandanus simplex.)
Karagumoy (B.) (Albay, Camarines, Cebu, Leyte, Sorsogon, Ta-
yabas).
The pandan karagumoy is of considerable economic im-
portance in the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon. The leaves are
of the same general shape as those of other pandans and
from 2 to 3.5 m. long and 6 to 10 cm. wide. They are
thick and coarse, provided with sharp spines, and greenish-
gray in color when dried.
DISTRIBUTION.
This pandan is usually found near abaca plantations.
*See THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, Vol. I, No. 4.
25
26
PREPARATION.
The spines on the leaves of this pandan are removed and
the leaf itself, while still fresh, is split into four or more
parts according to the purpose to which the strips are to
be put. To get the strips of even width a simple gauge,
called a “soclan” + in the Bicol language, is used. The strips
are then generally dried in the shade and made more supple
by being pressed firmly against a piece of bamboo.
USES.
Karagumoy leaves being coarse, mats and hats made from
them never have the fine appearance of similar sabutan
articles. At present karagumoy is the only pandan used
in the making of work baskets. These are usually in the
mad weave and have a bottom hexagonal in shape. Within
the last few years the public schools in the Bicol Provinces
have made this type of basket more elaborate and ornate
by superimposing on the pandan strips stars or other figures
of karagumoy, irao, or nito. The mad weave is also some-
times employed in karagumoy hats.
Karagumoy articles present a more shiny surface than
those made of other pandans.
COMMON PANDAN.
(Pandanus tectorius.)
(Antique, Batangas, Bulacan, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Leyte, Mindoro,
Oriental Negros, Pampanga, Rizal, Surigao, Tarlac, Tayabas,
Zamboanga); pangdan (Abra); panglan (Il. in Zambales,
Zambal) ; shore pandan.
Pandanus tectorius, the common pandan, is the most
abundant and widely distributed of all pandans in the
Philippines. Its trunk is never very high and like all
species of pandans is figured by ridges which mark the
attachment of former leaves. Several meters from the
*A “soclan” generally is a strip of bamboo or rattan bent in the
shape of the letter U and held or tied together at the ends. The
pandan is held in the curve of the U and a knife blade is held
steadily against the arms of the U in such a way that when the
pandan leaf is drawn through the soclan, the blade cuts the leaf
evenly to the desired width.
PLATE V.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
COMMON PANDAN (Pandanus tectorius).
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE VI.
FRUIT OF PANDANUS TECTORIUS. FRUIT OF PANDANUS
UTILISSIMUS.
27
ground the bifurcation (forking) of the stem results in
an odd-shaped crown peculiar to the plant. Aérial roots
originate from the stem at some distance from the ground.
They first serve to furnish air to the plant, but later pene-
trate the ground and act also as prop roots. The leaves
are linear in shape, from 1 to 2 m. long and about 6 cm.
wide, and provided with sharp spines along the margins
and midvein. The fruit, roughly resembling a pineapple
with its apex cut off, is about 20 cm. long and made up
of small individual parts (drupes) very close together and
furrowed on the exposed surface. When ripe, the fruit
has a fine red color. The drupes finally loosen from the
head and drop off.
DISTRIBUTION.
Common along the seashore in all parts of the Philippines.
PREPARATION.
Removal of the spines from the leaves and drying and
bleaching the strips in the sun or by chemical agents (a
solution of acids and hydrogen peroxide) are the main
elements in the preparation of the strips. At present the
strips are seldom used. It is believed, however, that if the
same care and attention were given to their preparation
as is done with sabutan and Majayjay pandans a satis-
factory material could be produced.
Split strips——The preparation of split strips is simple,
requiring, however, practice to do it with dispatch. The
spines are removed from the leaves and the strips are
' split at the cut-off end with a knife. The two surfaces
are then pulled apart. The strips are dried as in the case
of other pandans.
It is much easier to split the leaves after they have
been boiled. This makes the material thinner and for some
purposes better. However, the color of the material when
dried is not as good as when split fresh.
USES.
Though abundant in all sea-coast provinces, this pandan
is not important economically in any locality of the Philip-
pines, though it is occasionally made into hats and mats.
28
It is very probable, however, that this pandan will be used
ultimately in the Philippines to a greater extent and will
be found well adapted for the manufacture of a variety of
articles.
Samples of fibers and hats received by the Bureau of
Education show that the imitation Panama hats exported in
large quantities from the Loochoo Islands are probably
made of the split strips of this pandan (Pandanus tec-
torius) or one having a leaf very much like it. The
bleached pandan fiber is also used by the Japanese in the
manufacture of very handsome hand bags. ,
SABUTAN.
(Pandanus sabotan.)
Sabutan (Laguna, Rizal, Tayabas).
Sabutan is a pandan 2 to 4 m. high. Its full-grown
' leaves, fine in texture, are 2 m. long and 6 cm. wide. It ~
rarely produces flowers and has not yet been found in fruit,
although diligent search for the latter has been made for
years by interested parties.
Its botanical status is not known absolutely, as fruits have
never been collected. It may prove to be only a variety of
Pandanus tectorius.
DISTRIBUTION.
At present it is found growing in abundance in a semi-
wild condition along the eastern shore of Laguna de Bay.
It has also been reported growing wild in the forests near
Baler, Tayabas. It can be propagated by suckers, and its
cultivation can be extended advantageously to any part of
the Philippines having moist but well-drained soil.
PREPARATION.
The strips are prepared by removing the spines on the
midrib and along the margins. They are then partially
dried in the sun and divided into the desired widths by a
comblike instrument. By drawing the strips around a
board or other object, the water is expelled from the tissue.
Then several lengths of pandan strips are rolled up in a
bundle and kept in running or standing fresh water for
PLATE VII.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
SABUTAN (Pandanus sabotan).
29
a period not exceeding twenty-four hours. If the strips
are put in standing water, the latter is frequently changed.
The sabutan strips are then placed in plain water or water
to which a little vinegar, lemon, or tamarind fruit has been
added and boiled for about fifteen minutes. They are then
washed several times in fresh water and spread out in the
sun to dry. If the day happens to be rainy, the strips
are kept in fresh water and the latter is frequently changed
until the sabutan can be put out in the sun.
The best strips are prepared during the dry season, for
at that time of the year there are many sunny days and
better dried and colored material can be obtained.
USES.
If sabutan is not bleached it is light-gray in color. It
is the nearest approach to a ““Panama straw” found in the
Philippines. Hats made of sabutan are strong and well
adapted to tropical wear. Sabutan sleeping mats are ex-
cellent in quality and the material of which they are made
not only takes dye readily but also gives pleasing tones.
The straw is excellent for carriage and house cushions. It
has also been tried out for tobacco cases and in the knot
weave on bamboo framework for hand bags and picture
frames. The various new kinds of sabutan articles made
in Philippine public schools within recent years are but
an indication of the many profitable uses to which the
material can be put.
PANDAN OF MAJAYJAY.
(Pandanus utilissimus.)
.Pandan Majayjay, Cavinti pandan, pandan totoo, kalaguimay, Lui-
siana pandan (Laguna). Reported also from Nueva Vizcaya
and Tayabas.
The plant attains a height varying between 4 and 6 m.
and has leaves fully 5 m. long and 20 cm. wide. Its
large fruit appears at first sight to be similar to the
jack fruit, but a closer examination makes the difference
evident. The whole fruit, about 60 cm. long and 20 cm.
wide and many kilos in weight, is made up of drupes.
* See Bulletin No. 33, Bureau of Mdueation:
30
These are exteriorly more or less hexagonal in shape and
about 1 cm. in diameter. The outer surface of each drupe
is sharply convex, forming a well-marked knob. When
the drupes drop from the fruit they show that radially
they are tapering and fibrous, and about 6 to 7 cm. long.
DISTRIBUTION.
The species is found in the district north of Mount
Banajao, Laguna, including the towns of Majayjay, Lui-
siana, and Cavinti, and extending into Tayabas Province.
Recently specimens of this pandan were collected by the
Bureau of Science in Nueva Vizcaya. It seems to grow
best in the half shade and is intolerant of stagnant water.
PREPARATION.
After removal of the spines from the leaves in the usual
way, the strips are put in the sun and allowed to wilt.
Then the strips are rolled under one end of a heavy smooth
cylindrical log resting on two pieces of wood. The weight
of the log is increased by tying stones or heavy pieces of
iron or wood around its center. By a handle attached to
its upper surface, the log is rocked to and fro and the strips
under it are flattened and made more supple. A further
drying of the material in the sun completes the preparation.
USES.
Mats of this pandan are exported weekly by the thousands
from Majayjay and Luisiana, Laguna. On coarse mats
rice, copra, and similar products are dried, while the finer
ones are used for sleeping mats. The weavers in Cavinti,
Laguna, confine themselves almost entirely to the manufac-
ture of hats which are cheap and fairly durable and which
find a large and ready sale at Pagsanjan and Manila, their
principal markets.
Telescope baskets (tampipi), much used by Filipinos for
storing clothes and for traveling purposes, are also made
of this pandan. The making of doilies, hand bags, wall
pockets, picture frames, and slippers in the public schools
from the pandan of Majayjay indicate that all its com-
mercial possibilities are not yet fully appreciated.
“(snuussyyn snuppurd) AYPAVPWW JO NVONWd “(wajduus snuppund) AOWNOWYEYY
“MIA 3LW1d ['6P ‘ON NILATING NOILVONaY 40 AVAYNG—SINV1q Yds TWINLSOGNT
31
Many of the better mats and fancy articles are decorated
with red buri strips. The use of the latter material is,
however, not advisable as it is not strong and wears out
long before the pandan shows signs of use.
PANDANS OF MINOR UTILITY.
BARIU.
(Pandanus copelandii.)
Bariu, boreo, boreu, buruiu (Albay); baléo, balewe or baliu, balio
(Bohol, Capiz, Romblon, Surigao); baleau (Occidental Negros) ;
baloy, baroy (Agusan, Surigao); bareu (Samar); lagutlut (La-
guna). Also collected by B. of S. in Benguet, Cagayan, Minda-
nao, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Zambales.
This pandan is widely distributed throughout the Philip-
pines, occurring from Cagayan, Luzon, to southern Min-
danao. It is from 3 to 9 m. in height. The leaves are
about 2 m. long and 8 cm. wide and are provided with
spines along the margins. These spines are coarse and
relatively distant near the base of the leaf, but fine and close
together near the tip. The fruit forms a cylindric head 7
to 12 cm. long and 5 to 7 cm. across, at first pale yellowish
in appearance but soon turning red. From three to five
heads occur on the fruit stalk.
TABOAN.
(Pandanus dubius.)
Taboan (Surigao); bacong (Bohol). Also reported from Davao,
Mindanao.
Brief mention is here made of a rather rare species of
pandan (Pandanus dubius), so far reported to the Bureau
of Education only from Surigao and Bohol. This pandan
attains a height of 8 m., has leaves from 2 to 3 m. in length
and 20 cm. in width, and drupes 8 to 13 cm. long and 5 to 8
cm. wide.
ALASAS.
(Pandanus luzonensis.)
Alasas (Rizal, Zambales) ; dasa (Rizal) ; pandan de China (Bulacan).
The pandan known as alasas occurs in Bulacan, Bataan,
and other provinces. The leaves of this pandan are
narrower than those of Pandanus tectorius.
32
OYANGO.
(Pandanus radicans.)
Oyango (Albay); olango (Leyte); owango (Surigao); wango
(Bohol) ; uyango (Sorsogon).
Pandanus radicans grows to a height of 8m. It has long
and wide leaves and dark brick-red fruits from 6 to 10 in
number, occurring in clusters.
USES.
Though oyango is of comparatively wide distribution, it
is not of any great importance in any one particular district.
It is used for the making of coarse mats, bags, and at times
hats. It is very probable that if the leaves of this pandan
were properly prepared, articles as good as those from the
pandan of Majayjay could be made.
The various plants described as pandans of minor utility
are occasionally used for mats and bags.
Chapter IV.—GRASSES.
The vast majority of grasses are herbs—that is, they do
not possess woody stems and the whole plant or the parts
above the ground die after once flowering. Bamboos, *
although grasses, have woody stems. As a rule, grasses
have hollow stems closed and enlarged at the joints. They
never have flowers with showy petals and sepals as there is
no need for floral display when the pollen is scattered by
the wind and not by insects. The stamens and pistils are
borne in the axils of small, scaly bracts called glumes, which
are arranged to form spikelets. The fruit is a grain.
VETIVER.
(Andropogon zizanioides.)
Vetiver (E.); amora (Cebu, Bohol), anias, anias de moras, ilib (Pam-
panga); anis de moro (Abra); gueron or guiron (Iloilo) ;
mora (Vis.) (Albay, Antique, Cebu, Iloilo, Occidental Negros) ;
moras (Camarines) ; moro (Sorsogon) ; mura (F.); rimodas, tres
moras (Capiz). Also known as A. squarrosus and A. muricatus.
Two varieties of this well-known tropical grass occur in
the Philippines. One of these has fragrant roots (var.
genuina) while the other (var. nigritanus) has not.
Although intermediate forms exist, the var. genwina may be
recognized by its terminal, dark-purple panicles and distinct
awns on the spikelets. The var. nigritanus has terminal
greenish or purple panicles, usually the latter, and the
spikelets either unawned or armed with short awns.
Farmers sometimes plant the grass on the banks of rivers
to prevent washing away of the soil. The plant grows to
be from 1 to 2 m. high and continues its growth from root-
stocks for a number of years. Arising from the roots are
*On account of the great economic importance of the bamboos to the
Philippines and because they are different in structure from the
ordinary grasses, it is thought advisable to devote a separate chapter
to them.
1201393 33
34
numerous leaves 1 cm. or less in width, longitudinally folded,
and about 1 m. high. The grass is found in flower from
August to December.
DISTRIBUTION.
In the Philippines, vetiver is found growing wild in open
wet lands on banks of rice paddies, ditches, and on dikes.
PREPARATION.
Stalks—-Straight flower stalks of the proper size are
selected and their inflorescence and outer covering are
removed. The stalks are then put in boiling water and
allowed to boil for about twenty minutes. After taking
them out of the water they are dried in the sun for two or
three days. Each stalk is then scraped with a sharp knife
until it is smooth and clean. They are then cut into the
lengths required for hat making or for other purposes.
Roots.—The roots are prepared for use by dipping them
in water for about twenty minutes and then pounding them
lightly with a wooden club to remove their epidermis.
USES.
Stalks.—In the Philippines the flower stalks are used for
hats, but the industry is not of importance in any district
in the Islands. The method given in the Albay Division
Circular No. 71, series 1910, for making cogon hats may
also be applied to the manufacture of vetiver hats. It
consists in winding two straws around and around in ever
enlarging circles in the shape of a phonograph (flat) record,
to form the top or crown of the hat. New stalks are intro-
duced when necessary. These stalks are held in place by
passing a double thread? (one from above and one from
below) over and under each of these two fibers. The sides
are then begun by running the double fibers around until
the sides are as high as it is desired to have the crown. The
sides are held in place in the same way as the crown. The
brim is made like the top of the crown.
*From a report to the Director of Education by Mr. L. D. Gregg,
supervising teacher of the district of Silay-Saravia, Occidental Negros.
*The use of white thread No. 20 is recommended. About 20 of
these threads 1 m. long are needed for a hat.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE IX.
a
yy
aN
=
—
VETIVER (Andropogon zizanioides) WITH LEAVES LONGITUDINALLY FOLDED.
“
35
Roots.—The roots should be pressed before being woven
into fans. Because of their agreeable odor, the roots of the
cultivated vetiver grass are preferred for fans to those of
the wild variety.
Sundries.—The fragrant vetiver roots are often put in
trunks containing clothing to scent them as would sachet
powder. The plant is occasionally employed in the Phil-
ippines, as is cogon grass, for cheap roofing and brooms.
Oil is extracted from the roots which is valued at from .
£100 to #200 per kilo, depending on the quality.
In India, the roots are used for screens and mats.
AMORES SECOS.
(Andropogon aciculatus.)
Amores secos (Capiz, Cebu, Iloilo, Occidental Negros, Pampanga) ;
bariri, dalokot (Iloilo).
It is not difficult to find this grass, as its spikelets ad-
here to clothing as one brushes past it. -The grass has
creeping and branching stems which are densely leafy. The
flower stems, however, are erect and wiry and from 20 to
50 em. high. The leaves are short, being but 3 to 10 cm.
long, and few in number on the flowering stem. The plants
have purplish flower clusters (panicles) composed of bearded
spikes. Barbed awns are found on the secondary spikes
(spikelets). The grass is widely distributed throughout
the Philippines and occurs in open grasslands and waste
places. It flowers from May to December.
BELING.
(Andropogon intermedius.)
Beling, biling (Cebu).
A few differences between this grass and amores secos,
which it somewhat resembles, are here noted. The leaves
are longer, but of about the same width. The panicles,
though also purplish, are generally longer and compound.
The awns on the spikelets are very slender and nearly 1.5
cm. long. They do not adhere to clothing. The plant is
widely distributed throughout the Philippines and has the
same habitat as amores secos. It flowers from July to
November.
36
BATAD-BATADAN.
(Andropogon halepensis.)
This tall, coarse, perennial grass, reaching a height of
3 m., has leaves 1 m. long and 1.5 to 4.5 em. wide. The
panicles are from 20 to 40 cm. long. Its spikelets are
numerous, hairy, about 4 mm. long, awnless, and greenish
or purplish in color. The plant is found along the banks of
streams, in damp places, and in thickets.
PREPARATION.
Stalks——Ordinarily the flower stalks of the various
species of Andropogon are merely dried in the sun. A
better material will result if they are treated as described
for vetiver stalks. The stalks are used occasionally for
hats.
JOB’S-TEARS.
(Coizx lachryma-jobi.)
Job’s-tears (E.); abukay (Il.); adlay, bintikay, burobayoco, pintaka,
tigbikay (Albay, Sorsogon); aglay (Misamis); alimodias, poyas
(Occidental Negros); balantakan (Pampanga); coldasan (Ca-
marines); dumao, panas, pintaka (Cebu); katigbi (Bohol) ;
tigbi (T.).
This plant is well known and is widely distributed. Two
varieties are recognized; one produces a soft-shelled fruit
with edible seeds, the other a hard-shelled fruit.
The hard-shelled variety will be described a little more in
detail, although, strictly speaking, it is not a fiber plant.
The stem is coarse and from 1 to 2 m. high. The flower
spikes are 6 to 10 cm. long. A very hard shining capsule,
ovoid in form, white or nearly black in color, surrounds the
female flower and grain.
USES.
Seeds.—The soft-shelled variety is made into wine or
sometimes employed for various culinary purposes; the
hard-shelled seeds may be considered of industrial im-
portance as the beads are sometimes used for rosaries, or
made into curtains, baskets, and trays of various kinds and
forms.
37
COGON.
(Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii; I. exaltata.)
Cogon (Sp.), (Camarines, Antique, Cebu, Iloilo, Pampanga); cun
(Gad. in Nueva Vizcaya); guyun (Isi. in Nueva Vizcaya) ; mimi
(Iban. in Isabela); panac (Il. in Isabela); panao (Il.), (Il. in
Nueva Vizcaya).
Cogon grass with its silky-white panicles is well known
throughout the Islands, as it is a weed that roots easily in
fallow land and is then extremely hard to eradicate. One
variety! is usually much less than 1 m. high, while the
other * grows from 1 to 1.5 m. in height.
PREPARATION.
The flower stalks may be prepared as a hat material in
the same way as those of vetiver grass.
USES.
The flower stalks are used occasionally for hats similar
in manufacture to those made of vetiver stalks. The leaves
are used at times for roofs and for rope. The Albay schools
at the carnival of 1913 showed a round braided mat of cogon
which is well adapted for a bathroom mat and for places
where a cheap but substantial mat is desired.
COBBOOT.
(Ischaemum angustifolium.)
Cobboot (Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte);
puenig (Ig. in Bontoc).
The base of the stem of this grass is swollen and woolly
and so furnishes an important means of identifying the
plant. The stem, varying in height between 60 and 90 cm.,
is smooth and slender, grooved on one side and bears but
few branches. The leaves are 30 to 60 cm. long, 3 to 5 mm.
in width, either concave or convoluted, and rough along the
margins. In Ilocos Norte the grass is considered to reach
its full growth during the months of August and September.
The flower spikes are soft and downy, erect, either close
*Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii.
*Imperata exaltata.
38
together or apart, 2 to 5 em. long, and of golden or rusty
color.
DISTRIBUTION.
The plant grows on open, dry, grassy slopes and is found
in the Philippines only in northern Luzon.
PREPARATION.
Straw.'\—For slippers, the lower portion of the stalk, about
30 cm. long, is used. Its preparation consists simply in
drying the stalks in the sun. It is advisable to keep the
straw to be twisted or woven soft and moist by wrapping
it in banana petioles. The material is very strong and is
used for both the upper and the under sole of slippers.
Rope.—For rope, the plant is cut at its base and dried
in the sun for three days. It may then be twisted.
USES.
The straw and leaves are used in slippers and rope.
BIGAO.
(Miscanthus sinensis.)
Bigao (Albay, Sorsogon) ; bigaho, gaho, guisa (Sorsogon).
This is a very tall grass, rather common in the Philip-
pines at medium and higher altitudes. It differs from
tambo in that the stalk is not hollow but filled with pith.
The leaves, partly ensheathing the stem, are about 70 cm.
long, tapering toward the distal third, and between 3 and
5 cm. broad. The panicle is long, feathery in appearance,
and made up of a great number of simple, branching spike-
lets. The plant is in flower from July to October. Its
use as an industrial plant has been reported to the Bureau
of Education only from Albay and Sorsogon.
PREPARATION.
To prepare the stalks for use, they are dried for a few
days in the shade. Only straight stalks of medium growth
should be selected.
*Information regarding the preparation and uses of cobboot are
taken from a report to the Director of Education by Mr. Gil Raval,
industrial supervisor of Ilocos Norte.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE X.
ISCHAEMUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM.
39
USES.
The flower stalks of bigao can be used for screens or
window shades. The stems are sometimes used for fences
and in the mountain districts for making arrows.
' RICE.
(Oryza sativa.)
Rice (E.).
Although rice is grown throughout the Philippines, very
little use is made of the rice straw. The latter is generally
burned on the field to enrich the soil.
PREPARATION.
The freshly cut rice straw when bleached in the sun is
tough and ready to be used. Old rice straw should not be
employed in the manufacture of articles because of its dirty
yellow color.
USES.
Slippers.—Within recent years the schools of Ilocos Norte
have developed a very neat-appearing slipper by using rice
straw for the upper sole and braided maguey for the lower.
Hats.—In Ilocano districts, hats for home use are often
made of rice-straw braid. Hat factories in Manila, making
foreign-style hats for local trade, have to import the rice-
straw braid that they use.
Sometimes, after the rice is threshed, the straws are tied
into bundles and used as brooms for rough housework.
TAMBO.
(Phragmites vulgaris.)
Tambo (T., B.) (Albay, Bataan, Leyte, Oriental Negros, Rizal, Ta-
yabas); bugang (Bohol); lupi (Camarines); tabunac (Antique,
lloilo) ; taguisi (Iban. in Isabela); tangbo (Cebu); tanobong
(Il.); tantanubong (Il. in Isabela). Found also in Manila and
vicinity.
This coarse, erect grass is from 1 to 3.5 m. high. Its
leaves are about half a meter long and 3 cm. wide. The
panicles are from 30 to 50 cm. in length and made up of
numerous slender branches bearing fine spikelets. The
whole panicle has a feathery appearance and is brown in
40
color. Reports from Bataan, where the grass is much used
in the manufacture of brooms, state that tambo is easily
propagated from rootstocks. Where the soil is inclined
to be damp tambo is sometimes found among cogon, and
may eventually drive it out if favored by other conditions.
DISTRIBUTION.
The grass is widely distributed in the Philippines, being
found on damp ground along streams or other waterways.
In the vicinity of Manila, tambo is found in great abun-
dance along the banks of the Pasig River, especially near
its source.
PREPARATION.
Tambo is in flower from about August to November or
December. Its seeds are carried away by the wind and
the bare panicles are left. These are then ready to be used
after a thorough drying.
USES.
Brooms.—In Bataan the use of the panicles for brooms
is an important industry. For handles bamboo is generally
used as core or foundation and the flower stalks of tambo
serve as the outer covering. The stalks are held in place
by the use of rattan. The handles are usually decorated
with nito.
The brooms are well adapted for sweeping the hardwood
floors found in many houses in the Philippines. They are
exported from Bataan Province in quantity and find a ready
sale in other provinces. It is a common sight to see these
brooms sold by intinerant venders on the streets of Manila.
Miscellaneous.—In Bohol the flower stalks are used for
making hats, which are coarse but cool and satisfactory
for wear around the farm. In Iloilo they occasionally serve
the same purpose. The flower stalks can also be made into
screens.
SUGAR CANE.
(Saccharum officinarum.)
Sugar cane (E.).
The flowering stalk of the sugar cane, called “bilajo” in
the Visayas, is sometimes used for picture frames. The
material requires no special preparation. The flower stalk
PLATE XI.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
PHRAGMITES VULGARIS.
!
.
Al
is cut from the cane stalk and split into strips of the desired
width. These are carefully scraped with a knife to remove
all hairs or fuzz.
A geometrical design is then drawn and cut from a card
or bristol board. The latter is then covered with glue or
paste and the splints of the material are fastened to it and
allowed to dry. TALAHIB
(Saccharum spontaneum.)
Talahib (Albay, Isabela, Sorsogon, Tayabas, Zambales); bugang
(Bohol); sidda (Il. in Zambales); sikal (Isabela); tigbao
(Antique, Occidental Negros, Iloilo).
Although talahib grows to about the same height as
tambo, leaves and panicles easily distinguish it from the
latter. In talahib, the leaves are very harsh, long, and
narrow; the panicle is white, generally not as long as in
tambo, and consists of fine, fragile branches bearing spike-
lets supplied at the base with numerous soft, silky hairs.
It has two flowering seasons—one extending from Sep-
tember to November, the other from April to June.
DISTRIBUTION.
The plant inhabits open waste places and fallow lands and
is of common occurrence in the Philippines.
USES.
Albay, Sorsogon, and Tayabas report this grass as being
used for brooms; in Capiz, the flower stalks are utilized
for hats; in Antique, the panicles are used for stuffing
pillows and the stems for temporary fences. In Zambales
Province the plant is employed by the hill people for arrows,
roofing, and walls of houses. In Oriental Negros the flower
stalks are used in making picture frames, screens, and wal!
pockets.
BACUIT.
(Sporobolus elongatus.)
Bacuit, banquit (Iloilo). Also S. indicus.
The specimens of this grass in the industrial museum of
the Bureau of Education show that the plant has slender
“From a report to the Director of Education by Mrs. Emilia Jara,
principal, La Paz Primary School, Iloilo.
42
stems and numerous rather long but narrow leaves at the
base. The panicles generally do not exceed 40 cm. in length.
They are of pale green or speckled black and straw color
and consist of simple ascending spikes having awnless
spikelets.
USES.
Hats.—Fairly fine straws of medium length are obtained
from the flower stalks and utilized at times in Iloilo Province
asahat material. The retail price of these hats varies from
P1.60 to ®2.50.
TIGER GRASS.
(Thysanolaena maxima.)
Tiger grass (E.); buibui (Il.); bugubui (Negrito in Pampanga) ;
lasa (Bataan); tagadeu (Bontoc). Collected also by B. of S. in
Bulacan, Mindoro, Occidental Negros, Rizal.
This grass, found along the steep sides of mountains or
near their summit in Bataan, grows practically at sea level
in Rizal (Montalban). It is identical with the grass known
in India as tiger grass. The plant has a tall and solid
stem. Its long panicles consist of numerous fine slender
branches having very fine and delicate flowers and seeds.
PREPARATION.
No other preparation outside of drying the panicles and
the removal of their fine seeds by pounding is necessary.
USES.
Brooms.—This grass is used for the best grade of Philip-
pine brooms. It is not as soft as tambo, but will wear
better. On account of its good wearing qualities and
because the material is less plentiful and harder to obtain
than tambo, tiger-grass or lasa brooms, as they are more
commonly known in the Philippines, are sold at a higher
price than tambo brooms.
The panicles are also made into brushes used for white-
washing.
GRASSES RARELY USED.
There are a number of species of grasses in the Philippines
that are occasionally employed in the making of hats.
Sometimes a farmer, to satisfy a particular fancy or whim,
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XIil.
THYSANOLAENA MAXIMA.
43
will select the flower stalks of some grasses! and make
them into a hat for himself or some member of his family.
They never, or at least very seldom, enter even local trade.
Filipinos sometimes use grasses ? with light feathery tops
as wall ornaments, or put these grasses in vases for
decorative purposes.
*Calamutian (Apluda mutica): Calamutian (Pampanga); may-
cauyan (Samar).
Palagtiqui (Hleusine indica): Palagtiqui (Occidental Negros) ;
gagabutan (Tarlac); sabung-sabungan (Pampanga).
Sigburon (Ophiurus corymbosus): Sigburon (Camarines).
*Sale ayup (Hragrostis tenella): Sale ayup (Pampanga).
Pugad maya (HFragrostis viscosa): Pugad maya (Cavite).
Chapter V— THE BAMBO0S.'
Bamboos are found in all tropical and subtropical regions
of the world, especially in those of Asia, including Poly-
nesia, and South America. They are entirely absent from
Europe, except as introduced and cultivated forms.
The stems or culms of bamboos are cylindric, generally
hollow, and separated by partitions into joints. These par-
titions are known as nodes, the parts between them as
internodes. The thickness of the culms and the length of
the internodes vary greatly in different species.
New stems are generally developed at the beginning of
the rainy season. Cloudy days, however, are said to retard
the growth of the culms. The young shoots grow very
rapidly and reach their full growth in height and thickness
in less than a year. After full height is attained, the stem
develops branches and branchlets, and in most species the
plant assumes a feathery appearance. The culms are not
considered mature until their branches are fully formed.
The number of shoots produced yearly from each clump of
bamboo varies with the vigor of the individual and the
habits of the species. In India, the mean age of most
species of bamboo is considered to be 30 years; the larger
species producing 12 to 20 culms annually and the smaller
ones 30 to 50 culms. It is believed that in the Philippines
*It will not always be feasible to treat in this bulletin each species
of bamboo in detail, as the general appearance of many species is
so strikingly similar that the basis for differentiating one from
another rests mainly, or sometimes entirely, on peculiarities in the
structure and appearance of the flower. Unfortunately, many species
are rarely seen in flower, which adds to the difficulty of distinguishing
the species.
The description of bamboos in this bulletin is based chiefly on the
following publications: J. S. Gamble: The Bambuseae of British
India. Philippine Journal of Science, Sec. C., September, 1910: The
Bamboos of the Philippines. Sir G. Watt: The Commercial Products
of India.
44
45
bamboo grows for an indefinite period of time and that the
number of culms produced yearly is as great or even
greater. j
Some species of bamboo have large leaves and others
small ones, but variation in the size of the leaves may occur
in the same clump and species of bamboo. Neither size,
shape, nor the number of veins in the leaf can be taken
as invariable characteristics of the species.
Many species of bamboo flower once and then die. Some
flower only after a great interval of time. The flowers
usually appear only after the bamboo is in full leaf, and
in the majority of cases, the leaves drop off as the inflores-
cence continues to form. The flowers may cover the
branches or only the branchlets; they may be crowded into
a head or scattered and distant; they may be few or very
numerous. Sometimes the clumps of the same species of
bamboo in a locality flower at one time, seed, and then die.
The bamboo belongs to the family of grasses and its fruit
is a grain.
SPINY BAMBOO.!
(Bambusa blumeana.)
Spiny bamboo (E.); aono-o (Capiz); baguin (Pampanga); batakan
(Surigao); bayug (Gad. and Il. in Nueva Vizcaya); bayog (Il.
in Zambales); cana espina (Sp.); duguian, kabugaoan, maru-
rugui, ruguian (Albay, Sorsogon); kawayan (T., B.) (Antique,
Bataan, Bohol, Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu, Mindoro, Occidental Negros,
Pampanga, Rizal, Sorsogon, Surigao, Tarlac, Zamboanga); ka-
wayan guid, paua (Iloilo) ; kawayan matinic (Laguna, Tayabas) ;
kawayan nga bulilao (Occidental Negros); kawayan seitan
(Union); kawayan totoo (T.); pasingan (Cagayan).
The stems or culms of this bamboo are from 10 to 20
m. high and have a diameter of about 8 to 10 cm. The
basal portion of the plant is surrounded by stiff, interlacing,
spiny branches. It is the only species of bamboo in the
Philippines provided with spines and it is therefore easily
recognized.
DISTRIBUTION.
The most common bamboo in the Philippines and found
throughout the settled portions of the Archipelago.
*See frontispiece.
46
PREPARATION.
Splints..—The preliminary work in the manufacture of
bamboo splints is done by the men. The bamboo, after
being felled (the bamboo stem is felled when it is from
4 to 5 months old and before it has developed any branches),
is allowed to wither in the shade for from three to five
days, and is cut up into sections at the node with a bolo
or saw. The nodes are trimmed off. Since the sections
toward the bottom would produce too short and those at
the top too weak material, the middle sections only (from
10 to 20 in number) can be used. Each section is split
into three or more pieces and the inner part is removed
with a short, sharp, stubby knife: until there remains but
about one-eighth of the original thickness, including the
green outer skin. The material split away cannot be used,
since the splints obtained from it would be too coarse and
weak. The stripper must be expert enough to know when
he has obtained the proper thickness. The remaining splint
of bamboo is flattened by placing one end on a bench and
forcing the rest down flat so as to remove the curve. The
stripper then cuts two lines across near the top, one deeper
than the other, but not through the material, and pries
and pulls the bamboo into three layers (lapat), each of
which can be again reduced to thinner layers in the same
manner, so that from four to ten layers, besides the green
outer skin (balat), can be obtained, though the usual
number is five or six, and it is very seldom that more than
eight are produced. (The best and finest splints are ob-
tained from the bamboo layers nearest the green epidermis. )
The material is then boiled in water for about half an hour
and bleached in the sun—a strengthening and whitening
process.
Basket splints.-—Deep-green culms should be used. If,
on scraping away the epidermis with a knife, the exposed
layers are slightly dark or brown in color, the material is
too old and hard to be used for baskets.
Bulletin No. 38, Bureau of Education.
* Albay Industrial Bulletin No. 4.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XIill.
a. Pag ah oe
BASAL PORTION OF BAMBUSA BLUMEANA IS SURROUNDED BY A NETWORK
OF STIFF, SPINY BRANCHES.
47
Sawali.—For making sawali, the whole culm is split into
four parts. These are then divided again radially into
pieces as great as the desired width of sawali. The pieces
are then cleaned and split tangentially into strips of the
required thickness. Several species of bamboo besides B.
blumeana are used in the manufacture of sawali.
Roots.2—The fine roots of bamboo make excellent material
for baskets. The roots used should be green, as the dead
roots are black and worthless for basketry. The small
knots upon the roots are easily removed by scraping the
roots with a knife. Care should be taken not to scrape
too deep, as it spoils the natural polish. Rub them with
sand paper and halve them for making the bottoms of any
basket. Be sure that the outer layer is removed, as it turns
dark with age. If properly prepared, the bottom of the
basket will be fine and glossy.
Culms for house construction—If strong and durable
bamboo is desired, only mature stems with branches fully
developed should be used. The best time for felling bam-
boo is said to be when the “sap is down,” between
November and the latter part of January in most parts
of the Islands. If cut during the rainy season, it seems
to fall an easy prey to weevils, “bucbuc” in Tagalog.
Filipinos say that bamboo cut in the rainy season should
be thoroughly soaked in salt water to prevent insect attacks.
This statement is corroborated by Sir G. Watt, who says:
Long immersion in water greatly enhances the durability (of
bamboo), rendering the stem less liable to the attacks of insects,
owing to the sap, which they are fond of, being quickly extracted.
USES.
B. blumeana furnishes the material for the bamboo hats
made in Baliuag and Pulilan, Bulacan. In Isabela and
other provinces this and other species of bamboo are
employed for hat manufacture. The important part played
by this bamboo in the building of houses and fences, in
*Sawali is a term aoninpnly used in ihe Bishops foe calneed
bamboo that is woven into rolls about 2.5 m. wide and from 9 to 15
m. long. It is used for ceilings and partitions in houses.
* Division Memorandum No. 8, s. 1912, of Occidental Negros.
48
the construction of furniture, in the manufacture of baskets,
fans, and tobacco cases, and in the making of ceilings and
floors is too well known to need further comment.
DWARFED BAMBOO.
(Bambusa glauucescens.)
Dwarfed bamboo (E.); Japanese bamboo, Chinese bamboo (E.).
This is a small, dwarfed, shrubby species of bamboo from
1 to 3 m. high and with stems 1 to 2 cm. in diameter. It
is often cultivated in Manila as a hedge plant. It may be
used for bobbins.
KAWAYAN KILING.
(Bambusa vulgaris.)
Kawayan kiling (T.) (Bulacan, Cavite; Il. and Zambal in Zambales,
Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Tarlac, Union); bolinao (lloilo) ;
borirao (Antique); butong (Albay, Capiz); kaboloan (Albay) ;
kawayan bayuguin (T.) (Nueva Ecija); kawayan hobero (La-
guna); kawayan nga dalusa (Occidental Negros) ; lunas (Bohol,
Cebu, Leyte); sinambang, kawayan sa China (Cebu); taywanac
(Cavite).
This bamboo is a large arborescent shrub. It has a
bright-green stem, shiny and polished in appearance. The
plant attains a height of 17 m. and a diameter of 15 cm.
It bears no spines. If closely examined, a very minute
earlike projection can be seen at the apex of the leaf sheath
near the base of the petiole. The leaves may be as much
as 35 em. long and 4 cm. wide.
DISTRIBUTION.
This species is found in thickets and is widely distributed
throughout the Philippines.
USES.
B. vulgaris is a strong bamboo used in house construction,
for bridges, furniture, and other purposes. In India it is
used in basketry.
YELLOW BAMBOO.
(Bambusa vulgaris var. striata.)
Yellow bamboo (E.).
This species is easily recognized by its bright-yellow stem
often striped with green. The stem grows to be about 12
m. high and about 5 to 6 cm. in diameter. The internodes
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XIV.
BAMBUSA VULGARIS VAR. STRIATA.
ss
-
49
are 20 to 25 cm. long. The leaves are about 20 cm. long
and 1.5 to 4 em. wide. The species is widely distributed.
It is occasionally cultivated in Manila for ornamental
purposes.
BOTONG.
(Dendrocalamus latiflorus.)
Botong (Albay, Camarines, Cebu); bolongsina (Camarines); butun
(Cebu); kaboloan (Albay, Sorsogon); patong (Sorsogon, Su-
rigao).
The stem of this bamboo is tall and hollow throughout
and about 12 cm. in diameter. Its inner cavity is very
large; internodes short. The leaves of this species are
about 15 to 20 cm. long and 2 to 5 cm. broad and smooth
to the touch. All species belonging to this order are arbo-
rescent, unarmed bamboos, with densely branching root-
stocks and leaves shortly petioled.
USES.
It is used for walls and floors of houses. It is not con-
sidered a good material for baskets.
ZIGZAG BAMBOO.
(Dinochloa scandens.)
Zigzag bamboo (E.); balukawi (Cebu, Mindoro); bukao (Basilan) ;
timak (Mindoro). D. scandens var. angustifolia.
This species of bamboo is widely distributed in the
southern islands. The characteristic of the genus is its
climbing zigzag-geniculate (abruptly bent so as to resemble
a knee joint) culm. The species is an evergreen, with
stems attaining a height of 30 m. and a diameter of 2.5
em. The sheaths on the culm are cylindric and sprinkled
with white fugacious bristles. The bases of the culm
sheaths are persistent and leathery.
The nodes of the stem are swollen and marked by leathery
persistent bases of the fallen leaf sheaths. The thin-walled
internodes are from 20 to 45 cm. long and hairy in the
upper part. Leaves are moderately large, 10 to 20 cm. long,
2 to 4 em. broad, and lanceolate in form. The bases of
1201394
50
the leaves are prolonged into short, hairy petioles. Speci-
mens of this bamboo have been received at the General
Office, Bureau of Education, but its uses have not been
reported.
BOLO.
(Gigantochloa scribneriana.)
Bolo, boco, botong (Capiz); botong (Bohol); kawayan de China
(Bulacan).
This bamboo is tall and erect. Its stem sheaths are
usually stiff, auricled, and hairy above. The leaves are
rather lanceolate in shape, from 25 to 30 cm. long and 3
to 3.5 cm. wide. Its distinguishing features lie mainly in
the structure of the flower. It is used for fish traps, for
carrying water, and other purposes.
THIN-WALLED BAMBOO.
(Schizostachyum spp.)
The species belonging to the genus Sehizostachyum are
arborescent or shrubby bamboos, usually erect, sometimes
climbing. The culms are smooth, generally slender, walls
thin. The culm sheaths are shorter than the internodes.
The leaves are broad and borne on petioles.
It is rather difficult to separate the various species of
Schizostachyum, as the distinguishing features are more
apparent in the flower than in the other parts of the plant.
BIKAL.
(Schizostachyum acutiflorum.)
A climbing bamboo. Bikal (Abra, Il., Pang. in Pangasinan, Pam-
panga) ; baliaro, balicao (Iloilo) ; bongbong (Bohol, Cebu) ; hindi,
indi, inri (Albay, Sorsogon); guimac (Bataan); lilit (Negrito
in Pampanga).
The species of bamboo, called S. acutiflorum, has leaves
that are usually broad and rounded at the base. Fine hairs
occur where the leaf joins the stem. This is a favorite
bamboo for baskets.
51
BIKAL BABI.
(Schizostachyum dielsianum.)
A climbing bamboo. Bikal babi (Pampanga); bikal (Cagayan,
Union) ; bikal baboy (Zambales) ; bikal machui (Baluga in Pam-
panga) ; lo-ob (Bohol); usio (Cavite, Laguna). This bamboo has
also been reported from Tarlac and Batangas.
This bamboo has leaves that are usually narrow and
attenuated at the base. This species is never or only
slightly bristly where the leaf joins the stem. The culms
of this bamboo are used in Cavite and Cagayan for making
chairs. Though it also occurs in other provinces, its value
as a furniture-making material does not seem to be fully
realized.
PUSER.
(Schizostachyum fenixii.)
A suberect bamboo. Puser (Il., Abra).
The leaves of this bamboo are from 30 to 35 cm. long
and 4 to 5 cm. wide. They are borne on extremely short
petioles hardly 3 mm. long. The splints of this bamboo
are used in Abra for making baskets; the roots, for handles
of fans.
BAGAKAY.
(Schizostachyum hallieri.)
An erect bamboo. Bagakay (Cebu); anos (Bataan, Cavite, Laguna,
Mindoro) ; bolo (Union).
This bamboo has culms 8 to 9 m. high and from 2 to
4 cm. in diameter. The internodes are about 1 m. long.
Leaves are smooth above and hairy below, from 15 to 30
em. long and from 3 to 7 cm. wide and borne on petioles
from 5 to 10 mm. long. It is reported that this bamboo
must be boiled before it can be used for fans, cushions,
and hats. It is also used for rice-winnowing baskets and
for making bobbins for weaving looms.
52
BAGAKAN.
(Schizostachyum hirtiflorum.)
An erect bamboo. Bagakan (Palawan); bulu (Iloilo; Gad. and II.
in Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, Zambales).
This species has leaves from 12 to 20 cm. long and from
1 cm. to a little over 2 cm. wide. Its stem is 6 to 9 m. high
and 7 to 10 cm. in diameter. It can be used for baskets,
fish corrals, fences, and various other minor purposes.
BUHO.
(Schizostachyum mucronatum.)
An erect bamboo. Buho (Camarines, Cavite); bagakay (Albay,
Bohol, Capiz, Iloilo, Leyte, Sorsogon); kawayan sunsong
(Laguna) ; oras (Albay).
A bamboo that is used for fish poles, flutes, fences, sawali,
and other purposes is S. mucronatum. Its culm grows to
be about 12 m. high and is covered with a silicious fuzz.
For the latter reason it is not liked as basketry material.
The leaves grow to be 16 cm. long and 1 cm. wide.
Chapter VI—SEDGES AND SIMILAR PLANTS.
Sedges grow in wet ground. They resemble grasses.
Apart from important differences in the structure of the
flower, perhaps not evident to the casual observer, they can
be distinguished from grasses by the usual absence of
joints, by the usually triangular solid stem, and by their
3-ranked, not 2-ranked, leaves.
The “cat-tail” and the “matting rush” are plants differing
greatly botanically from the sedges. Botanists have there-
fore placed them in separate families. Because of their
superficial resemblance, however, to the sedges and because
they occur in similar localities, they are included in this
chapter.
BALANGOT.
(Cyperus malaccensis.)
Balangot (Bataan, Bulacan, Camarines, Cavite, Cebu, Leyte, Mindoro,
Pampanga, Rizal); baga-as (Capiz).
This sedge is a perennial plant and continues sending
out new stalks from its underground stems year by year.
These stalks are stout, three-sided, and reach a height of
15 m. The spikelets are crowded together, very narrow,
and from 1 to 2 cm. long. The plant is in flower from
July to December.
DISTRIBUTION.
Balangot is found in brackish swamps and along tidal
streams not only in the Philippines, but also in tropical
Africa, Asia, and islands of Polynesia and Australia.
PREPARATION.
Coarse straw.—During the dry season, because of the
many clear, sunny days, a better straw can be produced
than during the rainy season. The plants are cut near
the ground and for a few days are put out to dry in the
53
54
sun. Then generally they are tied into small bundles and
kept in the house until wanted.
Fine straw.—Mr. W. Huse Chapman, division industrial
supervisor for Pampanga, who has given special attention
to balangot straw in connection with its use for slippers,
reports to the Director of Education as follows:
Depending on the purposes to which the straw is to be put, just
one side of the three-cornered stalk is removed, or, if a very fine straw
is desired, the edges are cut off and the sides pulled apart. At the
same time, more or less of the pulp is also removed.
Naturally, if but a small amount of pulp is removed, the straw
is thick and soft; if a large amount, the straw is thin and fine.
The strips are now put in the hot sun for a first quick drying, so
that the edges may curl around any bits of pulp left. After this
first quick or partial drying the straw is allowed to dry completely
in the shade and is ready for use. This method gives a light-green
straw.
The straw may be whitened and toughened by keeping it damp
in the hot sun for several days. (If the straw is allowed to dry
completely in the sun, it becomes brittle.) If the straw cannot be
kept damp throughout the day for several days, it may be put out
in the evening to be dampened by the dew and allowed to remain
in the sun the next morning until about 10 or 11 o’clock, when it
should be taken in until night. This process repeated eight or ten
times will give a good, white, tough straw.
The completely dried straw will keep without deterioration but
must be dampened before being used.
USES.
Slippers.—A very poor grade of balangot slippers is sold
in the small shops throughout the Islands—especially in
northern Luzon—and also by itinerant venders in the
streets of Manila. The chief center for the making of these
slippers is the important barrio-of San Juan within the
jurisdiction of the municipality of Malolos, Bulacan. In
this barrio every house, with very few exceptions, is
engaged in the making of these slippers. Women and
children are the chief workers and apply themselves to this
work when they can find time for it from other duties.
The slipper industry was first started in the barrio of
San Juan about four or five years ago, so the people say,
by two Japanese peddlers who came through the barrio
selling small cakes commonly known as “apa.”’ Seeing that
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XV.
CYPERUS MALACCENSIS.
55
balangot grew in great profusion in the vicinity of the
barrio, they soon gave up selling cakes and began making
slippers. Within a few months some Filipinos started
making slippers. As there was a ready sale for the product,
more and more people began making balangot slippers until
now practically the whole barrio is engaged in this industry.
The Japanese remained in the barrio for about one year
and a half, but finding competition too strong moved away.
A better grade of slippers is now being developed in the
public schools. These slippers are neat in appearance and
are made of finely twisted split straw. For the inner sole
the sheath of the areca palm (bamboo sheath might also
be serviceable) is used with a narrow strip of rattan to
’ form the edge.
Hats.—The straw was fornieels used quite extensively
for cheap hats, but now its use for this purpose is rare and
spasmodic. The decline in its use is probably due to the
fact that more satisfactory hat materials have been found.
There is a large export trade from Japan of horses’ sun-
bonnets made of sedges. It is very probable that balangot
could be utilized for the manufacture of this article.
A good grade of matting can be made from the fine
balangot straw. In fact, the sedge resembles closely the
Chinese matting sedge (Cyperus tegetiformis) which is
used extensively in China for the manufacture of matting.
ALINANG.
(Cyperus radiatus.)
Alinang (Albay, Cebu, Leyte, Sorsogon) ; balabalangutan (T.) (Bula-
can); malapandan dagko (Oriental Negros); obod-obod (Capiz,
Tayabas) ; upopi (Cagayan).
Alinang is sometimes confused with balangot (C. malac-
censis) or with agas (Rynchospora aurea). Alinang can,
however, be distinguished from balangot if the following
points are noted: Alinang grows to be 1 m. high; has a
number of leaves one-half to two-thirds as long as the stem;
a large number of leaflike bracts subtending the inflores-
cence and spikelets 4 to 5 mm. long. Balangot grows to
a height of 1.5 m. and has no leaves or just a few which
are less than 3 cm. long. Its spikelets are 1 to 2 cm. long,
56
and under the inflorescence are from two to five leaflike
bracts. (For characteristics of agas, see description under
same).
DISTRIBUTION.
Common in wet or swampy places and in flower all the
year.
PREPARATION.
The sides of the stalks are carefully stripped off and
dried in the sun, or in the shade if it is desired to have them
less brittle.
USES.
It is used for mats in Oriental Negros, Capiz, and Cagayan.
Albay reports that it may be used for weaving screens or
matting on looms.
CHINESE MATTING SEDGE.
(Cyperus tegetiformis.)
Brief mention is here made of a sedge cultivated exten-
sively in China for matting. A short time ago rootstocks
of this sedge were received by the Bureau of Education
from the consul-general at Canton. They were sent to San
Luis, Pampanga, and to Los Banos, Laguna. From both
places reports have been received stating that the plants
are doing fairly well.
Whether the cultivation of the plant in the Philip-
pines is commercially feasible has not yet been definitely
determined.
TAYOC-TAYOC.
(Fimbristylis diphylla.)
Tayoc-tayoc (Capiz, Iloilo, Occidental Negros, Zambales); tabtabin
(Zambales); pauai (Benguet). Collected also by B. of S. in
Cagayan, Laguna, Nueva Vizcaya, Rizal, Surigao.
The plant is exceedingly variable. The stem of the sedge
is generally shorter and narrower than that of tikug. It
is surrounded at the base by a number of very narrow
leaves from 10 to 30 cm. long and 1 to 3 mm. wide. The
spikelets are about 1 cm. long and reddish-brown in color.
57
DISTRIBUTION.
The plant is common in open grasslands throughout the
Philippines. It also occurs in all warm regions of the
world.
PREPARATION.
Tayoc-tayoc is prepared in the same way as tikug, except
that after the sedge is gathered from the field it is mixed
with ashes. This is said to soften the fiber. Prepared
tayoc-tayoc straw, while finer than tikug, is considerably
stiffer and shorter than the latter and therefore is not
considered as good an industrial fiber.
WORTHLESS TIKUG.
(Fimbristylis miliacea.)
Worthless tikug (Samar).
This sedge is often found growing among good tikug
(F. utilis) in open wet lands and old rice fields. In Samar
the plant is considered worthless as it does not produce
a serviceable straw. The stalks are from 40 to 60 cm. long,
angular, and of a greenish-yellow color. Around the base
are leaves often two-thirds as long as the stalks themselves.
The spikelets are smaller than those of tikug, being from
2 to 2.5 mm. long and brownish in color.
TIKUG.
(Fimbristylis utilis.)
Tikug (Vis.) (Bohol, Cebu, Leyte); anahiwan (Agusan, Moro, Su-
rigao); tayoc-tayoc (Iloilo); muta (Pampanga); sud-sud (Bu-
kidnon). Collected by B. of S. in Laguna and Tayabas. Also
Fimbristylis globulosa.
The sedge tikug sometimes attains a height of 3 m., but
the average is 1} m. The tufted stems are shiny, smooth
in appearance, and about 4 mm. in diameter. They may
have long leaves at the base or may be entirely leafless
and are usually four to five sided immediately under the
inflorescence. A cross section of the stem shows the latter
to be oval in form.
_ The many flowers of tikug borne on small branching stalks
are clustered into spikelets, fuzzy and dusky brown in color,
o8
and but a few millimeters in length. The axis of the spike-
lets (rachis), as is usual with all species belonging to the
genus Fimbristylis, remains attached to the stem long after
the wind has blown away the seeds.
Through experiments conducted by Mr. John F. Minier
of the Bureau of Education, it was found that by sowing
tikug seeds very closely on richly manured and well-watered
soil, so that about 5,000 stalks grew on a square foot of
ground, very fine long straws were produced.
DISTRIBUTION.
Tikug grows wild and in great abundance in marshy
places and in and around rice paddies in parts of the
Visayas and Mindanao. It reaches its greatest economic
importance in a number of districts in Samar, Leyte, Min-
danao, and Bohol.
PREPARATION.
Drying the straw.—The preparation of tikug for indus-
trial purposes is very simple, consisting chiefly in keeping
it away from dew, moisture, and water while the drying
and bleaching of the straw in the sun is accomplished. This
generally takes from seven to ten days. If the straws
become damp or wet from dew or rain, they will mildew
and turn an unsightly black or brown. Boiling the straw
ten or twenty minutes before drying tends to improve the
color.
Tikug straws will keep for a long time, but in the dry
season they should be frequently exposed to the sun and
during the rainy season they should be wrapped in a blanket
or a piece of cloth. For plain mats the whole straw is
used, but for the embroidered part split straws are
employed.
Flattening the straws..—The straws composing the
bleached or dyed bundles of material are stiff and uneven;
some are bent and others are round. The process of flatten-
ing them and making them more pliable is carried on during
damp days, in the morning or evening, for if done in the
open air on cloudless days, or at any time when the atmos-
* THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, Vol. I, No. 4, p. 312.
PLATE XVI.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
FIMBRISTYLIS UTILIS.
~¥ * .
Rae ry . *
~* a“
a .
hs >
.&
> = ’ ae
- 1 ‘
i Va ary
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-
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j
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59
phere is dry, the straw becomes brittle and breaks. How-
ever, climatic conditions may be overcome by wrapping
the straw in banana leaves or damp cloth for an hour or
more and then working it where no breeze can dry it out.
No water should be applied. The workers employ the usual
blunt-edged, rulerlike piece of wood; between this and the
thumb the straw is drawn by the free hand. This process
flattens the straw and makes it pliable so that it does not
split during weaving.
The best time for working up the straw is early in the
morning or late in the evening and at all times on cloudy
and rainy days. In dry weather the straw becomes very
brittle. It is also well to cover unfinished work for the
night with a damp cloth.
USES.
Mats.—The mats made from tikug straw are superior
to the buri mats in wearing qualities, equal to the average
sabutan mat, but inferior to the very finest mat product
of the sabutan plant. Tikug mats are usually colored and
often have a soft, rich tone due to the gloss and pliability
of the straw and the readiness with which it responds to
dye treatment. It is easy to work patterns and designs
of various kinds and colors into the mat. The designs
published in connection with the article on Philippine Mats
in the THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, Volume I, No. 5, and
the suggestion given on the use of colors in mats in the
same publication in Volume I, No. 3, will be found helpful
in the designing and coloring of tikug mats.
The ordinary tikug mats are more or less rectangular
in shape and used by Filipinos as sleeping mats or at times
by Americans for wall decorations. Recently, the people
in Samar started the making of round mats which are
intended to be put on the floor under the table or other
furniture. The schools also employ tikug straw for doilies.
At the first Philippine exposition in Manila in 1912, the
Bureau of Education exhibited a Japanese matting loom
which had been greatly improved at the Philippine Normal
* See also THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN Reprint Series, No. I. “Phil-
ippine Mats,” Bureau of Education, 1913.
60
School at Manila and which is well adapted to the making
of tikug matting. Since then similar looms have been con-
structed and sent out to various provinces. Tikug mattings
woven on these looms are somewhat stiff but of good appear-
ance and will probably wear as well as the average foreign
matting.
At present tikug hats are of local importance in some
localities in the Visayas. They serve well as cheap farm
hats and if made in large quantities should find a ready
export sale.
Tikug cushions of various kinds for the home and for
carriages have been made in the public schools. It is a
mistake, however, to try to make them with a plush border
in imitation of Japanese carriage cushions, as velvet looks
incongruous with tikug straw. A plain tikug border would
not only be cheaper, but greatly improve the appearance
of the cushions. As with mats, very pretty color and
designing effects can be secured on the cushions.
Among the minor articles made from tikug are tobacco
cases of various kinds.
Tikug slippers are made in a number of places and sold
locally. They are, however, not very satisfactory as they
wear out too soon.
MATTING RUSH.
(Juncus effusus.)
This rush, which is cultivated by the Japanese for their
finest mats, is found growing wild in the Philippines in
marshes at an altitude of 4,500 feet or more. It is there-
fore found in the highlands of the Mountain Province and
on some Mindanao mountains.
The round stalks of the plant, a meter or more in height,
arise from rootstocks, which, as they continue their growth,
send out new stalks. The base of these stalks is surrounded
by short sheathing leaves brownish-red in color, while sev-
eral centimeters from their tip arise a number of small
unbranched or branched flower stalks. These bear small
flowers not arranged in spikelets. The small, yellow seeds
occur in brownish capsules whose walls ultimately divide -
into three parts.
PLATE XVII.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
JUNCUS EFFUSUS.
(- =e > -
- ~- .
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a ital ;
as aon, 2 *
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: Pe yan i
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_ be ~~ 2, * - - Pa -
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7 r . - - * A > ~ - . - 7
61
The mountain people have found no use for this rush,
although it grows in abundance in various parts of their
province. The matting rush cultivated in Japan is said to
be very much finer than the one found wild in the Philip-
pines. It is reasonable to suppose that such is the case,
as cultivation in seed beds and close planting in well-
fertilized fields is bound to produce a finer straw than
that which is obtained from wild and spontaneous rushes
growing in swamps without care and attention.
The production of a finer straw from this plant through
cultivation is an experiment well worth trying in the Moun-
tain Province. The cultivation of the rush is much like
that of rice, except that the rush is perennial and lives
many years.
Experiments conducted at Baguio show that a fine straw
can be prepared from the coarse stalks by splitting them,
removing the pulp and drying the straws quickly in the
sun so as to cause them to curl up. Then they may be
dried further as is done with balangot and split pandan
leaves.
Flat straws can be produced by removing the pulp and
flattening the stalks by drawing them between the thumb
and a flat piece of wood.
AGAS.
(Rynchospora aurea.)
Agas (Albay, Cebu, Leyte, Sorsogon) ; bariu-bariu, raguidiu (Albay,
Sorsogon); piso piso (Sorsogon); raguidio, raguio, rakeydo
(Camarines) ; tikiu (Laguna).
This sedge is found in all warm regions of the world.
It has so far been reported to the Bureau of Education
from Sorsogon, Albay, Camarines, Laguna, Leyte, and
Cebu. It is found, however, in all provinces and all larger
islands of the Philippines. It is about a meter high; its
stem is distinctly triangular and the leaves surrounding
the stem are long and broad. The panicle is long and wide
and made up of comparatively long, spreading, branching
spikes bearing spindle-shaped, awnless spikelets, which are
rich brown in color and about 8 mm. long.
62
DISTRIBUTION.
It is found in wet or swampy land and will often grow
in rice paddies after the rice harvest.
PREPARATION.
The Albay Industrial Bulletin No. 4, of December, 1911,
gives this information on the preparation of the sedge:.
The stalk is dried in the shade for a few days before using.
For making screens, it is best to cut it into strips of as uniform
width as possible. For making sleeping mats, one of the sides of
the stalk is cut or stripped off. For making ordinary baskets the
whole stalk is used, one of the sides of the stalk being pressed or
flattened down upon one of the other two. For making raffia coiled
baskets, this sedge may be used in place of rattan (for foundation).
USES.
The sedge is sometimes used in the Bicol Provinces for
sleeping mats, sandals, baskets, and screens.
SCIRPUS spp.
TICOG.
(Scirpus erectus.)
Ticog, tayoc-tayoc (Occidental Negros).
Scirpus erectus has spikelets, solitary or from three to
five in number, occurring laterally several centimeters from
the top of the stalk. The spikelets, as a rule, are smaller
and the whole stem is shorter, narrower, and much finer
than that of biluan (S. mucronatus). The plant grows in
wet lands throughout the Philippines and flowers more or
less during the whole year.
TIQUIO.
(Scirpus grossus.)
Tiquio (Rizal); agas (Albay); baga-as (Occidental Negros) ; bagui-
bagui (Capiz); balangot (Camarines, Capiz).
Scirpus grossus is sometimes used for mats. It must,
however, be classed as a rather poor material for this pur-
pose as its stalks are three-cornered, coarse, wide, and thick.
It bears flowers from May till November in numerous brown
spikelets on a much-branching stalk.
The plant is found in fresh-water swamps and along
streams throughout the Philippines.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XVIII.
SCIRPUS MUCRONATUS.
63
TIKER.
(Scirpus lacustris.)
Tiker (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Cagayan); great bullrush.
The sedge known as “‘tiker’’ in Ilocano is found in swamps
and ponds. So far it has been reported to the Bureau of
Education only from Ilocos Sur, but it occurs also in Ilocos
Norte and Cagayan. It grows to a height of a meter or
more and has a round stem, tapering toward the apex.
The spikelets are about 1 cm. long, reddish-brown in color,
and occur on small flowering stalks that sometimes branch.
These stalks all arise from about the same place near the
apex of the stem.
The plant is also found in North America, Europe, and
Asia.
BILUAN.
(Scirpus mucronatus.)
Biluan (Leyte).
Scirpus mucronatus is a three-cornered sedge not as
coarse as S. grossus. Its many, comparatively large spike-
lets are crowded together into a single lateral head several
centimeters from the top of the stalk. The stalk itself
grows to a height of 80 cm. The plant is found in wet
places throughout the Philippines, but is not restricted to
this Archipelago, occurring also in the warmer parts of the
entire world. ;
PREPARATION.
If the straws of the various species of Scirpus are
arranged according to their coarseness, starting with the
least coarse, they should be placed in the following order:
(1) Scirpus erectus, (2) biluan, (8) tiker, (4) tiquio.
Generally, these sedges need only to be put out in the sun
to dry and bleach. Some reports, however, state that they
should be only partially dried in the sun and that the process
of drying should be completed in the shade or in the house.
This may perhaps be necessary so as not to make the mate-
rial too brittle. The whole stem may be used by folding
in one side so that the stalk becomes two instead of three
sided. This, however, cannot be done with tiker, which is
64
round. The sides of the stalks may be separated and the
pulp removed and the material thus rendered more fit for
weaving into finer grades of mats and hats. The straw
can be made more pliable as is done with tikug by passing
it between the fingers and a rounded piece of wood or
bamboo. The sedges can also probably be worked to better
advantage when the air is not so dry, as in the morning
and evening and on cloudy and rainy days.
USES.
At present, mats, hats, and slippers made of species of
Scirpus are rather coarse, but this does not necessarily prove
that finer articles could not be manufactured.
CAT-TAIL.
(Typha angustifolia.)
Cat-tail (E.); balangot (Batangas, Leyte); caid-qued (Il. and Pang.
in Pangasinan); lampacanay (Bohol); tubol-tubol (Oriental
Negros). Also reported from Iloilo and Mindoro.
This plant reaches a height of 2 m. It can easily be
distinguished from other plants by its semioval stalks and
its characteristic spike, cylindric in shape and brown in
color when mature.
DISTRIBUTION.
When this marsh plant does occur in low wet places and
shallow, stagnant, fresh water, it is found in abundance.
PREPARATION.
Dried in the sun either whole or split into strips.
USES.
The straw is well adapted for the making of slippers. By
splitting the straw and twisting it, a better-looking slipper
with macramé toe can be made.
The whole stem can be woven into fancy braid and in
combination with braided rice straw or buri, colored or
natural, can be wound around a framework and made into
very pretty flower baskets.
The straw can also be woven into screens. In connection
PLATE XIX.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
CAT-TAIL (Typha angustifolia).
- 65
with this matter, the opinion of a prominent mat dealer
in the United States is of interest:
A balangot (T. angustifolia) screen would be a commercial article
in the United States in length of 8 feet and width of 4, 6, 8, 10,
and 12 feet. If provided with a small wooden pulley and a small
abaca rope, the screen would sell for about 2 centavos per square
foot laid down in Manila.
The straw is also twisted into twine and rope, but does
not possess great tensile strength.
In the United States and Europe the chief use of the cat-
tail is in cooperage, for filling open seams in the heads and
between the staves of barrels. The stalks are also used in
foreign countries for chair bottoms and in packing glass
bottles and flasks. The soft velvety fibers of the flower
spike are used in upholstery.
120139——5
Chapter VII—PALMS.
The majority of palms are not only ornamental but highly
useful. The straight, erect palm trunks and long leaves,
usually gracefully bent, impress the beholder with a sense
of dignity and beauty. Some species, however, have no
trunk at all or the merest indication of one. Other species
clamber in the dense tropical forests that form their natural
habitat. These latter—the rattans—because of their eco-
nomic importance and because they are not ordinarily
thought of as palms, will be considered in a separate chapter.
Many palms have long, stout petioles bearing a great
number of leaflets which are linear in form. Others, like
the palma brava and buri palm, have orbicular leaves on
long, massive petioles.
Palms like the coconut, buri, and sugar palms yield not
only valuable food produets, but are of considerable eco-
nomic importance because of the industrial fibers obtained
from their leaves, midribs, and petioles.
ARECA NUT PALM.
(Areca catechu.)
Areca nut palm (E.); banga (Camarines); boa (Il.); bua (Caga-
yan); bunga (T.); luyos (Pampanga).
This slender, erect palm produces the areca or betel nuts
which are chewed, with or without lime and pepper leaves,
throughout eastern Asia and Malaysia.
USES.
Sheaths.—The sheathing basal portion of the leaf petioles
and the bracts which protect the flower cluster and fruits
are pliable, strong, and tough. The sheaths are dried and
used in a number of schools for the inside sole of slippers.
They seem well adapted to this purpose. The sheaths (only
the inner white surface) are used as wrapping paper for
fish, salt, and other products.
66
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XxX.
COCONUT PALMS.
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67
DUMAYACA PALM.
(Arenga mindorensis.)
tice (Batangas, Tayabas); gumayaka (Laguna); tipon-tipon,
bilis (Albay); abigui, romaka (Camarines); belis (Sorsogon) ;
dayumaka (Tayabas). Also reported from Bataan and Mindoro.
The plant is one of the smaller palms and reaches a height
of but 6 m. It resembles a young nipa, coconut, or sugar
palm, as it is nearly trunkless and has long slender petioles
to which numerous leaflets are attached. Unlike the nipa
palm, it is not found in swamps.
To help in the identification of this palm, it may be noted
that the leaflets are about 20 to 35 cm. long, have a uniform
width of from 13 to 18 mm., and a round, serrated tip.
The upper surface of the leaflets is bright green and the
lower is dull, silvery green in color. The petioles are of
grayish-green color with gray predominating, finely
speckled, slightly rough to the touch, and free of leaflets
for a distance of 1 to 2 m. from the base. Around the
base of the petioles are found black fibrous sheaths which
are only moderately developed. The fruit is bright red
in color, round, and about 1 cm. in diameter and contains
three seeds. It occurs in great masses on flower stalks
which are from 60 to 90 cm. long.
PREPARATION.
As the lower parts of the petioles are free from leaflets,
there is little waste in using them as industrial material.
Dumayaca, therefore, furnishes a better industrial material
than do those palms whose leaflets extend almost from
the base to the top of the petioles and which, because of
such arrangement, permit only the use of the sides on which
leaflets are not attached. Scraping away the epidermis of
the petioles reveals the tissue beneath, which varies in shade
from a light to a dark brown. Dumayaca palms were first
used as basketry material during the year 1910 in Polangui,
Albay.
USES.
Dumayaca is used in making different kinds of baskets
such as waste baskets, market baskets, lunch baskets, and
the like. The splints are good for both weavers and spokes,
68
and if a little care is exercised in the preparation of the
material and in workmanship, excellent baskets result.
Because of its graceful appearance, the palm is well worth
cultivating as an ornamental plant if for no other reason.
SUGAR PALM.
(Arenga saccharifera.)
Sugar palm (E.); bagot-bat, idiok (Oriental Negros); batbat, ebiok
(Bohol); hibiok (Vis., Capiz, Iloilo, Occidental Negros); hidiok
(B.) (Albay, Antique, Capiz, Tablas); igok (Antique); irok
(Cavite, Mindoro, Tayabas, Zambales); kaong (T.) (Cavite,
Laguna); onao (Surigao); palma criste, habiok (Capiz).
In Cavite the palm itself is known as caong, the fiber as
cabonegro, and the fruit as iroc. In other parts of the
Islands the various parts of the plants have also received
special names. The maximum height of the plant is 12 m.
The large leaves, made up of a hundred or more leaflets
on each side of the petiole (rachis), are remarkably long
and attain a length of from 6 to 8.5 m. They finally fall
off and leave conspicuous round scars on the trunk. The
bases of the petivles are surrounded by coarse, black, matted
fibers which remain on the trunk even after the petioles
have dropped off.
From the axils of the leaves, stout stalks arise which bear
a great number of long pendulous flowering branches up
to 1.5 m. long. The palm flowers throughout the year and
the fruit is produced in prodigious quantity. Each indi-
vidual fruit, however, is only 5 cm. in diameter and more
or less round (globose).
DISTRIBUTION.
This palm is of general distribution throughout the Phil-
ippines, though perhaps more abundant in the provinces
south of Manila. It is also found growing from India
to Malaysia.
PREPARATION.
Splints.—On account of the position of the leaflets, only
the lower part and the front and back part of the petioles
can be utilized. The preparation of the material is the
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INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XxXil.
THE SUGAR PALM (Arenga saccharifera).
69
- game as for dumayaca. If the material is to be used imme-
diately, the inside part should be removed, but if the splints
are not to be used for some time the inner part should be
left.
Greenish-white splints may be produced by scraping away
the green epidermis of the young petioles. Such splints are
also obtained by scraping below the dark-brown portion
of an old petiole. A dark-brown color verging almost to
a black may be obtained from old petioles. Light-brown
splints are procured from the upper part of old petioles or
the lower part of young ones. Splints, with the epidermis
left on, can be used to give variation to a design.
Fibers.—The coarse, fibrous sheaths are cut off near their
base of attachment. The black, hard fibers that occur in
them are removed and may be used as a substitute for
bristles; the softer fibers are pulled out and twisted into
strands for rope. These fibers are called cabonegro.
USES.
Splints.—The splints make excellent weavers and are also
fairly satisfactory for spokes of baskets, but are not as
tough as those obtained from tipon-tipon.
Rope.—Rope made from the fiber sheaths of the sugar
palm withstands well the action of salt water. The
strongest fibers have great tensile strength, but it is
extremely difficult to get evenly matched fibers of uniform
diameter. The fibers can also be used for thatching, and
some reports state that in the course of time they become
fireproof. The fibers are also employed in caulking boats.
Brushes.—The public schools in several places are utiliz-
ing the fibers in the making of floor, horse, and hair brushes.
The fibers are an excellent substitute for bristles, but are
rather too stiff and coarse for certain types of brushes.
It is believed, however, that an immersion of the fibers into
lumbang or linseed oil would soften them and make them
more pliable.
Midribs.—If the midribs are separated from the leaflets
and cleaned, they can be woven into certain types of trays
and baskets.
70
PUGAHAN.
- (Caryota cumingii.)
Pugahan (Sorsogon, Tayabas); hagol (Albay, Sorsogon).
There are a number of species of palms in the Philippines
that may be called fishtail palms‘ on account of their
peculiarly shaped leaflets which look like a fish’s tail or
fin. The species known as Caryota cumingii has a trunk
that is generally slender and leaves that are scattered along
its upper part. The complete leaf measures 1.5 m. and the
leaflets about 20 cm. The inflorescence is pendulous, about
80 cm. long, and made up of numerous flowering branches
(spikes). The male flowers are dull purplish and yellow
in appearance; the fruit is round and purple in color.
DISTRIBUTION.
The fishtail palms are very abundant in some forests.
They are not, however, as evident to the casual observer
as are other palms for they usually do not occur in the
open country. The tree is widely distributed throughout
the Philippines.
USES.
Splints from the petiole of this palm are used in basketry.
COCONUT PALM.
(Cocos nucifera.)
Coconut (E.); cocos (Sp.); lubi (Cebu); niog (T., Il.).
This tree, often called “the prince of palms” is too well
known, especially in the Tropics, to require a botanical
description.
PREPARATION.
Coconut shell.2A—The matured brown coconut shell is the
best for polishing. 'The white shell may also be used, but
it does not take so high a polish as the brown shell.
*See Plate XXV.
*From a report prepared by Messrs. E. Carretero, J. Quisteria,
and M. Bautista, teachers in the Manila city schools, and submitted
to the General Office through the city superintendent.
PLATE XxXIill.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
Toe :
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FRUIT OF THE SUGAR PALM.
71
Remove the fibrous husk of the nut. Then cut off the
upper part (the part containing the “eyes’”) with a saw,
so that the meat and the water may be easily removed.
Use a file to make the shell thin and smooth on the outside.
After filing, any coarse kind of sandpaper may be used;
but as the shell becomes thinner, a finer grade of sand-
paper should be employed, so as to take off the scratches
made by the coarser paper.
The shell is now ready for polishing and converting into
the finished product. The smooth shell should be made
wet with alcohol and rubbed with powdered pumice stone
many times until it looks shiny and all the sandpaper
scratches disappear. Put 100 grams of shellac into 14 liters
of denatured alcohol. Shake the bottle well in order to
thoroughly dissolve the shellac. With several drops of this
mixture moisten the inner surface of a soft cloth in which
are wrapped in the shape of a ball several other pieces of
soft cloth (be sure the cloth is clean when made into a
ball). Do not use too much of the alcohol-shellac mixture.
With this cloth ball, moistened as above stated, rub the
surface of the shell firmly, using plenty of ‘‘elbow grease.”
If this does not produce a good polish, unfold the outer
cloth of the ball and put inside three or four more drops
of the alcohol-shellac mixture. Rub the shell again until
it looks shiny. The shell must not be touched with the
bare hands. Handle it with a piece of thin cloth. When
the shell has been properly polished with the alcohol-shellac
mixture, put a little olive oil (a drop or two, perhaps) into
the same cloth ball and rub the surface of the shell
thoroughly.
Coir.—To produce coir, the outer surface of a piece of
the coconut husk is pounded and the glossy skin pulled off.
The dark, fibrous layer immediately under the epidermis
is removed, and twisted into strands for rope. The fibers
in the remaining light-brown layer are pulled apart, cleaned
by hand, and can then be used for mats.
Roots..—The roots of coconut palms are excellent material
for basketry. The roots are very pliable and free from
* Division Memorandum, No. 9, s. 1912, Occidental Negros.
72
knots and are easily prepared. Young roots are white in —
color, while the older ones are pink. The preparation is
very simple, it being only necessary to clean them by means
of a “batakan”’ (a piece of tin with holes punched in) and to
dry them in the sun for a few hours.
USES.
Coir.—The fiber of the husk of the coconut known as
coir is a valuable product. It is used in the manufacture
of ropes and cordage and is woven into bagging and matting.
It can also be used for the making of strong doormats.
The fiber is also employed in furniture shops and carriage
factories for stuffing cushions.
“Mutt heads” are carved out of coconut husks.
Shells.—Polished coconut shells can be made up into a
number of articles such as spoons, cups, finger bowls, nut
dishes, savings banks, powder boxes, hair receivers, catch-
alls, collar and button boxes, and other objects. The shells
would also serve well for the bottom of pin cushions.
A pretty souvenir article such as a small guitar with a
coconut body would probably sell as a curio.
Coconut midribs.—At the first Philippine exposition in
1912 one or two provinces exhibited tables and chairs made
of the midrib of the leaflets of the coconut which were
strong and serviceable. As the midribs are pliable, they
furnish a good material for the making of certain types
of trays and baskets. They are commonly used for making
coarse brooms.
Splints.—The outer covering of the coconut petiole can
be used for spokes in basketry. The inner surface of the
splint is white; the outer, if secured while the leaf is still
growing, is green. If the splints are obtained from the
petiole of a dead leaf, their outer surface is nut-brown in
color; all these colors may be used with white to give variety
to a design, but the splints have fewer shades than those
from dumayaca.
Leaflets.—The leaflets are used for hats, mats, baskets,
thatch, and various other purposes. The articles made from
the leaflets are not, however, very durable.
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73
BURI PALM.
(Corypha elata.)
Buri (Sp., F.) (Albay, Antique, Batangas, Capiz, Cebu, Iloilo, Ilocos
Norte, Leyte, Nueva Ecija, Occidental Negros, Rizal, Sorsogon,
Tayabas, Zamboanga); buli (Vis.) (Bohol, Cebu, Oriental
Negros), (T) (Laguna) ; ebus (Pampanga, Tarlac) ; piet (Panga-
sinan, Nueva Ecija); silad (Albay); silag (Il.) (Ilocos Norte
(1l.), in Pangasinan, Tarlac, Union); taktak, bagatay (Nueva
Vizcaya) ; talipot palm (E. in India).
The buri is one of the largest palms. The trunk attains
a height of 20 m. and a diameter of 0.7 m.; the leaves are
up to 3 m. in length; the petioles supporting the leaves
are 3 m. long and 20 cm. thick. When the plant reaches
maturity, variously estimated from twenty-five to forty
years, it gradually drops all its leaves and develops at the
top of its trunk a much branching inflorescence often 7
m. high.
The trunk is very erect and spirally ridged. Its wood,
however, is too soft to be of any commercial value.
The full-grown leaf is circular in outline, with its lower
one-third to one-half entire, like the palm of the hand, and
the upper part cleft into 80 to 100 segments, each from 1.5
to 6 cm. wide and appearing like fingers spread apart.
The petioles supporting the leaves are provided with long,
stout, curved spines. Both the margin of the petiole and
the spines are black in color.
The individual flowers of the buri palm are greenish-
white in color and only from 5 to 6 mm. in diameter. In
spite of their minuteness, they are, nevertheless, perfect
flowers with six stamens and with calyx, corolla, and ovary
showing plainly a division into three parts. Thousands of
these flowers occur on the large, terminal, much-branched,
pyramidal inflorescence. The lower branches of this in-
florescence may be as much as 3.5 m. long, the upper
gradually shorter, the highest about 1 m. long.
From ten to twelve months after flowering, the fruits are
mature. They are from 2 to 2.5 cm. in diameter and each
contains an extremely hard seed 1.5 cm. in diameter. After
fruiting, the palm dies.
74
The buri palm is found in most parts of the Philippines,
but grows in greatest abundance in the central part of the
Pampanga Valley and in southern Tayabas.
PREPARATION.'
Buri strips.—Buri strips are prepared from the young,
unopened leaf of the buri palm. The coarsest strips are
made by separating the segments from the midribs and
drying them inthe sun. A higher grade of material results
from boiling them in water. Such strips are suitable only
for bayon (bag) manufacture and to be woven into coarse
mats for baling purposes.
Several methods of bleaching buri strips exist in various
localities. An exact description of the processes is some-
what difficult, since the persons who produce the strips have
no definite idea of the proportions and quantities of the
various materials which they use, and often do not care to
divulge what they consider trade secrets. In several cases,
nevertheless, supervising teachers have succeeded in obtain-
ing fairly exact data.on the preparation of buri strips.
However, the same method carried on in different towns
seems to result in different qualities of strips. These
differences probably result from slight variations in the
method of preparation. It has also been found that the
age of the leaf, as determined by the length of the petiole,
influences the color of the strips produced. In some districts
the unopened leaf is not taken if the petiole is over 2 inches
-inlength. In other places, leaves with petioles about 1 foot
long are considered ready to be cut. It is probable, too,
that the composition of the water in which the strips are
boiled influences its color. Mauban, in Tayabas Province,
has the reputation of producing the whitest buri strips.
Mr. John H. Finnigan, supervising teacher, attempted to
introduce buri strips into the schools of Gumaca, Tayabas,
where the buri palm is very plentiful. The work was in
charge of expert weavers from Mauban, but only a poor
quality of strips was produced. It was claimed that the
water in which the segments were boiled, according to the
*THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, Vol. I, No. 3, September, 1912.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EpUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XXV.
THE TALL PALM IN THE CENTER IS A BURI PALM.
LEFT OF IT ARE FISH-TAIL PALMS.
TO THE RIGHT AND
75
process which is explained later, did not whiten them. It
is a fact that in Mauban the water of the town fountain is
used to produce the fine white strips. During several years
of experiment, Mr. Finnigan found no place outside of
Mauban which produces strips equal in color to the Mauban
strips, but he has noted that the second best strips come
from San Fernando, Gumaca, where there is an especially
clear stream of water.
In fact, all reports would seem to indicate that clear, pure
water is essential to the production of the finest white buri
strips, and only such should be used in all the processes of
the various methods outlined here.
The Arayat process.—Mr. Robert Clauson, supervising
teacher, has determined the process of whitening buri strips
in Arayat, Pampanga, to be as follows: The segments are
separated from the midrib and rolled together loosely in
bundles the size of a plate so that the water may pass
between the segments. These rolls are placed in a large
jar‘ or vat of water containing tamarind leaves? and alum,
and the whole is boiled until about one-half of the water
has evaporated. During the boiling, the buri must be well
covered with tamarind leaves and must not be allowed to
project above the water. The rolls are then placed in a jar
full of clear water and left to soak for three days. The
strips are subsequently washed several times in the river
during a period of three days, and after each washing are
laid on the grass or along fences to dry. The oftener they
are alternately washed and dried the whiter and tougher
the material will be. After the final drying, which should
be thorough, the strips are rolled very tightly into bundles.
The San Luis method.—The method of whitening buri
strips followed in San Luis, Pampanga, is described by Mr.
James H. Bass, supervising teacher. The unopened leaves
are brought down the Chico River in rafts. The segments
are removed from the midrib and boiled for four hours in
5 gallons of water to which 1 liter of nipa vinegar, a lump
of alum the size of an egg, a handful of tamarind leaves,
*Tin cans should not be used for boiling acid solutions. Use
earthen jars.
* Tamarindus indica.
76
and a handful of pandakaki ' leaves have been added. Other
steps follow as in the previous process.
The Mauban process.—The following description is taken
from Circular No. 27, series 1911, of the division of Tayabas:
Let the unopened leaves, cut from the stalk, stand in a cool shady
place for several days. Open the leaves and separate the segments
from the midrib with a sharp knife. Put these carefully into a jar
or other suitable receptacle filled with a boiling solution of two-thirds
water and one-third white nipa or coconut vinegar. Keep the solution
boiling until the segments are cooked so soft that folding them leaves
no crease.
Spread the cooked leaves on clean grass to dry in the sun. The
drying process may require one or two days. When the segments are
quite dry, prepare a jar with clear, soft water and put them in this
to soak over night. In the morning remove them from the jar, wash
them thoroughly in clear running soft water, and place them in the
sun. At noon repeat the washing process until the segments open,
then dry thoroughly in the sun.
It is customary to roll the buri into coils in order to make it more
convenient to store. The dry leaflets may be made flexible for this
purpose by laying them on the grass at night. After a few minutes
they will be flexible enough to roll. Care must be taken to roll the
segments smoothly. When used, they should be smoothed carefully
and then split into the width required.
The process can also be followed with rice vinegar substituted for
the tuba vinegar.
Rice vinegar is made as follows: Wash three-fourths liter of rice
and cook it in water until it becomes very soft and starchy. Put this
in a clean jar and add cold water until the jar is two-thirds full, then
cover the jar and let it stand five or six days. This mixture will
become very sour. Strain it through a piece of sinamay or other
cloth. Cook the segments in this mixture instead of in the solution
described in the first process, and then carry out all the other steps.
The Romblon process.—In Romblon great care is ex-
ercised as to the age of the unopened leaf taken for the
production of strips. If it is intended to produce bleached
material, leaves having petioles about 2 inches long are
selected. In the following description, which was submitted
by Mr. R. L. Barron, head teacher, one unopened leaf is
taken asaunit. The midribs are removed and the segments
are rolled into round bundles, say, by fives. These are
boiled in clear water for about three hours. The leaves
" Tabernaemontona pandacaqui.
cy
are then placed in a mixture of half a liter of tuba vinegar
(or 3 liters of vinegar made from cooked rice or one-fourth
liter of lemon juice) to which enough water has been added
to cover the rolls of buri, and boiled for about five hours.
The material is then spread in the sun for three days to dry,
care being taken that it is not exposed to rain or dew. The
segments are then placed in cool, clear water for twelve
hours and again placed out in the sun to dry for two days.
' Buri raffia—The full-grown, opened buri leaf is large
and circular in outline, but as a shoot—before its surface
is exposed to the sun—the leaf blade is folded together like
afan. Each fold is made up of two sides and may be called
a leaf segment. Along the thin edges the segments are
partly united. They are closely packed together and are
nearly of the same width, the largest in the center being
about 2 m. long, the others on both sides gradually shorter.
The leaf blade is borne on a long petiole grooved on its
upper surface.
Buri raffia is the skin stripped from the leaf segments of
the buri shoot before the blade has unfolded.
Each segment is like a long narrow leaf, folded at its
midrib. The skin for the raffia is pulled off from the outer
surface of the two halves. Occasionally it is derived from
the inner surface. Raffia cannot be obtained from the
opened buri leaf, as the skin adheres too tenaciously to the
underlying tissue to be removed to advantage.
The epidermis should be removed, preferably immediately
after the shoots have been cut from the trunk, or at least
within twenty-four hours. If this is not done, it is not only
difficult to obtain the raffia, but in stripping the material
is easily torn into shreds and is then less valuable for
industrial purposes.
To obtain the raffia, a leaf segment is selected and its
midrib is cut away. This gives two strips from each
segment. The best raffia is obtained from the upper surface
of each strip.
_ The base of the leaf segment is ordinarily held in position
by the right foot. The upper surface of the segment is
held upward and in such a way that the segment is parallel
to the body. About 2 inches of the tip of the segment is
78
grasped with the left hand (palm upward) and folded
forward with thumb and forefinger, so that the two upper
surfaces are brought in contact. The folded segment is
then usually placed on the knee with the thumb bearing
strongly on the folded part. Keeping the left hand in this
position, the leaf is then grasped by the right hand and
pulled so that a sort of blister is formed at the crease. (To
do this deftly requires practice.) Holding the leaf taut,
the skin is then picked up at the blister and pulled away
from the underlying tissue.
During the operation it is essential that the segment be
kept taut, or the skin will be torn into several strips. Ifa
very white material is desired, the raffia obtained must be
freed from the pulp, which still adheres to it, by being
scraped with a knife. It is immediately placed in the sun
for three hours.
In practice, the skin from the inner surface of the segment
is seldom used for raffia. It can be prepared by scraping
away the pulp with a sharp knife, a process which requires
considerably more time than that needed in preparing the
outside skin. The inner skin is stronger than the outer, but
it is not so light in color and must not be combined with it
if a uniform color effect is desired.
Buri raffia is easily manipulated by little hands and is
consequently an excellent material for use by young children.
Another notable quality is the ease with which it is dyed
and the beautiful tones which it takes. The raffia should
be dampened before being used.
Buntal..—Buntal is obtained from the petiole of the
opened leaf of young buri palms.
The process of extraction is as follows: The petiole of
the opened buri leaf is cut off from the trunk at its base and
generally divided into pieces about 3 to 4 feet long. The
spines which occur on the sides are removed. A few inches
of the epidermis on both sides near the base of the petiole
are taken off and the exposed part thoroughly beaten with a
wooden club or blade of a bolo until the ends of the fibers
* Discussion on the preparation of buntal and Calasiao fibers is
based mainly on Bulletin No. 33, Bureau of Education.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XXVI.
BURI PALM IN FLOWER, WITH THE LEAVES BENT OVER AND DEAD.
79
separate from the surrounding pulp. A strip of epidermis
is then partly torn off from the upper surface. With it
the petiole is tied in a slanting position to a cross piece of
some kind and in such a way that the beaten end is nearest
the stripper. A few fibers are then grasped in the hand
and drawn out with a steady pull, the operation requiring
skill and practice.
If the whole petiole is pounded, it is much easier to pull
out the fibers, but they are likely to be discolored on drying.
The extraction of the fiber is best done in the shade or
early in the morning or late afternoons, while the petiole is
still fresh. The buntal fibers obtained vary in grade. This,
as a rule, depends on the age of the fibers—the youngest
being the finest; and the oldest, the coarsest.
There are various methods applied by Filipinos in getting
the extracted buntal fibers ready for weaving. They may
be immersed for two or three days in jars filled with water
in which rice has been cooked and then placed for three or
four days in vinegar to toughen the fiber. Subsequently
they are washed in clear water and are then ready to be used.
Sometimes the first part of the process just described is
omitted and the buntal fibers are put for about one or two
weeks in jars containing half vinegar and half water, after
which the fibers are taken out and plunged into boiling
water and allowed to stay in it for a few minutes until the
water boils again. They are then taken out and dried.
There is still another process followed. The fiber is first
soaked in water and then boiled in water containing vinegar.
If it is desired to flatten the fibers one of two processes
may be followed. The first is more laborious and takes a
longer time and is generally tried on the finer grade of
buntal. The second is easier and quicker and applied to
coarser fiber. The first consists in working the fiber
between a sharp-edged instrument of some kind and the
thumb; the second, in rolling the fiber under a heavy,
cylindrical log working in a groove.
Like all fibers, buntal should be worked in a cool, moist
atmosphere, otherwise it becomes too brittle. The best
time is in the cool of the morning or evening on bright days
or at any time on cloudy and rainy days.
80
Buri petiole-—The outer surface of the buri petiole yields
rather unsatisfactory splints.
Calasiao strips.—Calasiao strips are oaicinad from the
midribs of the unopened buri leaf shoots. In maturity
these midribs are spread out radially and serve to hold up
the leaf surface to the sunlight. The midribs used for
strips must be carefully selected or they will not all be
uniform in color—some will be darker than others—due
to the fact that, since they are crowded together in the
shoot, some midribs are exposed to the light while others are
not. Only the unexposed midribs should be used if a good
white fiber is desired.
As previously explained under buri raffia, the blade in the
shoot-is folded. Each fold is a segment. The segments in
the unopened and opened blade are partly united.
These segments are separated but not cut from the petiole,
and the folds are spread out for drying during several
mornings and afternoons or for a day or two in some shady
place. Quick drying in the direct rays of the sun makes
the midribs very brittle. When there is but little moisture
left in the midribs they are ready to be worked.
The work is done at night or in some cool, moist, shady
place. The leafy parts of the segments are removed from
the midrib with a knife or sharp instrument of some kind.
The midribs are then split lengthwise into two or sometimes
more parts and allowed to dry for another day. They are
then made finer by drawing them between a knife and any
solid object having a small groove. The result is the
Calasiao strip. :
Coarse buri midrib splints —The midribs of the unopened
buri leaf after drying and trimming form good spokes and
excellent weavers.
USES.
Buri strips.—Buri is the easiest of all materials to weave
and can therefore be used to advantage in simple exercises
by primary pupils.
Hats.—Buri hats, either in a single or double weave, are
exported from the Philippines in large quantities and the
trade in them seems to be steadily increasing. The public
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XXVII,
BUNTAL FIBERS EXTRACTED FROM THE PETIOLE OF AN OPENED BURI LEAF.
Ue
2
=F
i
81
schools of Arayat, Pampanga, have attempted to improve
the hat by using four-ply buri. Each ply is narrower than
the one below it and the effect is rather pleasing.
Mats.—In all buri districts, mats are made from bleached
buri strips and are sold by the thousands in local and inter-
provincial trade. The colors are often too bright and not
well combined. The best buri mats are made on the island
of Romblon and are distinguished from other mats by their
“open-work” borders. Romblon schools have sent in to the
industrial museum of the Bureau of Education a number of
buri doilies of various shapes and designs which are rather
attractive. Buri mats are inferior to sabutan mats in
wearing qualities.
Bayones.—Unbleached buri strips are used in making
“‘bayones,” or sacks, employed as containers for sugar and
other products. Necessarily, they must be produced cheaply
and their making is not advisable except in the lower grades
of the public schools—and then more in the nature of a
class exercise. They are not very strong, but as bags of
this kind are usually intended for temporary use, cheapness
in price rather than strength, is the first consideration.
Desk baskets.—The public schools in several provinces
are making desk baskets in which fine buri strips are knotted
around a lattice work of thin sticks of bamboo, rattan, or
other woody fiber. These baskets are decorated around the
rim with nito and will readily take the place of wire letter
trays used in offices. Such buri baskets are superior to those
made of wire in that they will neither scratch the table
nor rust.
Hand bags.—A number of schools are making hand bags
in the over and under weave, hexagonal weave, or by knot-
ting fine buri strips around a foundation. One of these
bags from Bohol in the industrial museum of the Bureau
of Education, illustrating the over and under weave, has
elicited much favorable comment and demonstrated that
a good type of hand bag can be made of buri strips.
Button and collar boxes.—The Mangyans of Mindoro
make very pretty baskets, hexagonal in weave, that can
be used for collars or small articles, in which buri, black
1201394
82
nito, and rattan dyed red are utilized. The buri serves
as a foundation upon which the materials just mentioned
-are superimposed. The baskets hold their shape by having
a few strips of bamboo inserted in the top of the cover and
at the bottom. Romblon baskets of this type are more
elaborate; decorations of various designs and colors being
embroidered into the hexagonal weave.
Tobacco cases.—Cigarette cases of buri and nito find a
very ready sale. They are woven in the ordinary mat
weave, but have narrow black nito strips superimposed on
wider buri strips.
Fans.—Fans are sometimes made of buri, but as yet the
product is rather crude and a better article must be made
if a steady sale for them is to be established.
Buri raffia—The material sold in foreign markets as
raffia is generally obtained from the Raphia ruffia palm
of Madagascar. The raffia used in the Philippines is from
the buri palm and compares favorably with that from the |
raphia palm.
Buri raffia takes colors readily and fine results can be
obtained. It is a material well adapted for the making of
coiled baskets. Care, however, should be taken to see that
the colors used are pleasing and harmonious. Quite as
important is also the shape of the baskets. They should
be symmetrical and graceful in outline.
In Bohol and other parts of the Visayas, buri raffia is
woven into cloth and mats. These mats are rather expen-
sive as yet and not very durable.
Buri raffia, however, is excellent for the making of car-
riage cushions or for cushions to be thrown into easy chairs
or cozy corners. The carriage cushions ought not to be
embellished with velvet edges in imitation of Japanese and
foreign styles, for prettier cushions can be made by using
the same material or at least native Philippine material
instead of velvet. The cushions for the home can be made
fancy and artistic by embroidering them with colored abaca
braid or cord. Window hangings of buri raffia cloth with
stenciled bamboo or Philippine designs, and picture frames
made of this material with a design stenciled or embroidered
on in colors, are suitable for dens or for homes where some-
83
thing ornamental and not too expensive is desired. The
cloth is excellent for screens.
In a number of schools experiments have been made to
_ determine the suitability of buri raffia for various articles.
Slippers with abaca soles and buri raffia uppers have been
tried. The raffia in a macramé weave has been utilized for
bags and cushions. Attempts have been made to crochet
buri raffia for doilies.
It might also be well to try out buri raffia for table covers,
screens, piano scarfs, and other articles intended for sum-
mer use in country houses in the United States.
In the Philippines, the raffia is also occasionally woven
into hats.
Calasiao hats.—The principal use of Calasiao strips is
for hats. These are woven chiefly in Calasiao, Pangasinan,
and are known in Manila by the name of the town of their
principal manufacture. In the Visayas, they are more gen-
erally called Pototan hats, as Pototan, Iloilo, makes them
in large quantities. The hats are always made in the close
weave and can generally be distinguished from other Philip-
pine hats by the liberal quantity of rice powder with which
they are covered. Calasiao strips bleach fairly easily and
hold their color well. The hats have a rather dull appear-
ance, and in this they differ from the “close weave” buntal
and rattan hats with their silky or glossy surface. In the
medium and poor grades of Calasiao hats a few light-brown
strands occur in the weave which are due to the fact that
less care has been exercised in selecting the midribs which
are not all of the same shade. The Calasiao hats are more
expensive than those made of bamboo and at the same time
are better not only in appearance, but also in wearing qual-
ities, as the strips are more pliable and do not break as
easily as bamboo strips do. Occasionally Calasiao strips
are woven into hats in combination with nito strips.
Tobacco cases.—In Pangasinan and some towns in the
Visayas, very fine Calasiao strips either alone or inter-
woven with nito strips are made into very pretty tobacco
cases—small ones for cigarettes and large ones for cigars.
The majority of these cases are very dainty and well made,
and if not priced too high find a ready sale in local markets.
84
Basketry.—Within recent years a number of public
schools have begun to utilize successfully the midribs of the
unopened buri palm shoot for baskets and trays of various
types. For such articles the midribs need less careful prep-
aration than that required for Calasiao hats.
Brooms.—Rough brooms are also made from buri midribs.
Buntal hats.—The buntal fiber is used in the making of
hats, also known locally as Lucban hats, from the town of
origin in Tayabas Province. In export trade they are
known as “Bangkok” hats, although none are shipped from
that port. These hats are made in the “open,” or simple
over and under weave, which results in a very light hat now
popular in the United States. Fancy weaves are introduced
into these hats for decorative purposes. One such weave
gives an effect resembling the Leghorn straws of Italy.
The buntal fiber is obtained in large quantities in a num-
ber of towns in Tayabas and in a few places in Laguna.
The principal center of trade and manufacture for these
hats is Lucban, Tayabas, but there is also a scattered pro-
duction of this kind of hat in a few other provinces, among
the more important of which are Laguna, Negros, Cama-
rines, and Ilocos.
Buntal fibers were introduced into the town of Baliuag,
Bulacan, a few years ago. The introduction was rather
fortunate, for the weaving of the buntal in the “close”
weave—the same as bamboo—has, in the opinion of many
people, improved its appearance greatly. At present, about
half the hat weavers in Baliuag and’ neighboring barrios
have turned to the making of buntal instead of bamboo
hats. The buntal fibers are much finer than the usual grade
of bamboo splints. Moreover, the close, sawali or twilled
weave employed takes much more time than does the open
weave of Lucban. Only the best weavers can make the
buntal-sawalis or bali-buntals as these Baliuag hats are
called. Hence they are much more expensive than the Luc-
ban product, grade for grade. These hats have sold
well in the United States and are usually known there as
““Manilas.”
For hats in the ‘open’ weave the buntal fibers are flat-
tened; for those in the “close” weave, they are usually left
in their natural round state.
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85
Lucban hats are light, pliable, durable, and very neat in
appearance. The finest grade of the Baliuag buntal hat
has a beautiful sheen, is exquisite in workmanship, and
the peer of any straw hat made. It is too light to afford
sufficient protection from the rays of a tropical sun at mid-
day, but is excellent for evening or for summer wear in
temperate regions.
Buntal baskets, hats, and tobacco cases.—Buntal fibers
are used as a weaver for both body and rims of small
baskets and for rims only of large baskets. They also
serve well for pretty cigar and cigarette cases.
Rope and brooms.—The whole petiole is sometimes
pounded and the fibers are extracted and made into rope.
The rope is strong, but the use of the material for such
purpose ought not to be encouraged as finer and more remu-
nerative articles can be made from buntal. The fibers are
also utilized at times for making floor or whisk brooms.
These floor brooms are for sale in a number of Chinese
stores in Manila. It would not seem advisable, however, to
encourage in schools the making of a cheap article from a
fine fiber.
Buri splints.—Splints obtained from the petiole of the
buri palm are not as satisfactory in basketry as those from
other palms, but they can be utilized.
SAGUISE PALM.
(Heterospathe elata.)
Sagise, seguise (Bohol); taguisi (Albay). Collected also by B. of S.
in Cagayan, Camarines, Cebu, Laguna, Mindoro, Zamboanga.
This species of palm is widely distributed throughout the
Islands, but has so far been reported to the Bureau of Edu-
cation only from Bohol and Albay. The compound leaves
are about 4 m. long; the petioles 1.5 m. in length. The
palm resembles dumayaca, but the petiole is more deeply
grooved. On each side of the petiole there are about 70
leaflets.
The division superintendent of schools for Bohol reports
that this palm is used for hats. The petiole yields a mate-
rial white in color, good for weavers, but not for spokes.
86
PALMA BRAVA.
(Livistona rotundifolia.)
Palma brava (Sp., F.), (Pangasinan) ; abiang (Pangasinan); anadao,
labig (Il.); anahao (Albay, (T.) Laguna, Tayabas); anan,
ballang (Cagayan); anao (Iban.); bagsang (Samar); bahi
(Vis.); palmeto (E.).
The palm grows to a height of 15 to 20 m. The leaves
are crowded together at the apex of the trunk. They are
orbicular and comparatively large and consist of segments
separated and pointed at the circumference. The petioles
that support them are long and armed on the sides with
hard sharp spines.
USES.
Wood.—Aside from a rather restricted use for furniture,
the wood of this palm is utilized by wild tribes for bows
and for carrying poles in the cities.
Leaves.—The leaves of this and related species are used
in foreign countries for palm fans. In the Philippines they
are made into salakots (round native unblocked hats) and
into native raincoats. The segments are often separated
and used the same as nipa thatch. The petioles of this
palm have not yet been thoroughly tried out for industrial
purposes.
NIPA PALM.
(Nipa fructicans.)
Nipa (E., F.) (Antique, Cebu, Pampanga); sasa (T.) (Mindoro,
Pampanga); lasa (T.); saga (Zambales) ; tata (Cagayan).
It is interesting to note the entire absence of a trunk in
this palm and the presence of large leaves 5 to 10 m. long,
supported on stout petioles. The male inflorescence is
brown, erect, and up to 1 m. in height. The fruit is in
the form of a large ball which breaks apart when ripe,
liberating the seeds that float about over the water and
finally settle in the mud and start to grow.
DISTRIBUTION.
Nipa palms occur throughout the Philippines along tidal
streams and especially in swamps along the deltas of rivers.
They are also found in India and from Malaya to Australia.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XXIX.
Reprint Phil. Journ. Sci., Vol. VI, No. 2.
NIPA FRUIT.
87
PREPARATION.
Splints.—Petiole splints are prepared from the petioles
in the same way as other palms, but they are entirely un-
suited for spokes, being too brittle. The middle-aged
petioles may be utilized for weavers. The colors are not
satisfactory.
USES.
Leaves.—The leaves of the nipa palm form one of the
most common roof thatches in the Philippines. In the
poorer type of houses they are also employed for the sides.
They are used, too, for hats and raincoats, and can be
woven into rough mats.
Midribs.—The midribs, when stripped from the leaflets,
are used in making cheap brooms. They are also employed
for certain types of trays and baskets.
Chapter VIIL—RATTANS.*
The rattans are usually long, slender, climbing palms
growing in the deep shade of dense tropical and subtropical
forests. They are generally very local in their distribution,
and a certain species abundant in one district may be
entirely absent from another locality abounding in rattan
palms. Ordinarily the palms have a single main stem with-
out branches; but, if their growing point is injured,
branches are formed. Young rattans generally have leaves
with spines and thus can be easily distinguished from other
young palms. Occasionally, as in Baliuag, Bulacan, a few
rattan palms are found in a more or less cultivated state
in yards and gardens at the homes of some of the people.
In the Philippines two genera of rattans are important
industrially ; viz, Calamus and Daemonorops.
THE GENUS CALAMUS.
Species of rattan of the genus Calamus may be erect or
scandent and a few feet or one hundred or more feet in
length. As a rule, the stems are slender, of the same
diameter throughout, and not much thicker than the little
finger. With very few exceptions, all parts of the plant
are abundantly supplied with spines. These may be long,
straight, and narrow as on the leaf petiole, or like “‘prickles”
as on the leaf surface. The slender spines become hard
and rigid and often brown or black in color on the leaf
sheath. Besides these spines and prickles mentioned, which
serve mainly to protect the plant, other spines may be
present—short, stout, and recurved like a cat’s claws—
occurring on whiplike ends (flagella) which enable the plant
to attach itself to other forest plants and so reach the
sunlight.
* The botanical description is based mainly on O. Beccari’s treatise
on Calamus and Daemonorops in the Annals of the Royal Botanical
Garden, Calcutta, vols. 11 and 12.
88
PLATE XXX.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
A RATTAN SEEDLING.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANIS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XXXI.
From Annals of the Royal Botanical Garden, Calcutta.
CALAMUS MOLLIS (MALE INFLORESCENCE).
89
The leaves appear to be arranged alternately on the stem,
due to the rapid growth of the internodes. That they really
have a spiral arrangement may be determined by examining
the crown of the plant. The whole leaf is of a feathery
appearance and is made up of leaflets which vary in number
for the different species. These leaflets are usually long
and slender, though other types also occur. They diminish
in width toward the petiole (rachis) and are attached to
it by a very narrow base. The blades of the leaflets are
fine in texture and although of the same green color on
both sides, the upper surface is usually shiny and the lower
dull. The basal portion of the leaf is called the leaf sheath
and envelopes the stem completely so that the whole stem
of the growing rattan is made up on the outside of these
leaf sheaths.
At present about 17 species of Calamus are known in
the Philippines. The most important commercially being
Calamus mollis which is used in the manufacture of hats.
UAY.
(Calamus mollis.)
Uay (Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu, Bohol, Oriental Negros, Pangasinan) ;
babuyan (Zambal in Zambales); bari (Iban.); barit (Il. in
Tarlac, Union, Zambales) ; bejuco (Sp.); hanapas (Albay); oey
(Pangasinan); tagalwa (Leyte); tagocan (Oriental Negros) ;
yantoc (Cavite).
This plant is a slender, climbing palm from two to many
meters in length and with stem from 10 to 12 mm. in
diameter. The longer palms especially are armed with
sharp, slender spines. The leaflets are from 40 to 80 cm.
long and are made up of leaflets, the largest of which are
20 to 40 cm. in length and 20 to 25 mm. in width. The
flowers are yellow and fragrant and the fruits are numerous,
ellipsoid in shape, and about 1 cm. long.
PREPARATION.
Like all rattans, the stems of this species are easily pre-
pared by removing with a sharp knife the leaf sheaths that
surround them. The stems are then cleaned and cut off
at the joints; the internodes being about 45 cm. in length
90
and 1 to 2 cm. in width and reddish or brown in color.
These internodes are then dried, split into halves, quarters,
and eighths, and the soft interior removed. The inside
part of the splints is then further whittled down until they
are very fine. They are then passed between a sharp blade
and a smooth piece of glass, on which there is often a fine
groove. By pulling the splints between the glass and the
blade the reddish epidermis is removed. Unless great care
is taken, the epidermis is not always entirely removed and
this accounts for the dark streaks seen in rattan hats. The
preparation of the splints requires skill and dexterity, for
the fine fiber is easily broken when pulled under the knife.
USES.
Hats.—The chief use of this species of rattan is for the
manufacture of hats. Owing to the fact that it often takes
several months to make one rattan hat and that they must
be woven preferably evenings or mornings, and because of
the skill required to prepare the material, rattan hats are
now seldom made and those that are made fetch high prices.
Rattan hats are now made perhaps most frequently in
Baliuag, Bulacan.
THE GENUS DAEMONOROPS.
In many ways this genus is similar to Calamus. A few
of the most important differences are the larger diameter
of the stem and the fact that the leaf sheaths never bear
whiplike ends. The leaf sheaths of the species Calamus
may or may not have these whiplike processes. In Dae-
monorops the upper parts of the leaves always end in some
sort of an appendage, while in Calamus such appendages
are entirely absent. In Daemonorops the leaflets are usually
narrow and pointed, while in Calamus they are variable.
SAMULIG.
(Daemonorops gaudichaudii.)
Samulig, lacaon, ouay babae, ouay na binabae, palasan, parasan,
samulig, tikol (Sorsogon) ; bogbog (Tarlac) ; gatasan (Camarines,
Capiz, Sorsogon); labnig (Albay, Sorsogon, Tayabas).
This species of rattan palm is more or less scandent or
climbing. The sheathed stem is from 2 to 5 cm. in
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EpucaTiIon BULLETIN N
0. 49.] PLATE XXxXil.
From Annals of the Royal Botanical Garden, Calcutta.
CALAMUS MOLLIS (FEMALE INFLORESCENCE AND FRUIT).
-
ie
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XXXII.
From Annals of the Royal Botanical Garden, Caleutta.
DAEMONOROPS GAUDICHAUDII.
i
91
diameter. The leaves are 1.5 to 2 m. long, feathery in
appearance, and supported on petioles about 20 to 40 cm.
long. Each leaf is compound and made up of numerous
leaflets; the larger ones being 35 to 45 cm. long and 15
to 25 cm. broad.
DISTRIBUTION.
This rattan is found in the dense forests of most parts of
the Philippines. In former years it was collected in large
quantities near the towns of Angat and Norzagaray, Bula-
can. At the present time, owing to the indiscriminate way
in which the palms were cut, very little rattan is found near
the towns mentioned. A trip of two to three days far into
the interior of the Negrito country is now necessary to
obtain rattan of the diameter necessary for furniture
making. It is for this reason that some of the rattan fac-
tories in San Miguel, Bulacan, procure their rattan from
Iba, Zambales, and although the latter place is very distant
from San Miguel, rattan can be bought cheaper from Iba
than in Angat or Norzagaray, in spite of the much longer
water and land transportation necessary.
PREPARATION.
The removal of the leaf sheaths makes the stem ready
for use.
Framework.—For the making of the framework of chairs
and similar articles, the rattan stalks are cut into the sizes
necessary for the making of the various parts. They are
then put and kept in steam for about ten minutes and
transferred upon an iron mold of the desired shape and
placed under a roller. The rattan being soft and pliable
assumes the shape of the mold. The rattan is then tied
to the mold and allowed to cool and harden. In order that
the rattan may retain the shape of the mold permanently,
both the mold and the rattan are placed in steam for about
fifteen minutes. After cooling, the mold is removed and the
rattan will retain the shape that has been given to it.
Cane seats.—For the seats of chairs, rattan of small
diameter is used. It is divided into halves, quarters, and
eighths and the inner part removed. The rattan splints are
92
then passed under a knife to make them of uniform thick-
ness. After this operation they are passed between two
knives to make them of uniform width.
Furniture.—The making of rattan furniture in the prov-
inces north of Manila is of comparatively recent date.
There are at present four rattan furniture factories in San
Miguel, Bulacan; two in Baliuag, Bulacan; one in Angeles,
Pampanga; and one in San Pedro Macati, Rizal.
In San Miguel, Bulacan, the workers receive 20 centavos
for putting the parts of the chair together. A good laborer
working from 7 in the morning until 6 at night can assemble
seven chairs. The weaving of the seats is left to women
who take them to their homes and receive 20 centavos apiece
for their work. The cost of material is #13 per 100 pieces,
and it takes about 34 pieces to make one chair.
Chapter IX.—VINES.*
Many vines growing in the Tropics develop air roets
high above the ground from long, clambering, fleshy stem
structures. Due to the fact that they attach themselves to
tree trunks and cliffs by means of small horizontal roots,
an impression often prevails that they are parasites. They
are not parasites, however, for their own underground roots
and the air roots develop as the plants grow older, making
the vines independent of other plants for their food supply.
Another very characteristic feature of tropical forests and
jungles is the long ropelike vines that hang down from
trees hindering or obstructing passage through the forest.
These vines are often used by the hill people for tying
purposes.
Vines usually rise above the ground by twining around
an object or by clutching some support by means of tendrils.
An example of a twining industrial vine is pamago and
of one with tendrils, the vegetable sponge.
AIR ROOTS.
The air roots of many different species of aroids are now
used in Philippine public schools as a foundation for coiled
baskets and also, either bleached or unbleached, for the
fabrication of various types of baskets. The hill people
living in or near dense tropical forests have undoubtedly
known air roots and have used them to some extent for
tying purposes perhaps for ages, but it has remained for the
public schools to prove that they are also suitable for other
purposes.
These air roots were first tried for baskets in the schools
*A slight deviation will be made here from the alphabetical
arrangement followed in other chapters, as it is advisable to group
together all plants with air roots.
93
94
in the Bicol Peninsula: and their Bicol name, “amlong,”’
has come into general school use. In the Bicol Provinces
they speak of white, brown, and black amlong, implying
that the part used—central part of the air root (central
cylinder)—stays white or becomes brown or almost black
in color after removal from the surrounding tissue.’
The length of these air roots varies; many of them are
15 m. or more long. They usually originate from various
parts of the stem and grow toward the ground. Normally,
they never branch, but if a root is injured new branches
are formed above the injured or broken part. Because of
the fact that the roots do not develop branches, they are -
preferred to jointed vines as a basketry material.
The leaves of aroids vary in length from 1 dm. to over
1 m. and are generally arranged alternately on a climbing
stem several centimeters in diameter. They are rather
thick, not as fleshy as the leaves of maguey, but considerably
thicker than ordinary plant leaves. In many Araceae (the
family to which amlong belongs) the leaves are at first
entire, but later become deeply indented. Both stamens
and pistils of the flowers may or may not be borne on the
same thick, fleshy, fingerlike organ called a spadix. A kind
of hood called a spathe usually surrounds the spadix.
In general, it is not difficult to recognize in the forest
plants having air roots (aroids). It is, however, often hard
*THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, Vol. I, No. 1, 1912, Philippine
Baskets, page 12: “The manner in which these materials (air roots,
certain vines, nito, irao, palm petioles) came to be used is interesting.
The children in the public schools of Polangui, Albay, had been making
bamboo baskets, as that was supposed to be the cheapest material
and the one easiest of access. But as the ribs always broke at any
point where they were sharply bent, teachers and pupils were urged
to find some cheap material that would not have this fault. They
began looking about and asking the older people. As a result certain
air roots which had previously been employed as a tying material
were found satisfactory for basket making. Banban was also brought
into school use. When banban became scarce, it was found that palm
petioles could be substituted for it. Polangui baskets have therefore
derived their name from this town. Baskets of this type were gotten
out in 1910 by a Filipino teacher, Pedro Espinas.”
7 An example of each kind will be briefly discussed under these
colors for amlong.
95
to distinguish between one kind and another, as species are
often based on minute but important structural character-
istics of flowers and slight but typical variations in the
venation and shape of the leaf. Then, too, aroids which
grow on forest trees may have their leafy part a hundred
feet or more above the ground. For this reason it is quite
impossible to distinguish the various species on sight. It
is therefore not of sufficient practical importance to describe
separately each one of the species that are known to be used
at present in the schools.’
A description of the forest near Puerto Galera, Mindoro,
where the writer found air roots in plenty, should prove
of interest to those unfamiliar with the habitat of these
aroids. A good half day’s journey from town, amlong was
found in fair quantity on the sides of heavily wooded moun-
tains, but more plentiful in ravines or gulleys. In these
places, bird’s-nest ferns were very abundant and the bark
of many trees was covered with moss. So humid were the
surroundings that even the edges of many leaves were
covered with fringes of moss. The trees and plants were
so close together that only a little of the light of the sun
was able to find its way to the ground through the dense
mass of foliage. The earth even after a bright, sunny day
was found damp late in the afternoon. The ground was
covered with decaying vegetation. It was a country in
which leeches, mosquitoes, and insects were plentiful. The
forest trees grew to a great height. The leaves of amlong
were around the upper part of the trunks of the trees and
roots of various lengths dangled down from aroid stems.
*Amlong: Pothos longifolius: Hipan, oroola (Sorsogon); Pothos
ovatifolius: Kalot-kagot (Albay, Camarines, Samar, Sorsogon),
kalipkip (Tayabas); Pothos philippinensis: baladauan, oroolaypan
(Albay, Bataan, Bulacan); pothos rumphii (Albay, Laguna, Mindoro,
Oriental Negros); raphidophora perkinsiae (Benguet, Tayabas).
Black amlong: Raphidophora merrillii: amlong (Albay, Bohol,
Sorsogon, Tarlac); amiling (Gad. in Nueva Vizcaya); amolong,
gayaman kilat, maragayaman (Zambal); amuling (Il. in Nueva Viz-
caya); bacog (Albay); balision (Isi. in Nueva Vizcaya); garusiba
(Isabela) ; lukmoy (Batangas, Tayabas, Mindoro); takoling (Bohol,
Cebu); tibatib (Cavite, Laguna).
White amlong: Epipremnum elmerianum (Leyte, Mindoro).
96
The question has been brought up whether the raising
of amlong is feasible in towns where the supply of air roots
for basketry is becoming scarce. As will be seen from the
foregoing, air roots develop best in damp, dense tropical
forests. While several species! of aroids producing air
roots are found in cultivation or at least semicultivation in a
number of Philippine towns, their development of air roots
is rather poor and slow.
DESCRIPTION.
The tips of the air roots are generally from 2 to 5 m.
from the ground and the roots are obtained by simply
pulling them down. Depending on the strength of the pull
and the luck of the gatherer, he will be able to obtain pieces
of roots ranging in length from a few meters to 20 m. or
more.
The roots are usually brown in color, often fuzzy, and
covered exteriorly with a thin dead epidermis. This epi-
dermis when removed reveals the living epidermis, green
in color or sometimes white. Within this skin is the white
succulent tissue called the cortex and within the cortex the
central cylinder.
As is natural, the middle-aged roots produce the best
material. In the very young roots the inner part, or central
cylinder, is too soft to permit of its use as a commercial
fiber. Old roots may be utilized although they are not
as pliable as middle-aged roots.
PREPARATION.
The only part of the root which is of commercial impor-
tance and which is used in basketry is the inner part,
or central cylinder. The central cylinder may be removed
from the outer part—cortex and epidermis—by taking hold
of it firmly and pulling it down. To do this deftly of course
requires experience.
The central cylinder can be pulled out quicker by making
a circular incision around the cortex or twisting the latter,
*Ex. Raphidophora merrillii, Scindapsus aureus. See also THE
PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, Vol. I, No. 4.
“SSONSOSAYHOTANI SMITYSONIS “AHSATS ‘MOIHL DSNIMOHS ‘(2Yy22400w vioydoprydny) SNOWY MOVIE
“AIXXX 3LV1d [6h ‘ON NILATING NOILVONAY 40 AVaYAG—SINV1Iqg YAGIlq IWIYLSNaNT
97
about 2 cm. from the end of the root. The cylinder is then
pulled down so that it emerges from one side only, thus
breaking the cortex about 1 dm. in length. Then holding
the root firmly against the stem of a tree, that can be
conveniently encircled with the hand, the thumb of the left
hand is interposed from above between the cylinder and the
cortex. The cylinder is held tightly between the thumb
and the tree while the right hand keeps on pulling the
cylinder toward the body, the cortex falling to the ground.
As soon as a piece of cylinder of sufficient length has been
pulled out, it may be wound around the hand to give a
firmer grip in pulling.
The process is best performed in the field immediately
after collection, as the cylinder then pulls out easily from
the cortex. It also saves one the burden of carrying home
much useless material. In general, the hill people will have
to be employed to collect and bring in this material.
USES.
Air roots furnish a strong, round, pliable material of
small and even diameter which may be used in basketry
either split or entire. Roots, or rather central cylinders,
that are naturally white need no further preparation before
being used. Amlong, either brown or black, may be kept
that color or may be bleached as explained under ‘‘Brown
amlong.”
The roots may be used instead of the core of rattan for
furniture purposes and as foundations on which to wind
lupis, raffia, and other materials. Hand satchels and other
objects made from round rattan can also be woven from
air roots. The material in combination with nito is also
suitable for lamp shades.
WHITE AMLONG.
(Epipremnum elmerianum.)
This species, belonging to the family of Araceae, has
a central cylinder which, after being stripped of its sur-
rounding tissue, stays white without any further prepara-
tion. If any species deserves the name of white amlong,
1201897
98
it is this one, although other species will probably be found
in the course of time that may receive the name of white
amlong with equal merit. Botanically the main difference
between the genera Epipremnum and Raphidophora is not
in the shape of the leaves, but in the structure of the
flowers.
BROWN AMLONG.
(Raphidophora copelandit.)
(Benguet, Davao, Mindoro.) 7
This species and Raphidophora merrill appear at first
sight to have leaves of similar form. However, a closer
inspection of the segments and venation of the leaves reveals
marked differences.
The young leaves of both this species and of R. merrillii
are very different from their adult form. When young,
the leaves are entire and continue to be so for quite a while;
finally they become indented and assume a shape charac-
teristic of many aroid leaves.
In R. copelandii the air roots occur near the axils of the
leaves, while in R. merrillii the air roots are found on the
lower part of the stem; the leaf of R. copelandii is also
thinner than that of R. merrillit.
When an air root of the brown amlong plant is first
stripped of its central cylinder, the latter is white in color
but soon changes to brown on exposure to air. The color
may be improved somewhat—that is, made lighter—by rub-
bing it soon after exposure with wet sand and drying it
in the sun.
This brown amlong may be whitened by putting it in
a solution of sodium peroxide. This solution is made up
in the proportion of 2 tablespoonfuls of peroxide to 10 to
15 liters of water. It is best to keep this mixture in a
glass vessel. The amlong is allowed to stay in the solution
for twenty-four hours and it is then washed in clear, fresh
water and hung out to dry in the sun for a day. This
procedure is repeated three to four times, each time with
a fresh solution of the peroxide.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XXXV.
BLACK AMLONG IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN, MANILA, P. I.
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BLACK AMLONG.’
(Raphidophora merrillii.)
The central cylinder of the root of this plant becomes
very dark in color after removal from the tissue which
surrounds it. It is the species commonly found in cultiva-
tion in Manila and in many towns in the provinces. The
inflorescence (spadix) is like a fleshy finger, at first green
and inconspicuous, but later becoming bright yellowish-red
in color. Most of its air roots arise from the lower part
of the stem. It is prepared the same as other air roots.
It may be bleached like R. copelandii.
GOGO.
(Entada scandens.)
Gogo or gugo (T.) (Bulacan, Tayabas); balogo, balones (Vis.):
balugo (Mindoro); barugo (Leyte); bayogo (Pampanga, T.,
Vis.) ; lipai (Abra, Ilocos Norte and Sur, Union); gohong bacay
(Pampanga, Vis.). ;
Brief mention is made here of a vine belonging to the
family of the Leguminosae, which bears tendrils and has
jointed pods from 60 to 70 cm. long and 7 to 10 cm. wide.
The material (gogo) obtained from the vine is sold in almost
all provision stores (tiendas) in every town and hamlet
of the Philippines. It is most commonly used as a substi-
tute for soap for washing the hair. It is occasionally
employed like soap for cleaning the body, and at times is
kept at the bottom of trunks to keep insects away.
HOAG.
(Flagellaria indica.)
Hoag (B.) (Albay, Antique, Camarines, Capiz, Cebu, Iloilo, Sorso-
gon) ; annuad (Union); auni si gayang (Isi. in Nueva Vizcaya) ;
balingway (Laguna, Mindoro, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Tayabas) ;
‘-bulokawi (Cebu, Mindoro); caluuauay (Cagayan); hoag-oay
(Sorsogon) ; inuad (Il. in Pangasinan); inual (Pang. in Panga-
sinan); oay ti oac (Il. in Isabela); sagakap (Capiz); tewung,
kaliwayway (Iban. in Isabela); uenag ayang anuad (Il. in
Nueva Vizcaya).
*See also air roots and brown amlong.
100
A plant often erroneously spoken of as a kind of rattan
is Flagellaria indica, commonly known as “hoag.” This
plant is very distinct, botanically, from rattan, though it
is often used like the latter.
Hoag is a vine, with the lower part of the stem as thick
as a man’s thumb. Spines are absent. The leaves are
lanceolate in form, without petioles, and ensheath the stem
as do blades of grass. The tips end in coiled tendrils.
The flowers are sessile and clustered in the form of a
panicle. The fruit is red. ‘
DISTRIBUTION.
The plant is widely distributed throughout the Philip-
pines and-common in the forest and along streams.
PREPARATION.
Prepared the same way as rattan.
USES.
Hoag is used for tying purposes. Reports say that it
can be used for rims of baskets and that it may be used
for weavers and spokes where better materials are not
available.
VEGETABLE SPONGE.
(Luffa cylindrica.)
Vegetable sponge (E.); kabatiti (Il.); loofah (E.); patola (T., Vis.) ;
tabongas (Pampanga, Pangasinan); tabubuk (Bulacan, Tarlac).
The stem of this vine bears tendrils and is distinctly five-
sided. The leaves are rough to the touch, shallowly 5 to
7 angled or lobed, and about 10 to 20 cm. in diameter. The
flowers are yellow. The fruit of the cultivated vine is in
appearance like a long cucumber, at first fleshy but finally
becoming stringy ; that of the wild variety is always fibrous.
DISTRIBUTION.
The vine is commonly cultivated for its fruit and also
found growing wild near streams and around trees and
hedges throughout the Philippines.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XXXVI.
PAMAGO (Pericampylus incanus).
ast
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101
PREPARATION.
The network of interlacing fibers in the fruit are easily
removed by hand from their surrounding tissue. If the
fruit is picked while green, the fibers are white in color
but become yellow on drying. In Bulacan the fibers are
first washed with soap and water before being placed in
the sun.
USES.
Especially in Abra and Bulacan, vegetable sponge fibers
are occasionally used for hats. There is nothing beautiful,
serviceable, nor artistic about these hats, and the only thing
than can possibly be said in their favor is that they are
rather novel.
The fibers are employed commercially in the manufacture
of articles for the bath. Large factories in Germany im-
port the fiber from Japan and manufacture it into gloves,
straps, soap holders, and pads. In these articles either
the fiber alone is used, or it is sewn on to cotton or flannel
goods. The fibers of the vegetable sponge are well adapted
also. for bath slippers, sandals, mats, scrubbing brushes,
and similar articles. They may be considered also a good
substitute for the more expensive sea sponges, and their use
for a “rubdown”’ is said to be of therapeutic value.
PAMAGO.
(Pericampylus incanus.)
Pamago (Albay, Camarines, Sorsogon); silong pugo (Batangas) ;
tugui-tuguian (Mindoro). Collected also by B. of S. in Benguet,
Davao, Laguna, Leyte, Palawan, Rizal, Zamboanga.
This plant is a member of the family of Menispermaceae.
Most members of this family are typical tropical twining
plants, being well represented in all tropical countries, but
very sparingly in temperate regions.
The leaves of this vine are smooth and velvety to the
touch; in shape, like a conventional heart; dark-green in
color on the upper surface and grayish-green on the lower.
They are not shed periodically nor renewed at any special
time. The main veins are generally five in number, pal-
102
mately arranged and arise from the dent of the heart.
The petiole supporting the leaf is fairly long and hairy.
The plant twines around other plants for support. It
never develops prop roots. The small male and female
flowers are never borne on the same plant. The fruit is
small.
DISTRIBUTION.
The plant is generally found in thickets, waste places,
or along the banks of streams and irrigation ditches in
many places throughout the Philippines.
PREPARATION.
The best material is obtained from the older portion of
the vine, which is bare of leaves.
The most expedient way to prepare the material is to
boil the stem for about two hours. The outer layer with
its adhering tissue is then easily separated from the inner
part and thrown away. The material is then dried in the
sun and smoothed with sand paper. It is yellowish white
in color and from 2.5 to 3.5 mm. in diameter.
The Albay Industrial Bulletin No. 4 of December 5, 1911,
gives two other methods of preparing the stem which result
in a whiter and stronger material, but require more time:
Remove the bark without boiling in the same way as is done with
bacog (air roots). This method requires very careful work as the
bark breaks easily.
Scrape off the bark without boiling the material, being careful
not to injure the woody part. Dry in the sun and sandpaper well.
USES.
Pamago is a good material for weavers of baskets.
Chapter X—PLANTS WITH LEAF OR PETIOLE FIBERS
OF COMMERCIAL VALUE.
There are various species of plants belonging to different
families that have fleshy leaves or fleshy petioles from which
excellent fibers are extracted. Examples of leaf fibers are
maguey and pineapple; and of petiole fibers, abaca and
banana. Maguey fibers are usually extracted by retting
and pineapple fibers by scraping the leaves with broken
pieces of pottery; abaca and banana fibers are obtained
by drawing the stalks under a dull knife on which consider-
able pressure is exerted.
MAGUEY.
(Agave cantula.)
Maguey (E.).
There are several species of Agave that yield the fiber
known to commerce as maguey or sisal. Of these, Agave
cantula is the species commonly cultivated in the Philip-
pines. Agave rigida sisalana from the Hawaiian Islands
was introduced into the Philippines a few years ago and its
cultivation has spread to many provinces throughout the
Archipelago. ;
The species all agree in being rather coarse plants and
in having usually very short stems. They thrive in poor
soil where other plants would not even get a start. The
leaves persist for a number of years and are thick and
fleshy and provided along their margins with sharp, stout,
prominent spines.
Maguey, especially the species A. americana, was for-
merly supposed to bloom just once in a hundred years and
received on that account the name of century plant. It is
*“The Cultivation of Maguey in the Philippine Islands,” B. of
Agri., Bulletin No. 13.
103
104
now known to blossom when it gets to be between 8 to 12
years old. The flower stalks are 4 m. or more in height,
arborescent in form, and have stout branches which usually
bear green flowers.
PREPARATION.
In the Philippines, the fibers are usually retted—that is,
the leaves are cut off and put in salt water until the soft
tissues surrounding the fibers have decayed. The fibers
are then washed and dried in the sun. A more laborious
way, resulting, however, in the production of a finer grade
of fiber, consists in scraping the leaves and then washing
and drying them in the usual way.
USES.
In the United States maguey is used extensively for
binder twine. The fiber is also used for cordage, fish nets,
hammocks, and similar purposes. In several provinces in
the Philippines the fiber is woven in a limited quantity into
cloth. Several years ago the export of maguey was of con-
siderable importance in the Ilocano territory, which, because
of its soil and long dry season, is well adapted to the grow-
ing of this fiber. The planting of maguey at present fluc-
tuates, depending on the demand and the price paid for the
fiber.
Maguey fibers are braided and employed for soles of
“alparagatas.” These are slippers having usually heavy
maguey soles and canvas or cloth uppers and are used by
Filipinos and others in place of shoes, especially when
tramping over hills. The slippers are at present imported
into the Philippines from China and Japan, but there is
no valid reason why they should not be made more exten-
sively in the Islands.
The schools of Ilocos Norte are putting out a very service-
able and neat house slipper having a macramé toe of maguey —
fiber, under sole of braided maguey, and upper sole of rice
straw.
The fiber twisted or as cord can be used for making neat
and attractive coiled baskets.
PLATE XXXVII.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
ulture.
a
c
Courtesy of Bureau of Agri
MAGUEY IN FLOWER.
105
PINA.
(Ananas sativus.)
Pina (Sp., F.); malisa (Camarines); pineapple (E.); pita (I1.).
Pina cloth is made from the leaves of the pineapple plant.
In the Philippines the plant may be found in cultivation in
almost all inhabited parts of the Islands, but generally in
very limited quantities in any one place. The fruit is too
well known to need description. The leaves are long, lance-
like in form, from 1 to 1.5 m. in length and 5 to 7 cm. in
width.
PREPARATION.
The process of preparing the fibers for industrial pur-
poses varies in minor details in different provinces. In
the main, it consists in removing the spines from the sides
of the leaf and scraping the latter with a blunt object of
some kind, such as a piece of pottery, bamboo, iron, and
the like. A knife would be too sharp and would cut the
fibers too easily. The particles of pulp adhering to the
fibers are generally removed with the finger nail and the
material is then washed in water and hung up to dry.
Fibers of the same thickness are then tied together much
in the same way as is done with abaca.
USES.
Pineapple fibers may be woven into a rather coarse gauzy
fabric (sinamay) or into a very fine textile (pifa). This
pina is often delicately embroidered and made into exquisite
centerpieces, doilies, handkerchiefs, and other articles.
At present the demand for a fine grade of pifia is greater
than the supply. Pure pifa washes and wears well. It
is often mixed, however, with banana fibers. These latter
weaken the fabric as they break more easily than pineapple
fibers. Banana fibers, too, become darker in color with
each successive washing.
ABACA.
(Musa textilis.)
Abaca (F., Sp.); Manila hemp.
In appearance, abaca closely resembles the banana plant,
but may be distinguished from it by its narrower leaves.
106
The true stem of the abaca plant is that part of the plant
which has a diameter of about 5 cm. and bears the fruit.
The trunk of the abaca plant is formed by this true stem
and the thickened petioles of the leaves. The fruit of the
abaca is a banana, small, inedible, and full of seeds.
PREPARATION.
Fiber.—As the abaca plant reaches maturity, it produces
suckers; so when an old plant is cut down, the young ones
already have a good start. The leafy part on top, being of
no value, is cut off and allowed to rot and enrich the soil.
The petioles are separated one from the other and split
into strips. These strips are pulled under a knife resting
on a block. The knife is worked by a crude spring. The
cutting and stripping of the fiber should be done within
twenty-four hours, as the petioles deteriorate rapidly. If
a serrated knife is employed, stripping is easier, but the
fiber is not as white and fine as when a knife with an even
edge is used. In some localities in the Islands (Indang and
Alfonso, Cavite) which produce a very white, lustrous
abaca fiber, a part of the pulp is allowed to remain on the
skin (lupis) which is to be pulled under the knife. In
most abaca regions, however, much of the inner pulpy part
is removed and only the outer part (lupis) is put under
the knife. The fibers are then hung on a pole and dried
in the sun. The quicker the drying, the whiter the fiber.
Boiling abaca fiber for from ten to twenty minutes is said
to give it a better sheen.
LUPIS.
Lupis is prepared from the fleshy petioles of the leaves
which form the trunk or false stem of the abaca plant.
When the trunk is cut down, the leafy part is removed and
the petioles are separated one from the other. A petiole
is then thrown down so that its outer surface is next to
the ground. The foot is put on the inner surface near
one end, and the other longer end flopped over. Then the
See also THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, Vol. I, No. 9, 1912: Two
Methods of Stripping Abaca.
PLATE XXXVIII.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
PINEAPPLES.
107
operator bends down, grasping with the right hand the
whole strip on the outside near the ground, and then grad-
ually rises, pushing the petiole outward and upward while
at the same time the left hand is passed along the inside so
as to flatten the petiole.
Starting near the upper third of the petiole, a diagonal
cut is made across its width through the inner skin and
pulp stopping at the outside skin, which later forms the
lupis. Then, with the left hand on the outer sheath, the
right hand carefully and slowly at first removes the pulp
and the inner skin. The left hand is now passed more
rapidly down the length of the sheath, and the right hand
at the same time quickly pulls off the rest of the pulp.
About halfway along the length of the strip of lupis,
the whole skin is split by the finger nail into strips one-half
an inch or less in width. Beginning on the left side, the
alternate strips are taken up by the left hand and the
remaining alternate strips by the right hand. Then the
hands are spread apart, and all of these strips are separated
from each other by one movement.
The strips ought to be hung immediately in the sun to
dry, for moisture or slow drying will cause discoloration
of the lupis. All of the petioles except the inner few may
be used in the preparation of the lupis.
Quick drying produces white lupis; slow drying or the
use of old petioles, brown lupis of different shades.
USES.
Rope.—The chief use of abaca is as a cordage fiber. The
conclusion should not, however, be drawn from this state-
ment that it is the only good use to which it can be put.
Tied or knotted abaca.—The tying of abaca fiber for
export is an important industry in Cavite, Batangas, and
certain other localities. The export of this fiber amounted
to over 1,000,000 in 1911. In the Bicol Provinces the
fiber is softened by pounding before being tied. In a num-
ber of places the knotted fiber is woven into cloth. The
tied fiber, twisted into fine cord, is also suited to various
kinds of fancy work and coiled baskets.
108
Sinamay.—The term “sinamay”’ is often used in connec-
tion with abaca. The word simply means a gauzy fabric.
Besides abaca sinamay there are also others, as for sage
pineapple, maguey, and banana sinamay.
Abaca sinamay is used by Filipino women for svat
(camisas) or, like buckram, to stiffen the bottoms of skirts.
Occasionally, the skirt itself is made out of the sinamay.
Blocked sinamay hats are seen at times in Filipino hat
stores.
Pinolpog.—Abaca cloth can be softened by winding it
around a piece of wood and beating it thoroughly with
sticks as it is being wound. The fabric is then called
pinolpog in Visayan and pinokpok in Tagalog. Pinolpog
in various colors can be neatly embroidered and made into
pretty hand bags. The material is also very suitable for
cushions. These can be decorated with abaca braid and
in many other ways.
Tagal braid.—It is only within very add years that
factories have been established in Manila to manufacture
abaca braid out of the knotted abaca fiber. The process
of manufacture consists in winding the knotted abaca,
which is ‘usually sold in hanks, upon spools and then making
it into braid by machines. The width of the braid depends
on the number of spools in the machine, and the number
of fibers wound at one time on each spool.
A considerable number of these machines are in operation
in abaca-braid manufactories established in Malabon, Rizal,
and Manila. A braiding machine of 13 spools is on exhibi-
tion in the industrial museum of the Bureau of Education.
(See also THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, VOL. I, No. 2, 1912.)
The chief use of the braid is for ladies’ hats, which are
made in Europe by sewing the strands of braid together.
Hats, especially for women, made by weaving the braid
as is done with bamboo and buntal fibers are very attractive
and will probably find a good market when they become
more generally known.
Slippers.—The abaca fiber is used either natural or
colored in the manufacture of slippers. The first abaca
slippers attempted in schools were often made with plush
PLATE XXXIX.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.]
Courtesy of Bureau of Agriculture.
textilis).
ABACA (Musa
109
straps. This last feature is entirely eliminated in later
styles, for an abaca top in some form or other is not only
cheaper but superior in appearance and in wearing qual-
_ ities. The uppers are now made in a fancy lace style,
especially for ladies’ slippers, or with macramé uppers or
straps. The public schools in Sorsogon Province are put-
ting out an all-abaca slipper in which even the filler between
the upper and lower sole is an abaca sheath. The sheaths
of areca nut and bamboo are, however, also serviceable as
a filler. The bottoms of abaca slippers are either of braided
abaca or leather.
Coiled baskets——These are made on a Single or multiple
foundation from the loose abaca fiber or cord.
Bags.—Various styles of bags are made from the abaca
fiber. Some of the bags are worked in a pure macramé
weave while others are made as is Irish crochet, Teneriffe
lace, or other forms of needlework.
Lace.—Bobbin and Battenburg lace have been made suc-
cessfully from abaca fiber.
Lamp shades and belts.—These are made in the public
schools from abaca fiber, employing the macramé weave.
Matting.—Very strong matting can be made from abaca
cord.
Lupis hats —Hats made from abaca lupis are very strong.
Depending on the width of the fiber used and the care taken
in its preparation and weaving, these hats are fine or
coarse. They are woven in the natural color which for a
stylish hat cannot be considered satisfactory. Because of
their excellent wearing qualities, however, experiments in
bleaching the fiber would be worth trying.
Lupis furniture-——The pupils in the farm school at
' Indang, Cavite, are turning out chairs, settees, and other
articles of furniture made out of brown lupis which at most
plantations is usually thrown away. Bamboo forms the
foundation for the furniture, and the lupis, either braided
or twisted, is wound around the bamboo framework.
The chief merits of lupis lie in its strength and the color
effects that can be obtained. The tannic acid in the material
would tend also to keep out vermin.
110
Lupis trays and baskets.—Trays and baskets are made
out of lupis. These are either of a uniform light-brown or
very dark-brown color or a combination of the two.
Lupis matting.—Lupis woven into matting has been
pronounced by experts to be stronger than any other
matting known.
BANANA.
(Musa paradisiaca.)
Several varieties of species of banana are utilized in the
manufacture of sinamay. The fiber is prepared in the same
way as abaca. Greater care is, however, necessary in its
extraction from the petioles, as the fiber breaks more readily
than does abaca.
Banana sinamay is in great demand by Filipino women
for dress material. It is coarse or fine, depending on the
quality of the fiber used. The material has a beautiful
sheen; and if not entirely plain, stripes or plaids are the
usual designs adopted. Bohol, Cebu, and Panay are the
principal islands in which banana sinamay is woven. In
the schools banana fiber has been used for coiled baskets
in combination with buri raffia.
BOWSTRING HEMP.
(Sansevieria zeylanica.)
Bowstring hemp (E.); aspeaspe (Pampanga); banyat (Isinay in
Nueva Vizcaya) ; bontot palos (Tayabas) ; cakarohay, pacarohay
(Iban.); callot (Il. in Nueva Vizcaya); culebra (Sp.); lengua
de tigre (Sorsogon); rabo de leon (Ilocos Norte, Union); rabo
de tigre (Antique); sabila (Iloilo); sigre (Gad. in Nueva Viz-
caya); sinawa (Nueva Ecija); tigre (F.) (Bohol, Laguna);
tigui (Il. in Isabela).
The plant is an herb that grows up from a fleshy root
stalk and bears the peculiarly mottled leaves that are on
the average from 30 to 60 cm. long.
DISTRIBUTION.
Bowstring hemp is common throughout the Philippines,
being grown mostly for ornamental purposes.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EpUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XL.
FLOWER BUD, FLOWERS, AND FRUIT OF THE BANANA PLANT.
1Yt
PREPARATION.
The leaves are put in water for about a week. The fibers
can then be obtained by pounding the leaves and removing
the pulp. Rinsing and drying the fibers complete their
preparation. At other times, the fibers are obtained like
those from pineapple leaves.
USES.
The commercial importance of the fibers is not great,
for they are utilized only occasionally. The fibers are not
easily obtained and their shortness counts against them.
The fineness of the fiber, however, and their good tensile
strength are points in their favor. They are sometimes
mixed with pina fibers in weaving fabrics.
Chapter XI—MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIAL FIBERS.
(a) FIBERS SURROUNDING SEEDS.
Under this caption are included finely matted fibers such
as occur in the boll of the cotton plant or in the cylindrical
pod of the kapok or silk-cotton tree. In the cotton boll
the fibers are more intimately connected with the seeds than
in the kapok pod. The separation of the seea from its
surrounding fibers by hand is therefore extremely difficult
in the one case, while in the other it can be done with
comparative ease.
KAPOK.
(Ceiba pentandra.)
Kapok (E.); balios, kapak, bulak (Bulacan); boby, bubuy, bulak,
bulaksino (T.); bulak-castila (Pampanga); bulak-dondol, dondol
(Cebu); capas, kapas-sanglay (Il.); doldol, kayo (Vis.); kapak
(Rizal).
The kapok tree is found in all provinces of the Philip-
pines, but its silky cottonlike fibers are gathered for trade
or export principally in the Visayas. Most of the exported
kapok floss from the Philippines finds its way to the markets
of Hongkong and the Netherlands.
The tree is rather short, being generally less than 15 m.
in height. The trunk is cylindric and has large spines
scattered about its surface. It bears branches at right
angles to the stem. The tree is usually propagated by
cuttings. The simple, entire leaflets, from 5 to 8 in number
and from 6 to 15 em. long, are arranged on a long petiole.
The flowers are numerous and whitish in color. The fruit
is an oblong capsule about 15 cm. long and 5 em. thick
and filled with seeds loosely surrounded by fine silky hairs.
These hairs are short and elastic.
PREPARATION.
In the Philippines the fibers are generally obtained by
hand. In Java very simple kapok-cleaning machines are
used, plans and specifications of which can be obtained at
the Bureau of Agriculture, Manila, P. I.
LIZ
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XLI.
KAPOK (Ceiba pentandra).
When the tree is in fruit, it is almost entirely bare of leaves.
113
USES.
Kapok fibers are chiefly used as filling material for mat-
tresses, pillows, cushions, and life preservers. It is an
excellent material for filling mattresses, as the fibers do
not mat and will make lighter mattresses than any other
good filling fiber known. As a filler in life-saving appli-
ances it can sustain 20 to 30 times its own weight while
horsehair and cork can only hold up 11 and 6 times their
own weight, respectively. Even after being thoroughly
water-soaked it maintains its favorable ratio to horsehair
and cork.
Kapok oil is of value for soap, fuel, fodder, and manure.
COTTON.
(Gossypium spp.)
The species of cotton most cultivated in the Philippines
are Gossypium brasiliense and G. paniculatum.
The chief cotton region in these Islands is the Province
of Ilocos Norte. The method of gathering the cotton and
preparing it for weaving is extremely simple; the various
processes being performed by hand with the aid of crude
and most primitive kinds of machinery. To a less extent,
yarn is also made from home-grown cotton in the provinces
of Ilocos Sur and Union.
The value of cotton cloths woven on the foot looms of
the Ilocano Provinces is considerable. The Ilocano weaving
is the most persistent survival of a Philippine cotton in-
dustry which was at one time very large and general.
Though in many ways inferior, the imported machine-made
~ yarns are lessening the amount of yarn spun from home-
grown fiber. Isolated remnants of the weaving industry
exist in such districts as Taal and Lemery in Batangas
Province and on the islands of Cebu, Bohol, and Panay,
where some locally made yarn is used, and in Leon, Iloilo,
where all the yarn woven is imported.
(b) IRAO AND BANBAN.
Though widely separated botanically, two fibers are here
brought together that could not be included in the chapters
on ferns, grasses, and other plants. The outer parts of the
1201398
114
stems of these plants are used in industrial work. One is
a plant growing in moist localities, the other an orchid found
on trees.
IRAO.
(Dendrobium crumenatum.)
Irao (Camarines, Albay, Sorsogon); caramosi (Ilocos Sur); karonsi
(Ilocos Norte) ; karausi (Cagayan) ; karulay (Isabela) ; magimpal,
magimpao (Bohol); manano (Leyte); sangumay (Laguna).
The stalk of this orchid is about 60 cm. or more long
and for a distance of about 20 cm. at the base is bulbous
and fluted. The joints are usually from 1 to 2 cm. apart.
The leaves are small and more or less oval in shape.
DISTRIBUTION.
The plant is of rather common occurrence and widely
distributed in the Philippines.
PREPARATION.
The stalks of irao are cut when they are only partly
yellow in the living specimen. If cutting is deferred until
the whole stalk is dead and yellow, the material is very
brittle. To make the stalks of an even bright-yellow color,
they are placed for a short time in boiling water or in water
to which a little vinegar has been added. Exposing the
cut stalks to the sun produces the same result. The stem
should be split through the scars that mark the attachment
of leaves.
USES.
Irao is a decorative material. It is used for this purpose
on baskets and whips of various kinds.
BANBAN.
(Donax cannaeformis.)
Banban (T.) (Albay, Antique, Bohol, Cagayan, Capiz, Cavite, Lloilo,
Laguna, Mindoro, Occidental Negros, Oriental Negros, Palawan,
Pampanga, Sorsogon, Tarlac, Tayabas); aratan (Gad. in Nueva
Vizcaya) ; bamban (Camarines, Cebu, Sorsogon); barasbarasan
(T.) ; daromaka (Il. in Tarlac); darumaka (Union, Il. in Nueva
Vizcaya, Zambales); langkuas (Il.); manban (Leyte); mattapal
(Isi. in Nueva Vizcaya).
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“HX ALV1d [6r ‘ON NILATING NOILvoONaY 40 NVAING—SINV1qd Add 7 TWIYLSAGNT
115
The plant generally has a solitary stem arising from the
ground. About 1 to 2 m. from the ground in the adult
form, it shows a division into three or more branches and
each one of these branches is divided and is like the main
stem. Varying with the locality and richness of the soil,
it grows to be 4 to 5 m. or even higher. The somewhat
bulbous nature of the joints is peculiar; there being quite
a thickening where the branches originate.
The flowers are white, about 3 cm. long with a calyx
tube 1 cm. long. They forma panicle. The fruit is round,
about 1 cm. thick, and contains one seed. The latter is
oblong and rather strongly wrinkled. The ovate leaves are
thin and smooth, from 15 to 18 cm. long and 9 cm. wide.
The veins are parallel.
DISTRIBUTION.
Banban is very common and widely distributed through-
out the Philippines. It also occurs in Java, Celebes, to
New Guinea. It is generally found growing along the sides
of streams or brooks and in moist, shady places.
PREPARATION.
The main stem of banban, because of its long internode,
is the best part of the plant to use. This is divided into
halves and quarters. The inner part is whittled down to
the requisite thinness as is done with palm petioles. If the
skin is not scraped off the material is of a pale-green or
gray color; and if the epidermis is removed, the material
varies from light to dark brown, depending on the age of
the stem. The material is considered better for weavers
than for spokes.
USES.
Banban is used for weavers of baskets, usually in com-
bination with nito, irao, and other material. It is also
used occasionally by Filipinos for hammocks, fish traps,
hats, and for sewing together nipa leaves to be used as
shingles.
Chapter XII—PHILIPPINE BAST FIBERS.
The strong woody fiber obtained from the inner bark of
various trees is known as bast.
There are a great many species of plants in the Philip-
pines belonging especially to the family of Tiliaceae, of
which jute is an important member; the Malvaceae, to which
the cotton plant belongs; and the Sterculiaceae, of which
the cacao plant is the best-known representative, that yield
bast fibers suitable for rope. There are, however, many
other families of plants whose bast fibers are also employed
as a cordage material.
No attempt will be made to describe all of the bast fibers
that are or could be utilized in the Philippines. Most of
these fibers may be said to be of purely local importance
at present, being made into cordage at home whenever such
is necessary or desired. Some of the fibers have, however,
distinct industrial or commercial possibilities and are there-
fore described here.
The preparation of bast fibers in general follows the
processes outlined under jute. Where special methods
exist, they are mentioned when the fiber is discussed.
THE ANILAO FAMILY (Tiliaceae).
The family of Anilao comprises a number of species that
produce bast fibers utilized for rope. The members of this
family are trees, shrubs, or herbs. The leaves of all species
are always simple and entire and their margin either ser-
rated or lobed. Flowers are perfect (i. e., each has stamens
and pistils) and they are found in the axils of leaves or
at the end of branches. Sepals and petals are: from 3 to
5 in number. The inflorescence is generally a flat-topped
or convex flower cluster or may be more irregular in out-
line because of branching. The fruit may be dry or fleshy.
The most commonly used species are jute, anilao, danglin,
and balitnong.
116
117
JUTE.
(Corchorus spp.: C. acutangulus, C. capsularis, C. olitorius.)
There are three species of jute that grow wild in the
Philippines. They are not considered here separately, as
from all of them a commercial fiber can be obtained. The
species are all annual herbs varying in height from 0.5
to 2m. They all agree in having yellow flowers and gen-
erally two bristlelike appendages at the base of the leaves.
The margins of the leaves are serrated, but the shape of
the leaves differs for the various species. All the species
have receptacles for seeds, but in C. capsularis it is in the
form of a capsule more or less round, very wrinkled, and
about 1 cm. in diameter. In C. acutangulus this receptacle
is a cylinder about 2 to 3 cm. long, 6 to 8 ribbed, and having
3 or 4 erect or divergent beaks, while the cylindrical capsule
in C. olitorius is about 3 to 3.5 cm. long, 10-ribbed, and
provided with a beak that is entire.
DISTRIBUTION.
The species are found in waste places, usually in wet or
damp land; also near rice fields throughout the Philippines.
PREPARATION.
The outer bark and bast are removed together from the
stem; the bark is stripped off and the bast is dried in the
sun for about two days. The fibers are also prepared by
leaving the bast in the water for about a week and then
drying it in the sun. The first process results in a vine-
like rope, while the second permits of the fabrication of a
more fibrous cordage material.
USES.
At present jute is used in the Philippines only for rope
and is never planted by the Filipino farmer. It would prob-
ably pay to raise the fiber, as there is a good market for
jute in the United States which imports yearly thousands
of tons worth millions of pesos. Gunny sacks and coarse
fabrics (burlap) for packing or upholstery are also woven
of jute. It is sometimes used as an adulterant in silk
fabrics.
118
The fibers, though fine and silky in appearance, are weak
and are easily disintegrated by moisture. Still their em-
ployment is advisable where cheapness rather than strength
is the prime requisite.
ANILAO.
(Columbia serratifolia.)
Anilao (T.) (Bulacan, Capiz, Iloilo, Nueva Ecija, Occidental Negros) ;
keddeng (Il. in Isabela); panaguising (Iban. in Isabela); sargo
(Occidental Negros).
This shrub or small tree, from 3 to 10 m. high, is widely
distributed throughout the Philippines. The leaf is from
10 to 20 cm. long; its base very oblique, its margins coarsely
or finely serrated, and its undersurface smooth and velvety.
The petals of the flowers are pink and yellowish or reddish.
The plant is in bloom from May to July.
DANGLIN.
(Grewia multiflora.)
Danglin (T.) (Batangas, Bataan, Nueva Ecija) ; alinao (Amburayan,
Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Sorsogon, Union, Zambales); al-alinao
(Union); aplit (Pampanga); dallag (Gad. in Nueva Vizcaya) ;
dangli, kalit-kalit (Tayabas) ; langosig (Bohol); lanut (Negrito
in Pampanga); nagling (Pampanga); siapo (Mindoro); taroy
(Albay, Camarines).
This shrub or small tree is seldom more than 8 m. high.
The leaves are more or less ovate in shape, from 4 to 14 em.
long, and between 2.5 to 5 cm. wide. The base of the leaves
is usually rounded and the margins are finely serrated.
The plant is found in thickets throughout the Philip-
pines. It bears greenish-yellow flowers from September to
December.
BALITNONG.
(Grewia negrosensis.)
Balitnong (Capiz, Ilocos Norte) ; kanas-kanas (Selenen queddeng
(Abra, Union).
This species is closely related to Grewia multsdorn and
is also used for rope.
GOMAMELA FAMILY (Malvaceae).*
The plants in this family are usually herbs, shrubs, or
trees. The simple leaves are arranged alternately on stems
5 The cotton ae hdlonine to this family is penta’ in the, chapter
on miscellaneous fibers.
INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS—BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN No. 49.] PLATE XLIII.
JUTE (Corchorus capsularis).
“t ov
‘, Cn tele ae oe Oe iG? Ee:
119
and branches. The latter also bear numerous small modi-
fied leaves known as stipules. The flowers occur at the
joints. or at the ends of branches and may be single or in
groups forming panicles. The petals and sepals are 5 in
number and regular in shape; pistils and stamens occur in
the same flower.
MARBAS.
(Abutilon indicum.)
Marbas (Pampanga) ; pal-lo-pal-lot (Abra).
This species is an annual or perennial plant reaching a
height of 2.5 m. The leaves are ashy grey in color, from
5 to 12 em. long, and have margins entire or serrated. The
solitary flowers are yellow and occur on long stalks jointed
near the tip. The fruit, 1.5 cm. long and 2 cm. in diameter,
consists of 15 to 20 carpels.
Common in waste places throughout the Philippines.
The plant is in flower all the year.
LUSUBAN.
(Bombycidendron vidalianum.)
Lusuban (Abra, Ilocos Norte).
The plant, known as “lusuban”’ in Ilocano, is a small tree
from 3 to 8 m. high and with a trunk 15 to 25 cm. in
diameter. It is often found growing on hillsides. The
leaves, oblong in shape and round at the base, are from
10 to 12 cm. long and 4 to 5 cm. broad and borne on short
petioles. During the months of January and February
the tree may be found in flower or fruit.
The fibers are prepared by retting. The branches of the
tree are cut into pieces 1 to 2 m. long and kept in water
for about two weeks. The inner bark can then be made
ready for use by scraping and washing the fibers. In Abra
the fiber is used to a small extent for hat braids. In the
latter province, as well as in Ilocos Norte, the fibers from
the bark are frequently employed for cordage.
MAPOLA.
(Hibiscus mutabilis.)
Mapola (Batangas).
The flowers of this species, borne on long stalks jointed
near the top, are white or pink on first opening in the morn-
120
ing, but change to a deep red before night. The plant
grows to the height of a small tree. The leaves are large,
heartshaped, toothed, and borne on long petioles. The
fruit is a round capsule, somewhat flattened and hairy.
MALABAGO.
(Hibiscus tiliaceus.)
Malabago (Capiz, Iloilo, Pangasinan, Sorsogon); balibago (Bulacan,
Tarlac); dangliw (Bulacan); malobago (Albay, Sorsogon); |
mapola (Batangas).
Malabago is a tree widely distributed and well known
in the Philippines. It bears large, round, leathery leaves
marked generally with seven prominent veins radiating
from the apex of the heart-shaped base. The lower surface
of the leaves is light grey in color and soft and hairy to
the touch. The modified leaves (stipules) are prominent.
The large bell-shaped flowers at the end of branches have
a crimson center. The tube, bearing stamens, is about 4
cm. long. The fibers are tough and make a fairly strong
rope.
BAKEMBAKES.
(Malachra capitata.)
Bakembakes (Abra, Ilocos Sur, Union); bulbulin (Pampanga) ; bulu-
buluhan, buluhan (Cavite); labug-labug (Iloilo, Occidental
Negros); sipit-ulang (Bulacan).
This coarse, hairy, annual herb grows to a height of 2 m.
and bears leaves that are somewhat heart-shaped at the base,
from 5 to 15 cm. in diameter, and finely toothed along the
margins. Flowers are yellow and crowded together among
small modified leaves (bracts).
The species is found in waste places throughout the
Philippines and is in flower from September to February.
TACLING-BACA.,
(Sida acuta.)
Tacling-baca (Pangasinan); attay-nab-baca (Iban. in Isabela); cali-
soalisan, tacquinvaca, ualis-udlisan (Tarlac); herbaka (Ilocos
Sur); maratak-kimbaca (Il. in Tarlac); tak-kimbaca (Il. in
Abra, Isabela, Ilocos Norte); uaualisin (Bulacan); walisualisan
(Nueva Ecija).
121
This shrub may be 2 m. high or higher. Its leaves are
5 to 8 cm. long, narrow, toothed, and supported on short
petioles. Along the stems are also found many small modi-
fied leaves (stipules), which are 2 or 3 times larger than
the petiole. The flowers are yellow; the fruit is very small.
The fiber, obtained in the usual way by retting, is light,
yellowish-white in color, soft, and glistening.
MARAKAPAS.
(Thespesia lampas.)
Marakapas (Amburayan); amagong (Nueva Ecija); macacapas
(Zambales) ; maratarong (Abra).
This shrub, from 2 to 3 m. high, has fine, large, yellow,
bell-shaped flowers with a deep purple center. These
flowers occur in groups of three on flower stalks (pedun-
eles). The leaves are broad at the base, from 10 to 20 cm.
long, and may be three-lobed or entire. The plant may
be found in flower from October to January in dry, open
places.
KOLLOKOLLOT.
(Urena spp., U. lobata, U. lobata var. sinuata.)
Kollokollot (Amburayan, Ilocos Sur, Il. in Tarlac, Nueva Vizcaya) ;
afulut (Gad. in Nueva Vizcaya); kollolot (Abra); kuluk (Iban. ©
in Isabela); kullu-kulluk (Il. in Isabela); puot sinuang (Isi.
in Nueva Vizcaya).
The shape of the leaves is the main difference existing
between the species and its variety. In the species the
leaves are variously angled or lobed, the lobes not extending
beyond the middle of the leaf; in its variety the leaf is
more deeply lobed. The flowers are pink and usually
solitary. The small, round fruit is covered with barbed
spines.
The plant is very common throughout the Philippines
and may be found in flower all the year. It may be con-
sidered a substitute for jute.
THE CACAO FAMILY (Sterculiaceae).
The species included in this family have few character-
istics in common. They may be shrubs, herbs, or trees.
The leaves may be simple or digitately compound, lobed or
122
not lobed. The flowers are grouped together to form in-
florescences which vary greatly in appearance and which
may or may not occur on the tips of branches. The fruit
may be dry or fleshy and may or may not break open.
In all species, however, the leaves are arranged alternately
and modified leaves (stipules) are also present. The sepals
of the flowers are always 5 in number and more or less
united. The petals are either 5 in number or entirely
wanting.
ANABO.
(Abroma augusta.)
Anabo (Abra, Batangas, Capiz, Mindoro, Nueva Kcija, Occidental
Negros, Pampanga, T.); ambong (T.); anafu (Gad. in Nueva
Vizcaya) ; anabong, labon, nabo (Vis.) (Bohol, Oriental Negros) ;
annabo (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Tarlac) ; bago (Sorsogon) ; bodo-
bodo (Ilocos Norte) ; devil’s cotton (E.); nabu (Bohol, Cagayan) ;
pacalcal (Pampanga).
This shrub is about 3 m. high or higher and grows wild
in valleys and on hillsides throughout the Philippines. On
the bark of the stem are many small spines and, when young,
also hairs. Fine, sharp, prickly hairs occur also on the
leaves and petioles. The lower surface of the leaf is lighter
in color than the upper and covered with fine hairs. These
adhere like prickles to the skin when the surface is rubbed.
The fruit is a fair-sized capsule open on top, having five
hornlike extensions on the outer free surface; five very
much smaller projections mark the attachment of the seeds
on the inner. In the mature capsule, on the inside near
the seeds, are bristlelike hairs and on the outside the same
kind of hairs occur as on the leaves.
PREPARATION.
It is possible to separate the bast fibers at once from the
bark by hard pounding. Generally, however, the outside
part of the shrub is put in water for a period of three to
five days. The bast fibers may then be separated with com-
parative ease from the bark, washed, and dried in the sun.
USES.
The rope made from this bast is flexible, strong, and is
of good appearance. As anabo is a very hardy shrub, a
123
quick grower, so plentiful in some localities as to be con-
sidered a “weed,” there is no reason why it should not
become a more active factor in the rope market.
TONGTONKING.
(Helicteres hirsuta.)
Tongtonking (Amburayan); kakaag (Abra).
This shrub is readily recognized by its shaggy, beaked
capsule, cylindrical in shape, and from 3 to 5 cm. in length.
One-half of the base of the leaf is round while the other
is not. The leaves are rarely longer than 15 cm., hairy on
the upper surface, soft and downy on the lower, and borne
on petioles about 2 to 3 cm. long. The margins are
unequally serrated. The species occurs throughout the
Philippines.
TANAG.
(Kleinhofia hospita.)
Tanag (T., Vis.) (Albay, Batangas, Bulacan, Capiz, Iloilo, Nueva
Ecija, Sorsogon, Tarlac); bafe nga bunsung (Gad. in Nueva
Vizcaya); biknong (Zambal. in Zambales); bitnong (Abra,
Camarines, Ilocos Norte, Il. in Nueva Vizcaya, Tarlac) ; hamita-
nago (Vis.); panampat, pampar (Pampanga).
This small tree is very common throughout the Philip-
pines, is well known, and is often used when rope is wanted
for domestic purposes.
The leaves of the tree are usually heart-shaped, broad,
and from 10 to 20 cm. long. From 5 to 7 veins radiate
from the dent of the heart. The flowers of the panicles
are pink, very small, and with sepals longer than petals.
The capsules are about 2 cm. long.
APPENDIX A.
A SUGGESTIVE LIST OF ARTICLES AND THE PHILIPPINE
INDUSTRIAL FIBERS THAT CAN BE USED IN THEIR
MANUFACTURE.
Alparagatas:
Toe: Foreign materials. (See Bureau of Education Circular
Wo. 99, s. 1912.)
Sole: Abaca, maguey.
Aprons: Banana sinamay.
Bags. (See Hand bags.)
Banks: Coconut shell.
Baskets:
Coiled—
Foundation—
Single: Amlong, rattan.
Multiple: Balangot, buri raffia, tayoc-tayoc, tikug.
Weaver: Abaca cord, abaca fiber, banana fiber, buri raffia,
kilog, lupis, maguey, nito, rattan.
Hexagonal: Buri strips, karagumoy, pandan.
Lattice knot weave—
Foundation: Bamboo, rattan.
Weaver: Buri strips, pandan.
Midrib: Buri, coconut, nipa.
Polangui and Zambales type—
Spokes: Bamboo, banban, buri midrib, rattan, sugar palm,
tipon-tipon.
Weavers: Amlong, banban, buntal, buri midrib, irao, kalot-
kagot, kilog, lupis, nito, pamago, sugar palm, tipon-tipon.
Rims and handles: Rattan.
Binders and decorative materials for rims and handles:
Amlong, buri midrib, buntal, irao, kalot-kagot, kilog, nito,
lupis, rattan.
Rice baskets: Bamboo.
Telescope: Bamboo, buri strips, karagumoy, pandan of Majayjay,
rattan.
Bayones: Buri strips, lupis, pandan.
Belts: Abaca, kilog, nito, rattan.
Blankets. (See Textiles.)
Book bags. (See Hand bags.)
126
Bowls: Coconut shell.
Braids: Abaca, balangot of Batangas, bamboo, buri strips, lupis,
rice straw.
Brooms:
Sweeping: Buri midrib, buntal, coconut midrib, nipa midrib, rice
straw, sugar-palm midrib, tambo, tiger grass.
Whisk: Abaca, rice straw, vetiver.
Buttons: Coconut shell.
Brushes:
Bench: Sugar-palm fiber.
Hair: Sugar-palm fiber.
Horse: Sugar-palm fiber.
Canes. (See Swagger sticks.)
Caps, baby: Buri raffia.
Card cases. (See Tobacco cases.)
Chairs:
Foundation: Bamboo, rattan, wood.
Seats and binders: Abaca, lupis, nito, rattan.
Clothes. (See Textiles.)
Coat and hat trees: Bamboo, rattan.
Cuffs: Buri raffia.
Cups: Coconut shell.
Curtains. (See Portieres.)
Cushions: Bamboo, buri raffia, pinolpog, sabutan, tikug.
Dippers: Coconut shell.
Doilies: Abaca, buri raffia, pandan, tikug.
Dolls: Kapok stuffing and dressed in Filipino costume made of native
cloths.
Doll’s furniture: Abaca wound on rattan or air roots.
Dress, Igorot. (See Textiles.)
Embroidery (baby caps, baby dresses, bags, card cases, collars, cuffs,
doilies, handkerchiefs, jabots, luncheon sets, neckwear, panels, pin
cushions, table runners, waists): Pinolpog, pia, buri raffia, sina-
may. (For foreign materials, see Bureau of Education Circular
No. 99, s. 1912.)
Fans:
Blades: Bamboo splints, bamboo sheath, buri strips, pandan,
vetiver.
Handles: Bamboo, bamboo root, rattan, wood.
Binder for handles: Irao, nito, buri strips, buri raffia.
Flower stands: Bamboo, nito.
Footstools:
Foundation: Bamboo, rattan, wood.
Seats and binders: Abaca, bamboo, lupis, nito, rattan.
Gee strings. (See Textiles.)
Guitars: Coconut shell.
Hampers: Rattan, tipon-tipon, banban, sugar palm, bamboo, amlong,
kilog.
127
Hand bags: Abaca, abaca braid, amlong, balangot, banban, buri mid-
rib, buri raffia, buri strips, lupis, pene pinolpog, rattan, tayoc-
tayoc, tikug.
Handkerchiefs. (See Textiles.)
Hats: Abaca braid, abaca sinamay, bamboo, buntal, buri strips,
Calasiao strips, karagumoy, lupis, nito, pandan, pandan of Majay-
jay, pandan raffia, rattan, sabutan, tayoc-tayoc, tikug, vegetable
sponge, vetiver.
Hatracks: Bamboo, rattan.
Lace (bobbin, renaissance, Teneriffe, Venetian) for bags, collars,
doilies, edgings, insertions: Abaca, abaca braid. (For foreign
materials, see Bureau of Education Circular No. 119, s. 1913.)
Lamp shades: Abaca, amlong, banban, bamboo, irao, kilog, nito.
Mats: Banana sheath, bamboo, buri strips, karagumoy, lupis, pandan,
pandan of Majayjay, sabutan, tikug.
Napkin rings:
Foundation: Bamboo stem cut crosswise.
Binder: Bamboo splints, buntal, buri strips, nito.
Macramé: Buri raffia.
Note books: ;
Leaves: The inner sheath of the bamboo.
Cover: Bamboo splints.
Picture frames: Buri raffia cloth decorated with abaca braid, buri
strips, moras straw, pandan of Majayjay, sabutan, pandan, sugar
cane.
Pillows. (See Cushions.)
Pitchers: Bamboo joints.
Portieres: Abaca, nito.
Powder boxes: Coconut shell.
Purses. (See Tobacco cases.)
Ropes: Abaca, bast fibers, balangot of Batangas, bowstring hemp,
buntal, buri raffia, buri strips, cobboot, coir fiber, maguey, rice
straw, sugar-palm fiber.
Rugs: Buri raffia, coir fiber, sugar-palm fiber.
Savings banks: Coconut shell.
School bags. (See Hand bags.)
Screens:
Folding—
Frame: Bamboo, rattan, wood.
Sides: Bamboo, buri raffia.
Window: Bamboo, banban, cat-tail, palm splints.
Slippers:
Toe: Abaca, areca sheath, balangot, buri raffia cloth, cat-tail,
cobboot, lupis, maguey, pandan of Majayjay, rice straw, split
pandan, tayoc-tayoc, tiker, tikug, vegetable sponge.
Lower sole: Abaca, balangot, cat-tail, cobboot, lupis, maguey,
pandan of Majayjay, tayoc-tayoc, tiker, tikug.
Slipper holders: Buri strips, pandan, tikug.
128
Spoons: Coconut shell.
Swagger sticks: Rattan wound with abaca, buntal, Calasiao splints,
irao, kilog, lupis, nito.
Tables: Bamboo, rattan, wood.
Tatting:
Toes of slippers: Abaca.
Textiles: Abaca, bowstring hemp, buri raffia, cotton, maguey, pine-
apple fiber.
Tobacco cases: Bamboo, buri strips, Calasiao splints, nito, sabutan,
tikug.
Valises. (See Hand bags.)
Wall pockets: Bamboo, buri strips, pandan of Majayjay, sabutan.
Washstands: Bamboo, rattan.
Whips. (See Swagger sticks.)
Scientific name and province.
Lygodium circinnatum:
Alba
APPENDIX B.
Plants reported by teachers to the General Office, Bureau of Education,
in response to Circular 175, s. 1910.
Under each species name
are given the names of only those provinces reporting same.
Ferns.
Common name.
Local name.
Custis ae eee
J MTay ats Va epee ee Se a
LT O(a Le a ee ae ee
Gapaonre = 5 ott oe
Camarines ee re ae
ete are oe SE Se S28
POTSOPOn — —.-—
Surigao-Misamis
PUVA See a
US ee ae
Mambatlesess = ee
LASTS eh a ey RL Yee
LTS 2S a ee
J Se i ee a
Nueva Vizcaya--_-_-_---_---
Oriental Negros _______-_-
ST y et es
Li Sindh Se: ee eee 2
LT aTi os OS i eae ae
LODE A a SS SS
UNE ee ES eee
8 Reported by Bureau of Science.
129
130
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
Frerns—Continued.
Scientific name and province. Common name. Local name.
Lygodium semihastatum:
VAM sha esse oe NY Anton
Gapayanion 228 7 Be ea (a
ea wririne ey ee eet ene SN (a)
Mindorod a eens. oS (a)
Occidental Negros _______|__- (a)
ORBOP OM en a ee oe oe Nito.
CGE Nef ek RS ee Sat © te ee (a)
Dryopteris pteroides:
Ilocos Norte_____________- (a)
acura 2 ee ee Bae (a)
IMindaroea.t0 ess 5 Ae ee (a)
Pampanrar oo. ee ee ee (a)
eZ) eee ee ene a S(T (a)
Mamaress Ses Ee see alee Locdo
Moro oe ook aa ee ee ees a
Gleichenia linearis:
Alay 2 28's eres ahs) (a)
Pactina ann ee ee Kilog.
Mindorom<-2 ts scot ose (a)
Mountain. (a)
Rizal: oe. rnd Se Fah (a)
TaVvAabas =e ee Ree (a)
Mora eee tery at ee he (a)
Nephrolepis hirsutula:
Albay s 2 =) st Saw ee Alolokdo.
Noeos Sur ss 2 eee (a)
eaprania es! eM oat (a)
MIN GOTO rset. ee et Alolokdo.
Occidental Negros ______- (a)
zal ae a ee oes (a)
DOFSO@ON Te een ene Korokalasag.
Pavabas moe 2b.) fees (a)
Moroes fice fic tee BS (a)
Stenochlaena palustris
IO) A Baa a tS a aaa eee ae Hagnaya
OU ree eek eis ye ee) Do.
inp es set hee Do.
Theytetee ne Aboot eS (a)
Palawan een 3 ee Ae eee Agnaya
MOLBOOM ete a eee Jagnaya.
Surigao-Misamis _________ (a)
Miyabagee eee ae (a)
Moro pet ne grit et ae (a)
Pandans.
Pandanus copelandii:
‘Arusan see we, so 2ce IBarig ss es ee Baloy, baroy.
A Bay rse eee Fe eee Gps ee ae Bariu, boreo, boreu, buruiu.
BORO R tes ae ee eons See (Pore ee Baleo, balewe, baliu, balio.
Cagayan en eae C: br) ele Sea he ear ees (a) r
Capiz ye eee er ee OO aS eae. ee Se Baleo, balewe, baliu, balio.
Daruniae ss es ee shoe Gh es Ree ee Lagutlut.
Mori tains ee ee gee eee a
Nueva Meijas.- ete (s Cala omer uate son ae (a)
Nueva Vizcaya___________|__- Gi sans es (a)
Occidental Negros___-_____|__- CO ssa ater ees oe Baleau.
Pangasinan’ =~ 220) a a ype Ds es SAL SE el (a)
PAIMBY See ce See ee ee CO ae eae es ee Se Bareu.
Surigao-Misamis -______-_|__- Lo (ieee PPh, ST ee Baleo, balewe, baliu, balio, baloy,
baroy
Zambales = 22.22) 2 ee olen ra We Sete at oe ens = (a)
Moro 22: 2a: eee ee (i (yen Ne Nine OR (a)
® Reported by Bureau of Science.
131
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
PANDANS—Continued.
Scientific name and province. Common name. Local name.
Pandanus dubius:
522) 0%} [Sno ORS ee Se Taboame Osh 4 4S Bacong.
Surigao-Misamis _________]-__ MOG r sees Taboan.
(Moray) te eee ae Pe hs) ES GOs cha eee ee (a)
Fandanus luzonensis:
aA CAT soe ee ee OAV EY SY: GL a Nea cere Pandan de China.
125072) es fey BN ee Bee MO rete oer ve Alasas, dasa.
PeMNIBAIES pa een ie eS G fae els SARE See any Alasas.
Pandanus radicans:
PAD a yi yenloe s 8 en, Tg Oyango.
ib tijete) Dele CSU SS ee Se ae Eee d Wango.
ey een see es 2 es ie be | A Olango.
SOrsorcon=—-- ees Uyango.
Surigao-Misamis Owango.
Pandanus sabotan:
tines =e De ee Sabutan.
Piznine ess 5 ae NS Do.
VD AB 5. aeRO Be Se Do.
Pandanus simplex:
ie? 2 OS ees Karagumoy.
Pamarinessf-2 2 ie 3. _d Do.
(Gh Sree SS ee ae Do.
neutering et” Laks in ate | Do.
MBEBOROM) «2 252 see ed Do.
averse es a Do.
Pandanus tectorius:
LATENT (peace ae Pandan
Bataucase.<--J.5. 23! fe)
eA ea oe Do.
OD Le a ee ee eee Do.
MecomiSur: 32. es Pangdan.
Lay fos seo mek a pe Pandan.
MGCVtGEn a ae! ose Do.
Mindoro 52 52-22 Do.
Oriental Negros Do.
PAMNane Ss oS hsv soo se es Do.
RI ZA a ee Do.
Surigao-Misamis Do.
bee el FCC NS hae ae SE Pe Do.
Lig ei Eee ee ee ee Do.
LTTE ON VET pee ave ee SS Panglan.
ily tre, Se ee eae a eee eS do Pandan.
Pandanus utilissimus
OSE SeTIN See ee ee oe Pandan of Majayjay_-| Pandan, pandan totoo, kalaguimay.
Nueva Vizcaya ___-_-.----|_-- co tS tea a A (a)
ESTES Cc a ee |---de = £4 Se el ey (a)
Palms.
Areca catechu:
Lye y ves s Cet Sai ie ees Sa Bunga
Batangas Do.
Bulacan Do.
Cagayan Bua.
Camarines Banga
RGR etek. bee Bunga
Ilocos Norte Boa.
Ilocos Sur Do.
Penns se tee Bunga.
Pampanga Luyos
i men lee Se ee es, Bunga.
Tayabas Do.
Arenga mindorensis:
MAY ee ee wood oe Tipon-tipon, bilis.
TRUE UAE Eg a eee we 2G d (a)
® Reported by Bureau of Science.
132
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
PaLmMs—Continued.
Scientific name and province.
Common name.
Local name.
Arenga mindorensis—Cont’'d.
ieriicn ie . ee ee Dumayaca palm __-__-- Dumayaca.
Gamurines®_-.: =... 2222) 8 GOP see ee Abigui, romaka.
eapun nese ee eee oe Cg OG) See ae eee Gumayaka.
Nimdore ee soe eee doe eae (a)
SOLROCON cee e eae eee EPEC aes Se Seen ae Belis.
ayabas ees se ees (3 Co eee oye eee Dumayaca, dayumaka.
Arenga saccharifera:
Hidiok.
Hidiok, igok.
Batbat, ebiok.
Hibiok, hidiok, palma criste, habiok.
lrok, kaong.
Hibiok.
Kaong.
Trok.
Occidental Negros ______- es Soyo n ee noes ot ee Hibiok.
Oriental Negros__________ REM Gs) eee ve ee Bagotbat, idiok.
Surigao-Misamis ________- PENG O we. Mesos Sy eee Onao.
Wayahasssse02. <3 <2 Sedo) eee ee Trok.
mambalese 2-2 cots sssote5e Bett p ys 2a Nee ee ee 0.
Caryota cumingii:
VAN Da yee Sot oo ne ee Pucahan 2252.2 22=5 Hagol.
WOLSOSON Ess = sess eee PERG eee ee eee Pugahan, hagol.
Wayabascs: soa fe eS OE (ce ae pe res GR Pugahan.
Cocos nucifera:
Rata: sks fo se oe Coconut palm _-_--_---- Niog.
Bataneaste = 2 ee epg = ee ee eee Do.
1B lacan ves ose ae Ce Soli ge te ee ee Do.
Cavite sa) 8222242. 4 Vedoy: 52s ee Do.
Cebu se. att ore 0 Se ee eae eS Lubi.
HlocosNorte-=2 222 oa 20 (i ae ST ee Niog.
MISCO SUTe cee t= te ee Beto Se a ee Do.
Martian noe see ase ON se eae Do.
Rizale noes te Se = el (ee eee eee ae Do.
Wavalas es ee oe BEG pest serene Las Do.
Buri.
Buri, buli.
Buri, silag.
LN Cos [aes aes 33 ee eee pe Vo ee ae ee Buri.
Marinas As enh a Se eee Pd 1 to; Bae ee ee) Buli.
Dieytes een tet eo ee Wie i (ORE A ewe eS Buri.
INGeyvalbeniaee a2 --- sae oe Lees (oe ee Sa Buri, piet.
Nueva Vizcaya _._...__..- CE i) Pe See ig ORE Oe 2 Taktak, bagatay.
Occidental Negros _-____- LSYdo™ see oe eee Buri.
Oriental Negros __-_------ Oe ee eee see eee Buli.
Pampancdser.2--- 2-7 o.s- EE Vis Soe eee ee Ebus.
Pangasinan Piet, silag.
Rizal See eee a ee Buri.
DOLVBORON aoe eee eee ee Do.
Varlae 038s So teens : Ebus, silag.
Wavabas esos cease ce aoe uri.
inion sone ee Silag
(4.16 epee ape Se Se Buri.
Heterospathe elata:
Albayie-2. 026 2.8. eeeece Saguisi.
BOHOL es eee ee ee Sagise, seguise.
Cagayan: == 3.2 tae 2a (a)
Camarines 3-29 ee ae (a)
Cebus}. 22 Fe ee ae (a)
Laguna: ccs. cces ee eee cena (a)
8 Reported by Bureau of Science.
133
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
PaLMs—Continued.
Scientific name and province. Common name. | Local name.
Heterospathe elata—Cont’d.
Mindoro ees sae ee Saguise palm_________ (a)
Mara. 25 eee ee eee 1S NE (7 Feces TS eS (a)
Livistona rotundifolia:
1) Tee ee ASS ee Palma )brava==-—->-——-| Anahao
PANGAN CE 2n F- 252 oe ee 2 a eee Bahi.
eho re a Se Bott lh ee eke See eee Do.
Saenvare ses os bens Ee (roa eee Anan, ballang.
Sy eee Se eee Eis |) Se ee Bahi.
GAC tae es eee EEN (re Ea ace Do.
Tiocos Norte <2 3222-22)... Beh 2 oe eee Anadao, labig.
Worcs. our == 5-5-2822 SE MOR st eS Do.
IGS ee ee eS See Bahi
LTT St Ty ae Anao
LET Ty oe Se eee Anahao
iag tenes fot aie hes 8 Bahi.
Occidental Negros __ Do.
Oriental Negros Do
Raneaninan ss Ae eS
CATES ES Fen ge ee Sal
WR ar ssa ee |S mene ee re
Nipa fructicans:
MEA f EG ee ee Nina paling 2s
E27 Er oh) aE Eales a e ae es pe te eae
LST EN yr: el ed Rs sl, eee es tis,
Levclite) io Sees ee eee ee O Ae eo
LESTE eT, ne es ee SAG Ee ae
(Chay Sf tr) SaaS ee ee
awibe peer ea an eS sett tr ee eee ee ee
GPEUIYT | sae ee See Seen Oe >= ate AL
Loar eae sees eee 8 2G (ne ee
MENG OrOL 8s ese Ses Pun yi el eee ae
Pamnsn on ssa et eet 3 a a Se
Lyte: | Weal eS eee Lo Gy Ge
Wavabaniee = oo. See ee Tr ete ee,
MAMpAIES ooo cece S 8 AA: thy aa Se A
Palma brava, abiang.
Bagsang, bahi.
Anahao.
Nipa.
Sasd, ldsa.
Do.
Sasa.
Sasa, lasa.
Tata.
Sas4, lasa.
Nipa.
Sasd, lasa.
Sasa.
Sas4, nipa.
Sasé, ldsa.
® Reported by Bureau of Science.
Rattans.
'y
Oriental Negros _________- Se 2 a ee ee
Manpasimanes-<—) oo.) 2 citi ee eee
USE 2 Sea ee == c0 ha eee eee eee
Ln Si a Fee Elon ee
pera legs se ei he eee et eee
Daemonorops gaudichaudii:
CUE eee eS Pe Mri has
iGarmninrinen: S35) 2S Nee TY Se tae OE
Co eo Sere Sena Ce (rye EER eee ee
ROO ON aac ee Soe ee aye oe Le Es
TAMING hee ee eee Se 3 (EE Ee Soe ee
AUADAS 2025-5 ou 4 Aes V7 fp alee nt RE
Tagaloa.
Uay, tagocan.
Uay, oey.
Barit (1l.).
Barit.
Babuyan, barit.
Samulig, lacaon, ouay babae, ouey ne
binabae, palasan, parasan, tikol,
gatasan, labnig.
Bogbog.
Labnig.
134
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
Grasses.
Scientific name and province. Common name. Local name.
Andropogon (A. zizanioides,
A. squarrosus, A. murica-
tus):
AN aves aka oe eS Vietiver:= === Ss | Mora
Aritraue toe = cook Soe eee do 4-2-2. >: - Se Do
[Boholese see ae ae BSA eae see Amora
Camarines_=.___-----=--=-- SOPs ote = aes 2 Se Moras
Canige 22 ee ee ears (ee eee ee ey See Rimodas, tres moras.
Cebtie se ee ee BEE i ene ee, eee Amora, mora.
Mocos Suri: s 28s s oil’ (Re ee Anis de moro.
Monge eee ae 250 see ee ee Gueron, guiron, mora.
Occidental Negros __-_---- oes Ce eS Se Bes Mora.
PaMmpanwa res op sae es ee ee eee Anias, anias de moras, ilib.
SOrsOrcOl ee a2 2 os ee EEG (ieee: ae See ye eee Moro.
Andropogon aciculatus:
Capiz oe Amores secos_____---- Amores secos.
(Cebur 22h eee E85 yee eee ee ees Do.
iq tit Glee Sees oe ees 20 SS ee eset Amores secos, bariri, dalokot.
Occidental Negros____--_-- done 2st ee ae Amores secos.
(Pampanga: (22... 4 Te LO £8 ee Do.
Andropogon intermedius:
Cebit se es 2S ee Belines 3 5-5-3222 2 02 Beling, biling.
Andropogon halepensis ___--- Batad-batadan _______
Coiz lachryma-jobi:
TUS S pe Se IES a OE as Job’s-tears _______---- Adlay, bintikay, burobayoco, pintaka,
Camarmes= 2222!) 3G) ae a ee Coldasan.
Cavite seek See ees dares see Tigbi.
Cebue ne comes fog Aah ee Core 55 ee ere Dumao, panas, pintaka.
Hoeos Norte. 02 2 Py SSE Seen Abukay (Il.).
lloeosSure oes. =e Bans GSE eR Be ee Do.
apong <n eS ee Sedo tate os soe. Tigbi.
Occidental Negros ______- eae eer se ease Alimodias, poyas.
Pamparea: 2: 323-2 oe ot ie ak Balantakan.
Rizal a eee Bait (ee es es eee Tigbi.
SOrsOrOn mae oe SSG (i) te eo ee eee Adlay, bintikay, burobayoco, pintaka,
tigbikay.
Surigao-Misamis _________ a OO eee eee ee Aglay.
el ee ae Edo fe ee Tigbi.
Imperata cylindrica:
Zecca yas oe eae Copon Soe ae Cogon. .
(Ganiarines oot. 2 ees 2 CAG Gy Es so eee Te eee Do.
(GA rede 52 Se ee ee | SAN ty Cote eee Do.
willsens Norte 2e- 222s ss a ee ene oe a Panao.
Hocos saree 68 eS eer (2 ee Se ese Do.
Molo ee Be BL ar; (a ea a a ah ae Cogon.
sable ote Ace eyo: ooo Is. 2G OVee ee See ee See Mimi, panac.
Nueva Vizcaya______-_--- EG Sa ee ee Cun, guyun, panao.
RPanwened > oe oe es Lite 7) 2 oes ee Cogon.
Ischaemum angustifolium: |
Cagayan 2 8) 222-2225 555 |
Tlocog Norte ose. -F
Mountain 2--- "2-222 52- |.
Nueva. Vizeaya._.~...----
Panpasian 2-25. = ss)
Miscanthus sinensis: }
Allbay2=- "2 ono ee, oe WEIHOL oo seers oer Bigao.
SOrsOgON 402-3 eee So ee eae Bigao, bigaho, gaho, guisa.
Oryza satin ce] ee PILLS Cees Se era
Phragmites vulgaris: /
Albay... 3 ee Wd Crit sao Sole ETS Tambo.
‘Antique (22a Se GG foes aes esac Tabunac.
Bataan 6 Se eae EC yo eee Be Pee Tambo.
‘Bohol. 2 =e is ee eee Gas hae ee ee Bugang.
Camarines == hee oe eee SESE Op eel ae aoe ae Lupi.
Cebu ‘0 Se ioe ens |
Tangbo.
Ilocos Norte 2S Se at snk: eA | Tanobong (II.).
135
Plants reported by teachers, etc—Continued.
GrassEs—Continued.
Scientific name and province. Common name. Local name.
Phragmites vulgaris—Cont’d.
Hocos' Sure Wanibo $2529 3 anes! Tanobong (II.).
Molen) ..-2 toa eee ES Pie SE Re ee el Tabunac.
RCL (ae ee ee eS eee ee eee Taguisi, tantanubong.
LDN an Oe ees ee ERG Ne oe eee Tambo.
Oriental Negros _____----- Wat be Do.
12: Oe eT aa eee ee A SiC fh See ae Do.
Lyte ale a ee ee ee Seid s (CY SA ee a ee See Do.
Saccharum officinarum ___--- Spas cine. oo.
Saccharum spontaneum:
J 10K gee Re PRE Sean Ae Calsinb == Talahib
LST [1 ee Se SE aed | (ye ee ee Shs ae Tigbao
153) 117) Se SE Eee a ees (11 Dee et ae ee Bugang
JE eee ee ee SS Ee Se Ae Tigbao.
ASCs a Fee a a aie oT Le ee Vk SS Talahib, sikal.
Occidental Negros _______ AT (Sat ee Re eae Tigbao.
Sorsoror eet s5 ast te i eae ee Talahib.
mynbaae set 8 ae (eS | aS ee ee oe Do.
JETT ET ae LP ee 8 SESE SS Talahib, sidda.
Sporobulus elongatus: H
UPS SR Se LST) <P ee a ee ee Bacuit, banquit.
Thysanolaena maxima
LST ATS Oe eee a Tiser crass = 5. 5 Lasa.
Beinn hela) saa Patdon f-4- Beee wiee a
Ilocos Norte________-_--__ 0 iy aes Be ee eg Hh Buibui (Il.).
Mocos Sur 2) ee 5s 5 |i pees ee in ee Do.
Mandar |. iid ge Sie tip ee (a)
Mipritams:-> 2 30 Reo ye Se Se ey Tagadeu
Occidental Negros _______ Shr: |i eee ees eee a
LETTN Cr (ee ee a I (ee ee Bugubui (Negrito).
iN ee ee ee EEG fr SoS eee (a)
Apluda mutica:
LETT rt (4 Agee eee ae Calamutian___________ Calamutian.
atthe ne Ss PS ae OS oe Ss Ek te Maycauyan.
Eleusine indica:
Occidental Negros ______- Palartiqgie = = 2 Palagtiqui.
Pampanga 2 os ado a ea ee Sabung-sabungan.
Lh ae ee oer a ea oe ee a Gagabutan.
Ophiurus corymbosus:
Camarimes: =-—-- =.=. ' PIS TOM. ee aes = oe Sigburon.
Eragrostis tenella:
Rampanes) =. 2 2 = Wale mun y- 22 Se eee Sale ayup.
Fragrostis viscosa:
Dig? eee |»Purcad maya... -2 = Pugad maya.
8 Reported by Bureau of Science.
Bamboo.
Bambusa blumeana
JES ee et a eee oe Spiny bamboo ________| Duguian, kabugaoan, marurugui,
ruguian.
JOT AT? Cr a ee sf G Fie bes Seis Mier a ates Beles Kawayan.
Log Sees ae (Eats Fe i 2 ee Kawayan, kawayan totoo.
LET EEC a aa Sa 2 oo eee 1 eS Ae ele Bok Kawayan totoo.
LET) 1 (ee ee ge ae ieee. LEGIT ee age PRES | Kawayan.
ES IACHYE oe eS ey ee ks Cy Oe ee | Kawayan, kawayan totoo.
Cagayan Bee Ane o-etoN bee emesis ts eee Oe A! Pasingan.
Canine oe ee PO eee es | Aono-o.
Sapa bes sh en ste Te ee Lec yt ARE aes Kawayan, kawayan tot oo.
ESTERS tees A eed Lee Rell) See eek ete | Kawayan.
RIG ms a see SANG Ty A AR Oe BM | Kawayan guid, paua.
Warns 2s-- 25-22 nee Jey Cie ee Re BEER ee | Kawayan totoo, kawayan matinic.
TINO = 22 8 eI fe SF Tee cae Se ._. Kawayan.
Nueva Vizcaya__________- St | pe .| Bayug.
Occidental Negros _______ Oe Mt ae ob ERs Kawayan, kawayan nga bulilao.
ean ees ON 7 i ae peel a ee oe | Baguin, kawayan.
twa oes ee tee ee Sats [gee Reece Seem | Kawayan.
Plants reported by
136
teachers, etc.—Continued.
BamBoo—Continued.
Scientific name and province.
Common name.
Local name.
Bambusa blumeanu—Cont'd.
Sorsorontsee oe sos et Spiny bamboo ____---- Duguian, kabugaoan, marurugui,
ruguian, kawayan.
Surigao-Misamis -________|--- (3 cee 2 Se ee oe ate Batakan, kawayan.
WUT POs ae 5 See ee eee ee das) ee Kawayan.
Paya bagese st st ee dots yo ae Kawayan matinic.
Rion ess 2 ee LE (i Ve RR a te eee Kawayan seitan.
cM Daeg hts pet ee a ee (i eyeme ae is Rone ees Bayog.
1 Ry oe) (eee ae S| HSE Ow ee Kawayan.
Bambusa glaucescens ____---- Dwarfed bamboo_-____
Bambusa vulgaris:
Butong, kaboloan.
Burirao.
Lunas.
Kawayan kiling.
Butong.
Kawayan kiling, taywanac.
Lunas, sinambang, kawayan sa
China.
Bolinao.
Kawayan hobero.
Lunas.
Kawayan kiling, kawayan bayuguin.
Nueva Vizeaya--_..-.___._|-=- dO ns aoe ee a Kawayan kiling.
Occidental Negros _-.____.|_-- Ons eee ered Kawayan nga dalusa.
URES VEY eas 08 Be An ees ee | (6 (ey Ses SRP ee eee ee Kawayan kiling.
Wmionyes: ea ee a ee OLY Beco SAL eee eee Do.
AaAmMpalesia oe wer ues does ee ae Do.
Bambusa vulgaris var. stri- | Yellow bamboo_-_____-
ata.
Dendrocalamus latiflorus:
Al bayer tare ee ee AS Botong Botong, kaboloan.
Camarines 02 53 2 72 GO Se ce ern ee Botong, bolongsina.
Cele a ee ae Cowes. Natale ere as Botong, butun.
DOLSOR ON eee tee tere aL be day Sere res Kaboloan, patong.
Surigao-Misamis _________|_-- AO) on est Ss se RIE Patong.
Dinochloa scandens:
Cebit o es ne ee Zigzag bamboo __-_-___- Balukawi.
Mindorocs a nee ee ae Goes 2 ee srt Balukawi, timak.
MOTOR en ee ee eae ow Pet Oe Bukao.
Gigantochloa scribneriana:
13%0) sto) (ae oe Oa ier eS Te Bolotes-s-s2- ee eee Botong.
Bialacane eee ee SeKCs Ce) re OT nie Kawayan de China.
GCanizets. ee se Se LEG (5 a eee eee Bolo, boco, botong.
Schizostachyum acutiflorum:
IDAG Ae se nr ee eS Bike Aseee ee oe Hindi, indi, inri.
Ratna Se ee 0 ae dO ety ey Be Guimac. \
Bonoleee =. 2 tise OT ree Ry SE 2 Sitenens Bongbong.
Cann eee Se nt ee EGO 2 eee ede A, 0.
MIOCOS SUN ao ee ses eed Ofctete ss ee ee Bikal.
10G)) yee es See ae oe Ser Do yee te Sale ete NE Se Baliaro, balicao.
Pampanrare eee es) one wd Ge eta eee Bikal, lilit (Negrito).
Panpasiman isos. ee so OR Toe ERs re ae Bikal.
SOrsogon = eee eee 25 ST ATS Oph Sabet, Hindi, indi, inri.
Schizostachyum dielsianum:
atanpass |. 2 ss ret Bikalibabioss-eoeceeee (a)
Bono) seer Sere aire 2a(: (0) <a ag Lo-ob.
Casayanee ek eas C2 As lo eee Rea NE OS Bikal
Gaviter2i 2 sas es kets |s omen, eR hs ee Usio, usiw.
WiaAgtnaret coset ee eee ali (0), Se oe ene ee ESS 0.
Pampanga so-525. ee ee Met o yer es sot eos ke AA Bikal babi, bikal machui (Negrito).
cl bf: Wag Fp aes OS See rer EK PPE re ROAR § TGS Ses (a)
Union pee eee ee AAs (oy Sea Og a 2 eS Bikal.
TETODRI CR oe ee te eset: (cy) Sa. oe ee Bikal baboy.
Schizostachyum fenixii:
Moros Sars oes Woe ee PUABE nS eee eee senna Puser.
Schizostachyum hallieri:
Bateart oe ee eee Barcarey: 2-252 - 4.2 Anos.
Cavite. 223 Sse CO means ce eee ene Do.
® Reported by Bureau of Science.
137
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
Scientific name and province.
Bamsoo—Continued.
Common name.
Seeercraehaiis hallieri—Ctd.
Local name.
yer) < Seepage £205 Bapaleays 222222 = 5. 2.2 Bagakay
UP TSO Ee 3 ee Ee ee RUT See eee Anos.
LUA ee Se re (5 ae eT a ge Do.
LUFT ieee Sees a oe eee 12 OG Pet eee Bolo.
Schizostachyum hirtiflorum:
iE Yo a Beal a ae tee (SR EE Bapdkanyeeo. = ess ss Bulu
Nueva Vizcaya-_____-_-_-- arses (7) Ae = ee ae ee Do.
ealwaneen ee sac ele fe (6 ba) See A eR Bulu, bagakan.
VAT ET ECHR T eS RS eR a (ea Bulu.
Schizostachyum mucronatum:
LANES a HO RS REE 212 ss Yo Bagakay, oras.
IS EN TG) 4 ee DS Se en ee (coe eS eee Bagakay.
(OEE) Te SE I ICO Pe Buhé.
CES =o sek eS ee S| RG; Pr ea ae Or ee Bagakay.
CE ee DS RL SG ee ee Buhéo.
MOGs ee. rome nee Sige te eS ok Bagakay.
Laguna _| Kawayan sunsong.
LIES eR I ie DR HEPES: (7) Se eee Bagakay.
STIR TUT Ae as EOE Ce a Se Do.
Sedges and similar plants.
Cyperus malaccensis:
[ate ae ee ES le Balangot.
Bnlgenniicss o.oo al Do.
Camarines Do.
COVE VASE = Se SR aaa | Ne Baga-as.
Nereg nt fo aie ee es SE Balangot.
; Ore) oe ae ae SS eS Pe, Do.
ig ee, ee Do.
Mindoro _________ Do.
Pampanga Do.
TE VEEL DN ae RE eo i ana Se ia Do.
Cyperus radiatus:
LAS E77 SS EE ee Oe Alinang.
1 ELEC 1 oe a SS Balabalangutan.
avavans.e oe fo io 32 Upopi.
ie, a ee Obod-obod.
Cin, eee eee Alinang.
[Lay re ee ee Do.
Oriental Negros_________- Bd On pene eee Malapandan dagko.
RD oto tS EY Po Pye ee a Alinang.
LO Eas ere OS Ct ek te ee Se ee Obod-obod.
Cyperus tegetiformis_____--.- Chinese matting sedge
Fimbristylis diphylla:
RGAE V ANOS no. = ae (a)
CaN ate So ee Tayoc-tayoc.
Gy hy Se oo eee Do.
Lap ore h eee at (a)
MIOgmtar ne: ee Pauai.
Nueva Vizcaya___________ (a)
Occidental Negros _- Tayoc-tayoc.
[ee eS (a)
Surigao-Misamis (a)
COTE) CS ee BS TIS Tayoc-tayoc, tabtabin.
Fimbristylis miliacea:
SEE a
Fimbristylis utilis:
PIR oes ee a ees Anahiwan.
Lote) EEE bs Be Tikug.
DE] ET 1 ey a ey ae ie | BE Do.
aE RR a cat ES, Tayoc-tayoc.
Serine oo (a)
BESO eee 2 es 6) Ue eee Tikug.
Pampanga 2. 3.222. Ie Muta.
* Reported by Bureau of Science.
138
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
SEDGHS AND SIMILAR PLANTS—Continued.
Scientific name and province. Common name. Local name.
Fimbristylis uttlis—Cont’d.
Surigao-Misamis Anahiwan.
Bayabas 2-2) a
IMGro ene sees es ee Anahiwan, sud-sud.
Juncus effusus ______---------
Rynchospora aurea:
TN ck es ek ad ee Agas, bariu-bariu, raguidiu.
Camarines 2003. 2-5 25-222 Raguidio, raguio, rakeydo.
Webuser e Agas.
LOE ari ees Se ee es Tikiu.
Meytess.- 22) 30 eee eee Agas.
Sorsogonts=s) 302 see Agas, bariu-bariu, raguidiu, piso-piso.
Scirpus erectus: ;
Occidental Negros ______- LACOR? 3a ta eo ee Ticog, tayoc-tayoc.
Scirpus grossus.
iL eS 2S SES iqui Agas.
Camarines Balangot.
Capize re ee Baguibagui, balangot.
Occidental Negros ______- CT (Ce Ae ee ee | Baga-as.
Riza lees ree a EE ed NESS (0 [pee pee en Oe yes Tiquio.
Scirpus lacustris:
Cagayan se =. = eee Miker oo222-- 255 sot Tiker.
Mlocos*Norte —- 2-2-2225 £G Wie ease ee eee Do.
Nocos Sure ee aoe oe Se Sdoee 2 tess of ahs Saeed Do.
Scirpus mucronatus:
(See ee SS wee ieee Bilvaness = 2 eae Biluan.
Typha angustifolia:
Batangas). 932 ais 2) Cat-tailc-e See Balangot.
Bohrer ee 28 Sn (eee ee eee Lampacanay.
Rloiloess S85 eee Be ter do ite ste haa a)
Mevies sortie. eee es ELEN (hy eee ee Se ee Balangot.
Mindoro.22.42020 222372 re SP (rye a ee ee (a)
Oriental Negros ---_---_-- 2G [te Hae ee ee ee Tubol-tubol.
iPaneasinanoss =e Oi [iy Se Oe ae ee eee Caidqued.
8 Reported by Bureau of Science.
Vines.
Pothos longifolius:
OLSOPONE ho ae ae AmlOn ys eee Hipan, oroola.
Pothos ovatifolius:
JN No phe Des OP, Ss ee aR ‘(AMION Re 32 ae Kalot-kagot.
Camarines ss29- = ee LE Tyee ee eee: eee Do.
SEITE S oe SS oe RP er Gb eee ee eee Do.
Sorsovone ee fe TENG (SE COS we ee Nal Do.
SPAVADAS hee SX is Cees RN iE Prete Se Kalipkip.
Pothos philippinensis:
A aly ee Se eee Amionpe 22>. S22 eee Baladauan, oroolaypan.
Bataan wate tee ea et BAMA G ee et ee ee 0.
BTA Cathe secne an see ps Cay ee et ee! Do.
Pothos rumphii:
Ait y ee So eee ace amilon po eee soe Amlong
nn as one SEN SoG One 8605 a ae os 0.
BVO ne pra eee Ce SOO Ree na a noe eS Do.
Oriental Negros_________- pais eV i aaa ee ee Pree Do.
Raphidophora perkinsiae:
Mountain
WAVADAB) tacnake cn et eee
Raphidophora merrillii:
NDS had ee Pe ee Black amlong ___-_--_-_- Amlong, bacog.
BAtAN OAS peor ee se eee e(s (ayes pete opel ae ee Lukmoy.
SGN ON oho ese Pet Ve ont tare Skane Amlong, takoling.
Cavite ee oe ee Os Gee OES Se Tibatib.
Ceiiy a Ae ee GS Ae eee Takoling.
Isabela: 52224050 2e eee Bi Oye Bee ee Garusiba.
Da pirias «fee ee te ee a ee ti bye et en a, Tibatib.
Nueva Vizcaya ____-.___-.!__- 6 SU eee Balision, amiling, amuling.
139
Plants reported by teachers, etc-——Continued.
Vines—Continued.
Scientific name and province.
Common name.
Local name.
Raphidophora merrillii—Ctd.
Sorsogon
Tarlac
Tayabas
LAE rae Ds SE ine eee
Mindoro
Raphidophora copelandii:
Mindoro
Entada scandens:
Antique
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Sur
lloilo
Mindorove sss.
NMeva rea... 2.
Nueva Vizcaya
Occidental Negros
Tayabas
Union
Alba
Cagayan
Laguna
LLPYOG (Tai RS Se, Se ae
Naeva Meigs te
Nueva Vizcaya
Pangasinan
Rizal
Tayabas
Union
Miele acs Ths
do
Amlong.
D
0.
Lukmoy.
Amolong, gayaman kilat, maragaya-
man.
Lukmoy.
Do.
Balogo, balones, bayogo, gohong
bacay.
Bayogo.
0.
Balogo, balones, bayogo, gohong
bacay.
Gogo or gugo, bayogo.
Balogo, balones, bayogo,
bacay.
Bayogo.
Balogo,
gohong
balones, bayogo, gohong
balones, bayogo, gohong
balones, barugo, bayogo,
gohong bacay.
Balugo.
Bayogo.
Do.
Balogo,
bacay.
Do.
Bayogo, gohong bacay.
Bayogo.
Balogo,
bacay.
Gogo or gugo, bayogo.
Lipai.
balones, bayogo, gohong
balones, bayogo, gohong
Caluuauay.
Hoag.
Hoag, sagakap.
Hoag, bulokawi.
Hoag.
| Oay ti oac, tewung, kaliwayway.
Balingway.
Balingway, bulokawi.
Balingway.
Auni si gayang, uenag ayang anuad.
Inuad, inual.
Balingway.
Hoag, hoagoay.
Balingway.
Annuad.
Do
Patola, tabubuc.
Patola.
Do.
140
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
VINES—Continued.
Scientific name and province.
Luffa cylindrica—Cont’d.
Gawitetes San oe
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Sur
Occidental Negros
Oriental Negros
Pampanga
Rava bas ees eee
Pericampylus incanus:
All Dp avaee san ee een ee
Batangas. = ==. sie
Camarines
Moro
Common name.
Local name.
Vegetable sponge ----
Patola.
Kabatiti (II.).
Do.
Tabongas.
0.
Patola.
0.
Tabubuc.
Patola.
Pamago.
Silong pugo.
Pamago.
a
(a)
Tugui-tuguian.
a
4 Reported by Bureau of Science.
Plants with leaf or petiole fibers of commercial value.
Agave cantula ____--_-,------ Macueyse ot ae so
Ananas sativus:
Camarines 320-22 Pinas se Secs
Tlocos' Norte-= 2-2 2-2- 2-2 ot (RS ee AS Ne
MGCOS SUT ee eee ee CG ee fe eed
Mirsoitestilis 2-2 = paca! 2 hay ties
Musa paradisiaca_____------- Banana jo) -aeee 2222
Sansevieria zeylanica:
/ ATG Cee = eS a es Bowstring hemp -----
1533) 10) ee Oe ee SS So 3 (ey Res FS aa eee |
TocossNorte 2-2. eS ee Be et eS Se ee
LUG th i ae ee ae Md One oo mee Foes oa
Tenbela tesa ese ae oe Peis Ce) ee Te Pe = Se
[GAP na ae ee need pos (6 (eae pe Ie eee ee
Nueva’ Bicija <2. = 22-2 Eas (0 — ae ae ee te
Nueva Vizeaya-- 2... =2--2 SIG ilk ER ged
Pampangas=---— Rd oe silo. 2 Ss See
SOLreecon eae se ceee nee Peo nse Sere se
Tavabae 5. eee. Stee nas CoS Pa Se
Winton soe en ee ee SECO en oe eae ee
Malisa.
Pita (Il.).
Do.
Rabo de tigre.
Tigre.
Rabo de leon.
Sabila.
Cakarohay, pacarohay, tigui.
Tigre.
Sinawa.
Banyat, callot, sigre.
Aspeaspe.
Lengua de tigre.
Bontot palos.
Rabo de leon.
Miscellaneous industrial fibers.
Ceiba pentandra:
ATTIC ooo ecoe eee Kapok? + sA5eesos-2nee
Bataan asses |e (7 eee SS. See
Batangas) =~ 2 ot rss ele OO. soe ccna sane
Bohol. 22) SS se ee Gye hee SEE SE
IBUIACAN A 3-0 eae eee Ce te Se ae
Wapizie ase ee on eewe sabe ee (3 (cys ee es ee a
CavitesUrscti loss eee Ost ca neloeeaniene
Doldol, kayo.
Bole bubuy, bulak, bulaksino.
0.
Doldol, kayo.
Balios, kapak, bulak, boby, bubuy,
bulaksino.
Doldol, kayo.
Boby, bubuy, bulak, bulaksino,
141
Plants reported by teachers, etc.—Continued.
MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIAL FIBERS—Continued.
Scientific name and province.
Common name.
Local name.
Ceiba pentandra—Cont’d.
Liz Cir ae eee ee Kapok... == 222 432-52 Bulak-dondol, dondol, dogdol, kayo.
MocosaNorte_~-—---==-- = Bee OPE ee eee Capas, kapas-sanglay.
HIGCOR OTT 22 28 se ote LOO oes sere oe oe nee Do.
LEGS] Ce ee ee Be eee Be: LOVES ean tes es 2 Doldol, kayo.
ipsa tee ee ee SEC) ee ee ae Boby, bubuy, bulak, bulaksino.
ADS ees eT eee Pe ee eas bee ee eS Doldol, kayo.
Occidental Negros --___--- eG ares as. ee en Do.
Oriental Negros_-_--_--_-- Sry | Se Se ere RS Nelppepen ais Do.
Ramp aArigd ye. 6 6820 =u OV Frases 8 Bulak-castila.
ive. ® ee Ee OOAA cake tae Boby, bubuy, bulak, bulaksino, kapak.
Sih ee oe Be dO eee Doldol, kayo.
Digs a es Seer ye ieee Eee ees Boby, bubuy, bulak, bulaksino.
Gossypium spp. -.------------ Cotton =42 se eo.
Dendrobium crumenatum:
PAD AV oe ose. mee ke Irao.
LRG [2 5 5 ee Ee Magimpal, magimpao.
Ruslored vette a See ee oe Karausi.
Camarines_-_-________ Irao.
Ilocos Norte Karonsi.
Mloecosiour soe o22 =~ =. 2 Caramosi.
ESC SS 1 oS Se Karulay.
LL ao ae eee Sangumay,
La Scie) 2 ae ee ee Manano.
MOSSORON en. 2o ue eee alle: Trao.
Donax cannaeformis:
JUST oe BES Re hee AE Banban.
Pees se ea on | Se Do.
iseqenn) So ees See Barasbarasan.
esuierNi aa ee eee Do.
nriati| Lea Sp eee Banban.
TSaT Eres eae epee el Barasbarasan.
CHEE in Be Se eee Banban.
amarimess. 22. 2f5s 6 Bamban.
PER ee ae See, Banban.
Ali vate Se se Banban, barasbarasan.
(Cre yi os ea ee ae re Bamban.
Ilocos Norte -__-_..------- Langkuas.
diocos Sur +2. 225==- Do.
LNG) OLS eee Banban.
LADS ee ee Banban, barasbarasan.
LUGI iC es See Manban.
WUSPEG CoG ye et SO Se Banban.
Nueva Vizcaya --_-------- Aratan, darumaka, mattapal.
Occidental Negros Banban.
Oriental Negros _________- Do.
REALE Sc eS SR age Do.
ampanccde 24 = 2-2 Se Do.
UST | Sea ee i re Barasbarasan.
Se ee rr Banban, bamban.
J EO Se eee Banban, daromaka.
PAU AD AS sees esese =e anes Banban, barasbarasan.
LOT es ee oe Darumaka.
Mambalesves 2422222. --. Do.
Gorchovus spp. =.-..-=.===-2--
Corchorus acutangulus
Corchorus capsularis___
Corchorus olitorius____.-.--_- &
Columbia serratifolia:
SACHA! goon es ee Anilao
SES Se ee eee a 0.
MG Oe en ee Do.
UEC Gz Win ee es eA a ee Keddeng, panaguising.
INneva Mcijas.. 222 Anilao.
Occidental Negros
Anilao, sargo.
142
Plants reported by teachers, etc—Continued.
Bast FrIsers—Continued.
Scientific name and province. Common name. Local name.
Grewia multiflora:
AY Uh ga EE Se ee Manwlin => ees Taroy.
BatHan es ees eed Ss ope ees as ee Danglin.
Batangas eos eee ye ENE 3 (1 ee a en Be Se Do.
15)0) 000) hee Soe eee ee Se Seadoo ees See ee Langosig.
Camarines 220577222 2 so ots Re eee Taroy.
Moros Sur s2s5_ a sees 2200 (0) oe ee, SU Aer ESE SB Alinao.
Mindoro) 2-2 2002 ee ee EUs (pres Meee eee ae Siapo.
Mountain ots oy 23 Sok Bo onsite eee ake Alinao.
INmevarsMCiya = =2" 2a. =ee Bae Ope et ee ee Danglin.
Nueva Vizcaya____-_----- oo oh A se OR Seed Se Dallag.
(Pampangare ee) ae (71s Colette ee Bee Aplit, lanut (Negrito), nagling.
Panpasinanies=-9e 5) eee 2ase(t shee seeneee ad Rata, PSST Alinao.
Sorsoronie 222357 BEECLO eet ee hae Do.
PAVE DAs stoi aes week ae peu tS A as Dangli, kalit-kalit.
UO per i ees eae ae a Li SET (o) pee SS Baas Bite Alinao, al-alinao.
Fambales ate 3: 228 BFP es Seo ew 2 Pees Alinao.
Grewia negrosensis:
Batanpase eed Balitnong) 2 Kanas-kanas,
Capizes a aad alee at Een(6 (0 ty See he meres ae Balitnong.
MocosiNortec. 2.222 ot fs tye BR ee A SR Do.
MocosiSur 2: 3. - Sosa [oy 4 eS eee es Queddeng.
Unione anor oe aie BE idope Sea ase eee Do.
Abutilon indicum:
Ilocos Sur Pal-lo-pal-lot.
Pampanga Marbas.
Bombycidendron vidalianum:
Hlocas:: Norte —-- 222s) Pantiban’= hes. seers Lusuban.
Mocos'Sur).-. 22.286) es Do.
Hibiscus mutabilis:
IBStaAn gasses see ee Mapola.
Hibiscus tiliaceus:
AS Daye eee 8 St Malabago.
Batangas: 2h il oes Mapola.
Bulacan)o- 23-2. ae Balibago, dangliw.
Capiz) Giles Paes eee Malabago.
LACS tees oe a tee Do.
Pangasinan Do.
Sorsogon 252-255. -s Malabago, malobago.
WEA EOS at EE eee Balibago.
Malachra capitata:
Bulacan 2 eee Bakembakes _________ Sipit-ulang.
Cavite rae aisie sien lok (0 (sy hae aE Be SE Ol Bulubuluhan, buluhan.
MGCOS SIT as ase es (oh aN De ee a Bakembakes.
Motlotse eee TN ees EP Oy) sae SRS 2 Te eee Labug-labug.
Occidental Negros_______- id Ose DRS NT Ee Do.
RAM pan wa esse ee Bulbulin.
| Gc T Tay oth Re ae aie See ea ee Bakembakes.
Sida acuta:
Bulacaned 22 he ete Uaualisin.
Ilocos Norte Tak-kimbaca.
MocosiSuriasue eta ee Herbaca, tak-kimbaca.
IEC SI Ey oo eee ae Attay-nab-baca, tak-kimbaca.
Nueva Ecija Walisualisan.
Pangasinan: .--.-- Tacling-baca.
arlacwee eee ee Calisoalisan, tacquinvaca, ualis-ua-
lisan, maratak-kimbaca.
Thespesia lampas:
MOCOR SIR a4 Ses5- 2 a ee Marakapas ______-___- Maratarong.
Monntain= soos one OMe eee end Sake Marakapas.
Nueva Ecija ..!.....--.--- Eae OOS ee Sasa ES Amagong.
VL Nea GT Se ah eee Be ee Beets (cee ee cee ee ee Macacapas.
Urena lobata var. sinuata:
LIGCOB SUN eon ee eee Kollokallot=225. 232. Kollolot, kollokollot.
Esabelay2 2) ae te ee Be (oA ee yed Pee Bee Kuluk, kullu-kulluk.
Mountain]. 225.4 so DAs eee pets Pee Kollokollot.
Nueva Vizcaya __-_-------- BO atk ees Gee fone Kollokollot, afulut, puot sinuang.
Warlae 225: soe. eee BRAG ee eee eee see Kollokollot.
Abroma augusta:
Bataan 2. os ee eee IAN ADO! a= eeeoe aes ae Ambong.
Batangas. <2- 2 ee eel ee GO) fea ae ae Anabo, ambong.
143
Plants reported by teachers, etc——Continued.
Scientific name and province.
Bast Fisers—Continued.
Common name.
Local name.
Abroma augusta—Cont’d.
Nueva Ecija___.____---___
Nueva Vizcaya
Occidental Negros_______-
Oriental Negros__________
Pampanga ee sos. an ae
Rizal
Sorsogon -__
Tarlac
Tayabas
Helicteres hirsuta:
Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Sur
LUC Gy 2 Oe ee ee
Lich eee Se eS
Nueva Soca. -. 2 >
Nueva Vizcaya________-___
Occidental Negros_-_--___-
Oriental Negros____-______
fparpanwe s) 26 ft
Samar
=2do
Anabong, labon, nabo, nabu.
Ambong.
Nabu.
Anabo. :
Ambong.
Annabo, bodobodo.
Anabo, annabo.
Anabo, pacaleal.
| Ambong.
Bago.
Annabo.
Ambong.
Kakaag.
Tongtonking.
Hamitanago, tanag.
Hamitanago.
Tanag.
Hamitanago.
Tanag.
Bitnong.
Tanag, hamitanago.
Hamitanago.
Bitnong.
Do.
Tanag, hamitanago.
Hamitanago.
Tanag.
Bafe niga bunsung, bitnong.
Hamitanago.
Do.
Panampat.
Hamitanago.
Tanag.
Tanag, bitnong.
Biknong.
APPENDIX C.
BUREAU OF EDUCATION,
Manila, October 2, 1913.
CIRCULAR
No. 148, s. 1913.
CLASSIFICATION OF PHILIPPINE INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS.
To division superintendents:
The need of some definite scheme for the classification of industrial
fibrous materials of the Philippines has become insistent. This need
arises from the fact that the same fiber has been assigned to
different classes by various writers and as a result references to and
orders for materials are frequently misunderstood. To overcome
this difficulty, an outline has been drawn up in which an attempt is
made to assign each of the important industrial materials to a definite
class. The class names thus established will hereafter be used by
this Bureau.
The classification which is here made is, no doubt, like other clas-
sifications, more or less arbitrary. However, this outline is based
primarily upon what is believed to be the most important considera-
tion; namely, the use of the industrial material. Its appearance and
destvation are considered as of secondary importance.
All available authorities have been consulted in drawing up this
outline, in order that usage in the Philippines may conform as closely
as possible to that of systems established elsewhere.
FRANK L. CRONE,
Director of Educaton.
CLASSIFICATION OF SOME PHILIPPINE INDUSTRIAL
MATERIALS.
I. STRAWS.
The whole round stalks of grasses, sedges, rushes, and the like
which are pliable enough to be platted, or the same when split but
curled round like whole stalks.
1. Grass straws:
(a) Rice straw.
(b) Wheat straw.
(c) Cobboot straw.
(d) Bacuit straw.
120139 -——10 145
ates i a ves
146
2. Sedge and rush straws:
(a). Tikug straw.
(b) Balangot straw.
(c) Tiker straw.
(d) Chinese matting straw.
(e) Japanese matting straw.
(f) Cat-tail straw.
(g) Alinang straw.
(h) Tayoc-tayoe straw.
II. STALKS.
The whole stalks of grasses, sedges, palms, and the like, which
are not pliable enough to be platted.
1. Grass stalks:
(a) Vetiver stalks.
(b) Cogon stalks.
(c) Tambo stalks.
(d) Talahib stalks.
(e) Bigao stalks.
(f) Bamboo stalks.
2. Other stalks:
(a) Tiquio stalks.
(6) Rattan stalks.
(c) Agas stalks.
III. SPLINTS.
Fairly coarse, stiff, fibrous pieces split off from stalks, stems, and
other parts of plants, and used as ribs or coarse weavers in baskets
and the like.
1. Splints from stalks:
(a) Bamboo splints.
(b) Cogon splints.
(c) Vetiver splints.
(d) Tambo splints.
(e) Talahib splints.
(f) Banban splints.
(g) Rattan splints.
2. Splints from palm petioles.
(a) Dumayaca splints.
(b) Sugar-palm splints.
(c) Buri-palm splints.
(d) Saguise splints.
(e) Coconut splints.
(f) Nipa splints.
(g) Pugahan splints.
147
3. Midrib splints:
(a) Buri midrib splints.
4. Splints from stems and roots:
(a) Nito splints.
(6b) Kilog splints.
(c) Air-roat splints.
IV. STRIPS.
Rather thin, supple, soft, more or less flat strips, taken from any
stalk, petiole, etc., or from a thin leaf blade.
1. Leaf strips:
(a) Buri strips.
(b) Pandan strips.
1. Sabutan strips.
2. Karagumoy strips.
3. Common pandan strips.
4, Majayjay pandan strips.
5. Bariu strips.
(c) Coconut strips.
2. Strips from splints, midribs, roots, and stems:
(a) Bamboo strips.
(6) Calasiao strips.
(c) Irao strips.
(d) Rattan strips.
(e) Nito strips.
(f) Air-root strips.
3. Strips from straws (split straws).
4. Bast strips:
(a) Lubusan strips.
(b) Jute strips.
(c) Anilao strips.
(d) Gomamela strips.
(e) Tacling-baca strips.
(f) Anabo strips.
(g) Tanag strips.
5. Lupis strips:
(a) Abaca lupis strips.
(6) Banana lupis strips.
V. RAFFIAS.
The thin skin of leaves:
(a) Buri raffia.
(6) Pandan raffia.
The extracted or naked fibers of any parts of plants.
af
iw)
moO De
148
VI. FIBERS.
Structural fibers:
(a) Abaca fiber.
(b) Pina fiber.
(c) Maguey fiber.
(d) Buntal fiber.
(e) Bowstring hemp fiber.
(f) Vegetable sponge.
. Surface fibers:
(a) Coir fiber.
(b) Cotton fiber.
(c) Kapok fiber.
(d) Cabonegro fiber. °
(e) Pugahan (kittul) fiber.
VII. ROOTS.
. Air roots:
(a) Amlong.
Ground roots:
(a) Bamboo roots.
(b) Vetiver roots.
(c) Coconut roots.
VIII. STEMS.
. Orchid stems.
. Fern stems.
. Pamago stems.
IX. MIDRIBS.
. Palm-leaf midribs.
X. SHEATHS.
. Bamboo sheaths.
. Areca sheaths.
. Coconut sheaths.
XI. PANICLES.
. Tambo panicles.
. Tiger-grass panicles.
. Cogon panicles.
. Talahib panicles.
—_—... » —.
Abaca
Abiang (palma brava)........
Abigui (dumayaca)............
Abroma augusta (anabo)..
Abukay (Job’s-tears)..........
Abutilon indicum
bas)
Adlay (Job’s-tears) ...........
Afulut (kollotkollot) -...........
Agas
meets (tQUIO) =. 222s esis d.
Agave cantula (maguey)..
Aglay (Job’s-tears) ..............
Agnaya (jagnaya)..............
oA 607)
Al-alinao (danglin)............
Alasas
Alimodias (Job’s-tears) ......
Alinang
Alinao (danglin) ...................
Alolokdo
Amagong (marakapas)......
Ambong (anabo)..................
Amiling (black amlong)....
Amlong
Amolong (black amlong)....
mumora (vetiver):.... 02...
IAIMGECS SCCOS..-..-..---2.-. 20.0...
Amuling (black amlong)....
Anaao (palma brava)........
Anabo
Anabong (anabo)................
natu (anabo)................-...-
Anahao (palma brava)........
Anahiwan (tikug)................
Anan (palma brava)..........
Ananas sativus (pifa)........
TND EX
.| Anao (palma brava)............
Andropogon aciculatus
(amores secos)..................
Andropogon halepensis
(batad-batadan)
Andropogon intermedius
(beling)
Andropogon muricatus (ve-
tiver)
Andropogon
(vetiver)
Andropogon
(vetiver)
Anias (vetiver)...2:.0..0.2..
Anias de moras (vetiver)..
Anilao
Anis de moro (vetiver)......
Annabo (anabo)....................
Annuad (hoag)....................
Anos (bagakay) ....................
Aon: arbi ite ie oe 0 J
Aono-o (spiny bamboo)......
Apt. (danglinjei.2... 9:5.
Apluda mutica (calamu-
tian)
Aratan (banban) ..........<».....
Areca catechu (areca nut
palm)
Areca nut palm
Arenga mindorensis
mayaca)
Arenga saccharifera (su-
gg 11714) 9 a a
Aspeaspe (bowstring
hemp)
Attay-nab-baca
baca)
squarrosus
zizanioides
is (du-
| Auni si gayang (hoag)........
149
118
122
118
114
LB.
Babuyanes (iy) o..n5.. ee
Bacog (black amlong) .......-
Bacong (taboan)...........--:----
Bacuit
Badobadok (cat-tatl) ...........-
Bafe nga bunsung (tanag) ..
Baga-as (balangot).....--.----
Baga-as (tiquto)...........------
Bagakan
Bagakay
Bagakay (6uho) 5.2.....2 =:
Bagatay (buri palm).........-
Bago (angnbe) 2s. 2
Bagot-bat (sugar palm)...
Bagsang (palma brava)...
Baguibagui (tiquio)...........
Baguin (spiny bamboo) ......
Bahi (palma brava)...........-
Bakembakes
Balabalangutan (alinang)..
Baladauan (amlong).........---
Balangot
Balangot (cat-tatl) ...........-..
Balangot (tiquio)...............-
Balantakan (Job’s-tears) ....
Paleau | (O@ris) 2-5 esc:
Paleo COMPU) 2-2...
Balewe (bari)...
Baliare (btkal)2-2...3 2"...
Balibago (malabago)..........
Balicao (6tial)).....5%.022_-2
Balision (black amlong)....
Balingway (hoag)....-.-..-------
Baio. (OGL) tn Bocas en
Banos ~(hapore) 26. 25s
BSH EON Ge eee ee
Balin. (berin)- 2 Ae
Ballang (palma brava)......
Balogo’ (gogo) 2.5
Balones Nees ae eee ce
Baloy (bariu)...
Balugo (cones
Balukawi (ages pembooy.
Bamban (banban)..........------
Bamboo
150 —
114
Page.
Bambusa blumeana (spiny
bambeo)) 222 ae 45
Bambusa _ glaucescens
(dwarfed bamboo)...........- 48
Bambusa vulgaris (kawa-
YOR King) no 48
Bambusa_ vulgaris’. var.
striata (yellow bamboo).. 48
Banana eee 110
Banban:<22% 2... eee 114
Banquit (bacwit) -...............-- 41
Banga (areca nut palm) .... 66
Banyat (bowstring hemp)... 110
Barasbarasan (banban)...... 114
Barew (bavin) 222223 31
Bari (aye ee 89
Bariri (amores secos).......... 35
Barit-(i0@) .... ee 89
Banuiecc =o. 31
Bariu-bariu (agas) .............. 61
Baroy” (bariu):.........2 ee 31
Barugo, (9090). 99
Batad-batadan =.=. 36
Batakan (spiny bamboo).... 45
Batbat (sugar palm).......... 68
Bayog (spiny bamboo)........ 45
Bayogo (g0go)2.22 4224 99
Bayug (spiny bamboo) ........ 45
Bejuco.”.(uay) 22 86
Belinge 42:24 222 35
Belis (dumayaca) .............--- 67
Bigaho . (biga0) 2.5 Se 38
Bigaoy =... eee 38
Bikal 2.20233 eee 50
Bikal: . babis22.2223 20 51
Bikal (bikal babt)............---- 51
Bikal baboy (bikal babi).... 51
Bikal machui (bikal babi) .. 51
Biknone. (tanag).... ee 123
| Billing” (beling) =. 35
Bilis (dumayaca) ........---------- 67
LETTE) RMmeeere ie 63
Bintikay (Job’s-tears)........ 36
Bitnones ' (tanag):- ace 123
Black ‘amlorig: 2:...252. 99
Boa (areca nut palm)........ 66
Boby. (Kapok) =:.-..-—--.-+.4:
NTE 2) a
Bodobodo (anabo)..............--
Bogbog (samulig).........-...--
Bolinao (kawayan kiling) ..
Bolo
Bolo (bagakay)............--------
Bolongsina (botong)............
Bombycidendron vidalianum
DTI, 3 ie ee Se eae
Bongbong (bikal)................
Bontot palos (bowstring
hemp)
cate ead (31: 0) eae ee
Borirao (kawayan kiling)..
Botong
Pane (GOl0 2
Bowstring hemp
Brown amlong..................----
Bua (areca nut palm)........
Bupay (kapol:)....-:-.:..-2..-:-
Bugang (talahib) ................
Bugang (tambo)..................
Bugubui (tiger grass)........
Buho
Buibui (tiger grass) ............
Bukao (zigzag bamboo)......
Bula (hapols) .........:.......--.
Bulak-castila (kapok)........
Bulak-dondol (kapok)........
Bulaksino (kapok).............
Bulbulin (bakembakes)......
Bou (burt palm) .....-2.-22--..-
Bulokawi (hoag)
Bulu (bagakan)..............-.-:.-
Bulubuluhan (bakembakes)
Buluhan (bakembakes)......
Bunga (areca nut palm)....
igen 2 ein eae a
Bari .(6uri palm) ...............
Burobayoco (Job’s-tears) ..
mournia “(bari.)......--..........
Butong (kawayan kiling)..
Butmn (botong)................
Cc.
Caidqued (cat-tail)..............
Calamus mollis (uay)........
151
Page.
142
50
122
90
48
50
51
49
119
50
110
3l
48
49
50
110
98
66
112
41
39
42
52
42
49
112
112
112
112
120
! Cotton
120,
120
Calamutian
Calisoalisan (tacling-baca)
Callot (bowstring hemp)....
Caluuauay (hoag).....-..-------
Cafia espina (spiny bam-
boo)
Capas..(Kapole) 2:22. tts.
Caramosi: <(47@o) --.=<.---2.2-=
Caryota cumingii (puga-
METI ek chee ot eee
Catal petro Ss ae
Ceiba pentandra (kapok)..
Chinese bamboo (dwarfed
bamboo)
Chinese matting sedge........
Cobboot
Goronth paling... See
Coconut (coconut palm)...
Cocos (coconut palm).......-
Cocos nucifera (coconut
AOU ITE Vy, soe cinerea 2
Oa arr eee ene ee ee ea
Coix lachryma-jobi (Job’s-
ETS aloe er Pn esec cect ane
Coldasan (Job’s-tears).......-
Columbia serratifolia (ani-
lao)
Common pandan................--
Corchorus acutangulus
(jute)
Corchorus capsularis (jute)
Corchorus olitorius (jute) ..
Corchorus spp. (jute)....----
Corypha elata (buri palm) ..
Culebra (bowstring hemp) ..
Gun) (cagen)-— se t
Cyperus malaccensis (ba-
langot)
Cyperus radiatus (alinang)
Cyperus tegetiformis (Chi-
nese matting sedge)......--
D.
Daemonorops gaudichaudii
(samulig)
Dallag (danglin).........-...-----
Dalokot (amores secos)......
118
117
117
117
117
113
110
Dangli (danglin)..................
Dangliw (malabago)..........
Danglin
Daromaka (banban) ............
Darumaka (banban)............
Weasae LASS) eee nese
Dayumaka (dumayaca
Preparer eee td et
Dendrobium crumenatum
(CATON) Geer Pee
Dendrocalamus latifiorus
(Datong) ee ee es
Devil’s cotton (anabo)........
Dinochloa scandens (zigzag
bamboo) (22-28 ee
Dinochloa scandens _ var.
angustifolia (zigzag bam-
|Top hie a oA ae eee Beek
Holdol(kapok) =
Dondol-(hapol:) css.
Donax cannaeformis (ban-
Dari) pote ei Tee XS PIB ys
Dryopteris pteroides (loc-
OD) costs este at Bee ese
Duguian (spiny bamboo)...
Dumao (Job’s-tears) ............
Dumayaca
Dumayaka (dumayaca)......
Dwarfed bamboo.......... es Ao
E.
Ebiok (sugar palm)............
Ebus (buri palm)...............-
Eleusine indica (palagti-
SOE) oe ee 8 eee ea
Entada scandens (gogo)...
Epipremnum = elmerianum
(white amlong).............--.
Eragrostis tenella (sale
UY UED |) erence, soe ee
Eragrostis viscosa (pugad
maya)
Fimbristylis diphylla (ta-
yok-tayok)
56
_Fimbristylis globulosa (ti-
WUG) Ricca nie
Fimbristylis miliacea
(worthless tikug)............
| Fimbristylis utilis (tikug) ..
Flagellaria indica (hoag)..
G.
Gagabutan (palagtiqut) ......
| Gaho j(bigae)-......-
Garusiba (black amlong)....
Gatasan (samulig)..............
Gayaman kilat (black am-
long) 2.33.3
Gigantochloa_ scribneriana
(bolo)
| Gleichenia linearis (kilog) ..
Gogo
Gohong bakay (gogo)..........
Gossypium brasiliense (cot-
LGU) soe rs ee
Gossypium paniculatum
(cotton)
| Gossypium spp. (cotton)...
Grewia multiflora (alinao)..
Grewia negrosensis (balit-
nong )
| Gueron (vetiver)..................
Gugo: (gogo) ..5...2;
Guimac . (bikal) 22 ~ i275
Guiron’ (vetiver)..22 ee
Guisa (bigao)-..22
Gumayaka (dumayaca
POU). =. isc 2h eye
Guyun (cogon).2 72
H.
Habiok (sugar palm)..........
Hagnaya (jagnaya)............
Hamitanago (tanag)..........
Hanapas) (a7).
Helicteres hirsuta (tong-
tonking)
Herbaka (tacling-baca)......
Heterospathe elata (sagwise
palm)
Hibiok (sugar palm).........-
Page.
Hibiscus mutabilis (ma-
pola)
Hibiscus tiliaceus
bago)
Hidiok (sugar palm) ............
bards. (biieal) = 22-2.
Hipan (amlong)..................
Hoag
Hoag-oay (hoag)..................
I
Idiok (sugar palm)..............
Igok (sugar palm)..............
BUM OU ELIE?) — oon aman n
Imperata cylindrica var.
exaltata (cogomn)..............
Pshacer (mala-
Imperata cylindrica var.
koenigii (cogon)................
OR 21 | a ae ea
MRrTIUU BIC) .= 2
found (hoag) 22 0............
CE | cr
3) Rs Sie ee ee oeeee
Irok (sugar palm) ................
Ischaemum angustifolium
DE UMAON Yo tee es.
J.
0 OO eee ate
Japanese bamboo (dwarfed
TE aii Ec oT a
Mee = a
Juncus effusus (matting
(00 7 SoS Se Sa
Sea ora oa
K.
Kabatiti (vegetable
SS RE ease
Kaboloan (botong)..............
Kaboloan (kawayan_ ki-
OS See oder ee eo ees
Kabugaoan (spiny bam-
TS aE Sa ee
Kakaag (tongtonking) ........
Kakarohay (bowstring
Ae i eee
Kalaguimay (pandan of
Majayjay)
153
Page.
119
114
117
100
123 |
110
Kalipkip (amlong)..............
Kalit-kalit (danglin)..........
Kaliwayway (hoag)............
Kalot-kagot (amlong)..........
Kaloulune (ito) - 2.222022:
Kanas-kanas (balitnong) ....
Kaong (sugar palm)............
Bapalk (kapok}.~...2 =
Kapas-sanglay (kapok)......
Kapok
Karagumoy
Barausi: (47aoy
Karekay (nife)o2-2..>..
Karon (fae) 2095 2
Karulay (ro) =
Katigbi (Job’s-tears) ..........
Kawayan bayuguin (kawa-
yan: Tong yo
Kawayan de China (bolo)...
Kawayan guid (spiny bam-
boo)
Kawayan hobero (kawayan
Kling) =<02 Se ee
Kawayan kiling ..................
Kawayan matinic (spiny
bambes)y. (2 Oe ee
Kawayan nga bulilao (spiny
bamboo)
Kawayan nga dalusa (ka-
wayan kiling) ............---.----
Kawayan sa China (kawa-
WOT? KUNG Va aso te
Kawayan seitan (spiny
bambuo) <2 ol
Kawayan (spiny bamboo) ..
Kawayan sunsong (buh6)..
Kawayan totoo (spiny bam-
boo)
Kavo (kupelsy=. 20 esx
Keddeng (anilao)................
LTE pans ae eee ian a ae Ppa
Kleinhofia hospita (tanag)..
Kollokollot
Kollolot (kollokollot) ..........
Korokalasag (alolokdo)......
Kullu-kulluk (kollokollot) ..
Kuluk (kollokollot) ..............
112
118
123
121
121
121
121
L.
Labig (palma brava)..........
Labnig (samulig)................
TORE Wt) oe eee
Labug-labug (bakembakes)
Lacaon (samulig)........------.-
arutlnt- (bariet):..0022 324.
Lampacanay (cat-tail) ........
Langkuas (banban)............
Langosig (danglin) ..............
anut: (danglin).-n22 4:
Lasa (nipa palm)...........-----
Lasa (tiger grass).....:.....<..
Lengua de tigre (bowstring
LOLLY) REE eee
TenlatCh aloe ak tes tt ot
Lapa AGOGO) ss Sask otteee
Livistona rotundifolia (pal-
BEE SOF ANOL ho haan oe ce tcceenaec
TENIOG Oi ea eto datcen. bat enac eee
Lo-ob (bikal babi)..........-.....
Loofah (vegetable sponge)..
Lubi (coconut palm)...........-
Luffa cylindrica (vegetable
SONG GC) eteee na eee nace
Lukmoy (black amlong)....
Lunas (kawayan kiling) ....
DPI oC GOIMOO Poe, kansas cca
SUIS Waly Brae eet oes eee
Luyos (areca nut palm)....
Lygodium circinnatum
(nito)
Lygodium flexuosum (nito ‘Ne
Lygodium japonicum (nito)
Lygodium semihastatum
(nito)
M.
Macacapas (marakapas)....
Magimpal (27a@0) --.::..:.-.-2..-..
Magimpao (irao)..........-..-----
WRG CY 75 dip coshee ieoad cae
Malabago
Malachra capitata (bakem-
bakes)
Malapandan
nang)
154
Page.
86
90
122
120
90
31
64
114
118
118
86
42
110
50
99 |
86
21
51
100
70
100
95
48
39
119
66
17
17|
17
17
121)
114 |
114 |
103
120
120
| Nabo (anabo)
Malisa. (pitta) ..-:.225565-222
Malobago (malabago)..........
Manano :(37d0) .2:¢:.,22 ee
Manban (banban)...............-
Manila hemp (abaca)..........
Mapolay 2) ci. eee
Mapola (malabago)............--
Maragayaman (black am-
long). 200th...
Marakapas® -<8..2.... ees
Maratac-kimbaca (tacling-
baCE): a2 ae eee
Maratarong (marakapas)..
Marbas.-2).22) 22 ok ee
Marurugui (spiny bam-
000) eee
Mattapal (banban)..............
Matting Tesh:s ee
Maycauyan (calamutian)..
Mami s(cogon) 2.2) eee
Miscanthus sinensis (b2-
P00) See. a. ee
Mora -(vetwe7r) eee
Moras (vetiver)
Moro (vetiver)
Mura (vetiver)
Musa
NON): > .:..02. 2 = ee
Musa textilis (abaca)
Muta (tikug)
paradisiaca
Nabu (anabo)s..:..23 eee
Nagling (danglin) .......:-22..
Nat \(22t0)) 2 ea ee
Nephrolepsis hirsutula (dlo-
lokdo) #>....203
Niog (coconut palm)...........-
Ninapalm: ..... 35. ee
Nipa (nipa palm)...........-----
Nipa __ fructicans
MAOUNL) | Sic. ctu sonsisteen esterase
INGO Reco cient reece
sone
oO.
Oay ti oac (hoag)..............--
Obod-obod (alinang)............
Ly (7) ee See
Olango (oyango)................--
Onao (sugar palm)..............
Ophiurus corymbosus (sig-
OS peel Ay Cot a
Oroola (amlong)..................
Oroolaypan (amlong)..........
Oryza sativa (rice)..............
rarer Gary yo eds.
Ouay babae (samulig)........
Ouay na binabae (samu-
lig)
Owango (oyango)................
Oyango
Facaical “(anabo).....2.......-....
Pacarohay (bowstring
hemp)
Palagtiqui
Palasan (samulig) ................
Pea DrAva, 2. ~-.------
Palma criste (sugar palm) ..
Pal-lo-pal-lot (marbas)......
Palmeto (palma brava)......
EE ee a ae eae ee
Papas (tandg) ........<......:
ame ( COGON) oan. <n. -a--2-
Panaguising (anilao)..........
Panampat (tanag)................
eae ACOJON) «.... 16-0.
Panas (Job’s-tears) ..............
Pandan (common pandan)..
Pandan de China (alasas) ..
Pandan of Majayjay
Pandan totoo (pandan of
Majayjay) ..........- = ne ee
Pandanus copelandii (ba-
UL ge Se eS ie ne
Pandanus dubius (taboan) ..
Pandanus luzonensis (ala-
. 5 ESD ia aes
Pandanus radicans (oya-
age Renae EL eae ae
155
Page.
99
55
89
32
68
Pothos
Pandanus sabotan (sabu-
tan)
Pandanus simplex (kara-
gumoy)
‘Pandanus tectorius (com-
mon pandan).........-- paw ast
Pandauus tectorius var. si-
nensis (sabutan)..............
Pandanus utilissimus (pan-
dan of Majayjay)...........-
Pangdan (common pan-
gg es er ee sas es:
Panglan (common pan-
LN) ye Pe EN eee Eee
Parasan (samulig)................
Pasingan (spiny bamboo)..
Patola (vegetable sponge)..
Patong .(Getong) <2 es
Paua (spiny bamboo)..........
Pauai (tayoc-tayoc)............
Pericampylus incanus (pa-
EO ieee 24, eles ee a
Phragmites vulgaris (tam-
DOW Ae es) ee eee aA
Pret) (burt palm) so s502 8 t
Pineapple (pina)..................
Pintaka (Job’s-tears).........
| Sth Se Aes nets See eA Y
Piso piso: (gas yi oss
Piter: (penn yh 8 oe
Pothos longifolius (am-
lang) (oo ee eh ee
ovatifolius (am-
long)
|Pothos philippinensis (am-
oc: | eee: Se eile ne
Pothos rumphii (amlong)..
Poyas (Job’s-tears) ..............
Puenig (cobboot)................
Pepad mage s4 srk ku
Pugahan
Puot
sinuang (kollokol-
Page.
28
25
26
28
29
26
26
90
45 |
100
49
45
56
101
105
105
105
R.
Rabo de leon (bowstring
hemp)
Rabo de tigre (bowstring
hemp)
Raguio (agas)......-.--.-----------
Raguidio (agas)........----------
Raguidiu (agas).........-..--.---
Rakeydo (agas) -........--..---.-
Raphidophora copelandii
(brown amlong) ..-.------------
Raphidophora merrillii
(black amlong) .....--.--------
Raphidophora _ perkinsiae
(amlong )
Rice
Rimodas (vettiver).........-------
Romaka (dumayaca).........---
Ruguian (spiny bamboo)....
Rynchospora aurea (agas) ..
Ss.
Sabila (bowstring hemp)....
Sabung-sabungan (palag-
12/44) 13) Py Oe eRe anes oe ee
Sabutan
Saccharum officinarum (su-
OTM ZA ha SE een mE
Saccharum spontaneum
(talahib)
Sasitang (nite)... -.24-.«
Sagakap (hoag)..........---------
Saga (nipa palm)
Saeise palm 27... 212 ken-
Sale oA VEO Si cS etka
SESE |, hie a nee
Sangumay (trao)...............-.-
Sansevieria zeylanica (bow-
string hemp) )\2..2-2.0:--2.--<
Sarco (dnilao))2:5..-:.--sccs-055-
Sasa (nipa palm).........-...---
Schizostachyum acutiflorum
(bikal)
Schizostachyum dielsianum
CDEC OG DE) nic05- calincovnct-boce
Schizostachyum fenixii (pu-
ser)
156
Page.
110
110
61
61
61
61
98
99
95
39
33
67
45
61
110
43
28
40
41
18
99
86
85
43
90
114
110
118
86
50
51
51
Schizostachyum hallieri
(bagalay) #o..2 5 ee
Schizostachyum hirtiflorum
(bagaditaw)) :...2)-2.:.0. ee
Schizostachyum mucrona-
Gu (OU0)/2 eee
Schizostachyum spp. (thin-
walled bamboo)...............-
Scirpus erectus (ticog) ........
Scirpus grossus (tiquio)....
Scirpus lacustris (tiker) ....
Scirpus mucronatus (bi-
high). 424° ae
Seguise (saguise palm)......
Shore pandan (common
pandan) <i. ve ee
Slapo (dangtin)- =. a
Sida acuta (tacling-baca) ..
Sicburom---)
Sigre (bowstring hemp)....
Sikal (tatahib) =. ee
Silad (buri palm)................
Silag (buri palm)................
Silong pugo (pamago)........
Sinambang (kawayan ki-
ling) Jue Se
Sinawa (bowstring hemp)..
Sipit-ulang (bakembakes) ..
Spiny. ‘bamboo: 2-22.52.
Sporobolus elongatus (ba-
cuit)
Sporobolus indicus (ba-
Cut). ee
Stenochlaena palustris
(jagnaya) 3.2... eee
Sugar. cane: 3) 22... Cee
Sugarpalm -2425.....
Sud-sud. (tikug))<..-.--22-32
T.
MabOan > ..2cseit eke
Tabongas (vegetable
SPORGO)” escc0n- eee eee
Tabtabin (tayoc-tayoc)......
Tabubuk (vegetable
SNONG EC) 1.2 Secece seats see nerernaeeee
Tabunac (tambo)............--.---
Page.
51
52
52
50
62
62
63
63
85
26
118
120
43
110
41
73
73
101
48
110
120
45
Tacling-baca .........-------------+---
Tacquinvaca (tacling-
baca)
Tagadeu (tiger grass)........
Tagalwa (way) ......-.--------------
Tagocan (way) ....-...--------------
Taguisi (saguise palm)......
Taruisi (tambo)..-..........-------
Tak-kimbaca (tacling-
LES ele See SEEN I eenenemer en
Takoling (black amlong)...-
~Taktak (buri palm)...........-
2S) eS arenes
Talipot palm (buri palm) ..
Tambo
Tanag
Tangbo (tambo) .............-.-----
Tanobong (tambo)...............-
Tantanubong (tambo)........
Baroy (danglin) -~.....-..-----.-
Tata (nipa palm).......-......-
Tayoc-tayoc
Tayoc-tayoc (ticog)..............
Tayoc-tayoc (tikug)........-..-
Taywanac (kawayan ki-
ling)
Tewung (hoag)..................--
Thespesia lampas (mara-
DTS eae ek See
Thin walled bamboo ..........
Thysanolaena maxima
CiMee GTOSB) oo tt!
Tibatib (black amlong)
DT ES a ee
Tigbao (talahib) ..................
Tigbi (Job’s-tears)..............
Tigbikay (Job’s-tears)
Tiger
Tigre
Tigui
Tiker
Tikiu
(bowstring hemp)....
(bowstring hemp)....
120
123
118
121
Se RO NS Ee eee
Timak (zigzag bamboo)......
Tipon-tipon (dumayaca)....
Tiquio
POMP VOHRA 9.202 32a
Tres moras (vetiver)..........
Tubol-tubol (cat-tail) ..........
Tuguituguian (pamago)....
Typha angustifolia (cat-
GARIN create ee ee oe
U.
Ualis-ualisan (tacling-
(Us Rts (inl Sls eRe eet
Uaualisin (tacling-baca) ....
Uay
Uenag ayang anuad (hoag)..
Upopi (alinang)................----
Urena lobata (kollokollot) ..
Urena lobata var. sinuata
(kollokollot)
Urena spp. (kollokollot) -...
Usio:. (bikal -babt)__......=..
Uyango (oyango).................-
V.
Vegetable sponge..................
Vetiver
W.
Walis-ualisan (tacling-
baca)
Wango (oyango)................ 2
White amlong
Worthless. tikud.22.20 4.45
Le
Wary oles (111) eres ee eee
Yellow bamboo......................
Z.
Zigzag bamboo
120
120
89
99
55
121
121
121
51
32
100
33
120
32
97
57
89
48
49
JOURNAL
OF
The New York Botanical Garden
VoL. XVI April, 1915 No. 184
JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN ; PLATE CLVII
ti
Plants and fibers of abaca or so-called Manila-hemp (Musa textilis).
69
‘J
Th, Written
THE INDUSTRIAL FIBER-PLANTS OF THE
PHILIPPINES!
With Plates CLVII and CLVIII?
Although the Filipino people used the fibers of palms, screw-
pines and other plants perhaps from times immemorial, it is
primarily due to the untiring efforts of the Bureau of Education
in those Islands that the Filipinos were brought to a fuller and
deeper realization of the wealth of industrial materials abounding
in their country for the manufacture of a great variety of articles
of economic importance. It is the purpose of this article to
describe briefly the important fiber-plants in the Islands and to
illustrate how and in what way fibers are prepared and utilized.
As a matter of convenience the plants will be grouped under
various headings, the classification indicating botanical rela-
tionship rather than present economic importance.
PALMS
One of the tallest of the palms growing in the Philippines is
Corypha elata, commonly known in the Islands as the Buri palm
and in India as the Talipot palm. The palm is characterized by
large orbicular leaves near the apex of its trunk. After reaching
maturity, variously estimated at from 25 to 45 years, it flowers
and fruits once and then dies. It is interesting to note that the
palm develops a much branching inflorescence often 20 feet high.
Between the ages of five and twelve years the plant is of the
greatest economic value.
The young unopened leaves of the shoot, while still yellow and
without chlorophyl, are spread out to dry in the sun and then
cut up into strips. Such strips are used for sugar bags and coarse
mats. If the strips are to be used for better and finer grade
articles, they are bleached more thoroughly by boiling them
in water containing vinegar, or in various other ways. These
1 An exhibit of the chief industrial fiber-plants of the Philippines will soon be
ready for public inspection in the Museum Building of the New York Botanical
Garden.
2 Plate CLVIII was furnished through the courtesy of Mrs. Mabel R. Dow,
who conducts a basketry store at 173 Madison Ave., N. Y. City.
70
strips are used mainly for hats, baskets, handbags and tobacco
cases. The epidermis of the unopened leaflets can readily be
removed and is known as raffia. This is equal in strength to
the Madagascar raffia which is more commonly found in the
U. S. market. In the Philippines raffia is often woven into
cloth. The schools have extended the use of raffia to the manu-
facture of screens, carriage cushions and bags in macramé weave.
The midribs of the unopened leaves, while still yellowish-
white in color, are bleached, spliced, and made into very fine
hats known in Manila as Calasiao hats and in the Visayas as
Pototan hats. Because of their good wearing qualities and
dressy appearance they are much admired by Filipinos and
have a well-established market.
eohe petiole of the opened Buri leaf is cut into sections two to
three feet long. One end of it is frazzled and the inner fibers,
mostly stereome tissue, are pulled out by hand. While the process
is apparently simple it requires dexterity and skill to avoid break-
ing the fibers as they are being pulled out. Another way of getting
the fibers is to pound the whole petiole and then pull the fibers
out; but on drying it is found that such fibers frequently become
discolored. These fibers are made up chiefly into hats, beautiful
in texture and appearance, and are known in the Philippines as
Buntal hats. In the U. S. market these hats usually un-
bleached and of medium quality and grade are known as Bangkok
hats.* The fibers are also excellent for small baskets.
Within the last few years it was discovered that the petioles
furnished an excellent basketry material needing no artificial
dyes to enhance the beauty of the natural product. Thus,
scraping off the epidermis of an old petiole, splints dark brown
in color verging almost to a black may be obtained. Younger
petioles yield lighter shades. Still lighter material is obtained
by scraping below the darker portions of the petioles. Thus
great variations in color are obtainable by proper manipulation,
and the colors are permanent. The chief palms so used are
Arenga mindorensis and Arenga saccharifera (sugar palm). The
* Inquiry of the U. S. consul at Bangkok elicited the information that no hats
are made in the town except in prison, and that these hats are manufactured only
for prison consumption.
JOURNAL OF THE NEW YorRK BOTANICAL GARDEN PLatTeE CLVIII
Waste baskets made chiefly of bamboo and palm fibers.
71
sugar palm also furnishes material for rope that is highly resistant
to the action of salt water. To a less degree the fibers surround-
ing the trunk are suitable for bristles of brushes.
The coconut-palm may be mentioned here for its fiber products.
The leaves are used extensively for roof-thatching. The fibers
surrounding the nut (coir) are employed in the manufacture of
door mats. The midribs of the leaves are strong enough for
chairs and tables. The central cylinder of the young roots of
the coconut-palm can be utilized as basketry material.
The nipa palm (Nipa fructicans) plays an important part in
the industrial life of the Filipinos, as it is the principal source for
the manufacture of alcohol. Its leaves are used even more
extensively than those of the coconut-palm for thatching.
Some slight use is made of the splints and midribs obtained from
the petioles and leaves.
In former times, hats were made in the Philippines from fine
splints obtained from species of rattan, especially Calamus mollis.
Now the weaving of rattan splints into hats has been almost
abandoned because of the difficulty in preparing fine splints
from the stem and the skill required in weaving the short fibers
into a hat. Besides, weaving can only be done, when the air is
sufficiently moist. The hats are beautiful and durable and are
sold at almost any price from fifteen dollars ($15.00) up.
The little town of San Miguel, Bulacan, is the center of the
native rattan chair industry in the Philippines. The chairs are
patterned after Vienna chairs.
SCREW-PINES
Growing usually in profusion along the littoral of the Philip-
pines is the common screw-pine, Pandanus tectorius. Very little
use is made however of its fiber, although it seems that the
epidermis of this pandan leaf, or of one very similar to it, is used
extensively in Japan for the manufacture of ‘“‘ Panama hats.”
The pandan that enjoys the greatest popularity among the
Filipinos because of its flexibility and softness is Pandanus
sabotan or Pandanus tectorius var. sinensis. No female in-
florescence of this pandan has ever been found and so Philippine
02
botanists do not agree whether this pandan constitutes a distinct
species or is only a more or less cultivated variety of the common
sea-shore pandan. No further preparation except the removal
of its spines is practised. The strips are sometimes bleached,
but with rather indifferent success. The fiber if properly
bleached would be excellent for ‘‘Panama’’ hats. This screw-
pine is used extensively by Filipinos for hats and for their best
quality of mats.
A screw-pine with coarse leaves is Pandanus utilissimus. The
leaves of this screw-pine must be rolled under heavy logs before
they can be used. The strips are utilized for mats and telescope
baskets, and are exported in large quantities from Laguna
Province to the Manila market.
Another pandan of economic importance, used especially in
the southeastern provinces of Luzon, is Pandanus simplex. This
pandan is not as coarse as P. utilissimus and is utilized in the
same way as the latter.
Among the pandans used occasionally are P. copelandu, P.
dubius, P. luzonensis and P. radicans.
GRASSES
Bamboo, especially the cultivated species Bambusa blumeana,
plays a highly important role in the daily life of the Filipino
people. The majority of the houses in the Philippines are built
of bamboo. Long hollow bamboo tubes serve for carrying
drinking water from river or well. The aborigines (Negritos)
cook rice, their principal food, in green sappy bamboo over an
open fire. The rafts that carry the products up and down the
river are made of bamboo. So in a thousand and one ways
bamboo enters intimately into the daily economic life of the
people. It is not however its general uses that will be considered
here, but its use in the making of hats.
The spiny bamboo, Bambusa blumeana, is the species usually
employed in the manufacture of hats. The bamboo is felled
when it is from four to five months old before it has developed
any branches. At this age the bamboo is perhaps fifty or more
feet high. Only the middle internodes of the stem, fifteen to
73
twenty innumber, areused. Both the upper and lower internodes
_are discarded, for the former is too weak and the latter too
coarse for hat material. The stem, after being cut, is allowed
to wilt for about twenty-four hours. Then sections are cut
at the nodes, and each cylinder is divided into three or four
parts and flattened. Part of the inner surface and of the outer
are cut off and thrown away. The remaining portions which are
perhaps one quarter to three eighths of an inch thick are then
spliced into from four to ten layers. Needless to say it requires
experience and skill to obtain these layers, which are often as
thin as tissue paper. The layers nearest the green epidermis
are considered the finest and best. The material is then boiled
in water for about half an hour and bleached in the sun, a
strengthening and whitening process. It is then ready to be
woven into hats. |
A thick-walled bamboo used in constructing houses and
bridges, and for other purposes is B. vulgaris. Among the thin-
walled bamboo used in a variety of ways may be mentioned
Schizostachyum acutiflorum, S. dielsianum, S. fenixii, S. halliert.
Turning to grasses herbaceous in structure we find vetiver,
Andropogon zizanioides. Two varieties of this well-known trop-
ical grass occur in the Philippines. One of these has fragrant
roots (var. genuina), while the other (var. nigritanus) has not.
The former variety may be recognized by its terminal dark
purple panicles and distinct awns on the spikelets. The var.
nigritanus has terminal greenish or purple panicles, usually the
latter, and the spikelets are either unawned or armed with short
awns. The fragrant roots are sold by itinerant vendors in the
streets of Manila and are used by the women to put into clothes
chests, trunks, etc. Philippine schools are introducing the use
of these roots in making fans. Occasionally hats are made from
the flower stalks.
Considering the great use of rice straw by the Japanese it is
curious to note that the Filipinos hardly make any use of it.
The Bureau of Education is encouraging the use of rice straw
among the Filipinos.
The panicles of Phragmitis vulgaris are used extensively for
74
making brooms. The best native brooms are made however
from the panicles of Thysanolaena maxima.
Among the grasses that find more or less use may be mentioned
Job’s tears, Coix-lachryma-jobi. The hard-shelled seeds are used
for rosaries or made into curtains, baskets and trays of various
kinds. Cogon (Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii; I. exaltata)
is the weed pest in the Islands. The whole plant is used for
thatch among the very poor. The flower stalks are occasionally
used for hats. A grass that has been found excellent for slippers
is “cobboot,”’ Ischaemum angustifolium. Often Filipinos deco-
rate their houses with such grasses as Apluda mutica, Eleusine
indica, Ophiuris corymbosus, Erogrostis tenella, E. viscosa.
SEDGES
The Filipinos, except the well-to-do, follow the custom preva-
lent in the east of sleeping on mats which are placed on the floor
at night and rolled up and put out of sight in the morning.
These mats are made as a rule of pandan or sedges. The sedge
most commonly used for this purpose is Fimbristylis utilis.
This plant is found growing wild and in great abundance in and
around the rice paddies in parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
It reaches its greatest economic importance on the islands of
Samar, Leyte, Mindanao and Bohol. F. wtilis may attain a
height of three meters but the average is one and a half meters. »
After the removal of the inflorescence the sedge is dried with
proper precautions and manipulated by hand or ruler to make it
pliable. Great skill is shown especially in Samar in weaving
intricate colored designs into mats. With proper looms this
material can be woven into matting. The sedge is also utilized
locally for the making of hats.
F. diphylla is also used for mats. The material though finer
than that obtained from F. utilis is considerably stiffer and
shorter and consequently is not considered as good a mat fiber.
In various parts of the Islands occurs Cyperus radiatus, which
is utilized for mats but to a less degree than the sedges previously
mentioned. C. malaccensis, common along brackish swamps and
tidal streams not only in the Philippines but also throughout the
7d
tropics, is made into slippers. It is interesting to note that the
making of slippers from this fiber was started about 1907 or
1908 in a small village in the Islands by two Japanese peddlers
who passed through the place selling small rice-cakes. Seeing
the abundance of C. malaccensis they gave up their cake business
and turned to the making of slippers. Now almost every house
in the little town is actively engaged in making these slippers
which are sold by the thousand throughout the Islands.
The Chinese matting sedge, Cyperus tegetiformis, is not found
in the Philippines. The Japanese matting rush, Juncus effusus,
cultivated extensively in Japan for the making of the finest
matting is found growing wild in the Philippines but is not
used. It seems probable that cultivation would improve the
quality of the fiber. Its coarseness in the wild state is the
principal objection at present to its use by Filipinos.
Various species of Scirpus, such as S. erectus, S. grossus, S.
lacustris and S. mucronatus, find occasional uses for different
purposes. In connection with sedges might be mentioned our
common cat-tail, found in abundance in various parts of the
Islands, but not used to any great extent.
VINES
Many vines growing in the tropics develop air-roots high
above the ground from long, clambering and fleshy stem-struc-
tures.
A description of the forest near Puerta Galera, Mindoro,
where the writer found air-roots in plenty, should prove of
interest to those unfamiliar with the habitat of these aroids.
A good half day’s journey from town, Araceae with air-roots
were found in fair quantity on the sides of heavily wooded
mountains, but more plentiful in ravines or gulleys. In these
places bird’s-nest ferns were very abundant and the bark of many
trees was covered with moss. So humid were the surroundings
that even the edges of many leaves were covered with fringes
of moss. The trees and plants were so close together that only
a little of the light of the sun was able to find its way to the ground
through the dense mass of foliage. The earth even after a
76
bright sunny day was found damp late in the afternoon. The
ground was covered with decaying vegetation. It was a country
in which leeches and mosquitoes were plentiful. The forest
trees grew to a great height. The leaves of the aroids were
around the upper part of the trunks of the trees and roots of
various lengths dangled down from aroid stems.
The tips of air-roots are generally from six to fifteen feet from
the ground, and are obtained by simply pulling them down.
Depending on the strength of the pull and the luck of the gatherer
he will be able to obtain pieces of roots ranging in length from
a few feet to sixty or more feet. The epidermis and cortex are
readily removed exposing the central cylinder which is used in
basketry. While the Filipinos previously employed the roots
only for. tying purposes their utilization as a basketry material
has only come within recent years. The central cylinders of the
air-roots on first being removed are yellowish-white in color.
In some species, e. g., Epipremnum elmerianum, they remain
white; in others, e. g., Raphidophora copelandt1i, they are oxidized
to a light-brown; while in others, e. g., R. merrillii, they turn
to a dark-brown or almost black color. The colored air-roots
may be bleached by the common bleaching agents.
One of the Menispermaceae, Pericampylus incanus, has been
found very serviceable as a basketry material. After removal
of the leaves, the vine is boiled in water for about two hours
when the epidermis and the cortical region are easily removed.
After sandpapering the material it is ready for use. It is not
however as good a basketry material as the air-roots owing to
the presence of leaf scars.
Among vines of lesser importance in the Philippines may be
mentioned the vegetable sponge, Lujffa cylindrica, which in the
provinces of Abra and Bulacan is used occasionally for children’s
hats. The use of the vegetable sponge for bathroom articles
is unknown to the Filipinos.
Entada scandens, a vine in the family of Leguminosae, has an
almost universal use in the Philippines as a substitute for soap.
77
COMMERCIAL LEAF OR PETIOLE FIBERS
The industrial fiber par excellence, whose successful cultivation
has not been found possible outside of the Philippines, is abaca,
or Manila hemp, Musa textilis. Typical plants of this species
together with fiber in the process of drying are shown in plate
CLVII. The impression often prevails, however, that its use
is restricted entirely to the making of rope; little being known of
its employment for braid or for the making of excellent and
strong cloth known in the Philippines as “‘pinolpog.”’ Little is
known too outside of the Islands of the making of abaca fiber into
a fabric called “‘abaca sinamay.’’ The schools have extended
the use of the fiber to the making of a great variety of articles.
The fibers are obtained by cutting off the leaves and pulling .
the petioles under a dull knife. Various machines have been
invented to do away with this hand labor but none has so far
proven very successful.
Instead of removing the individual fibers from the petiole, the
whole outer epidermis may be removed and then divided into
strips. These strips are known as “‘lupis’’ and are very service-
able in the making of coiled baskets.
- If the fibers are to be used for braid or cloth they must be
tied together. This knotting is very neatly done by hand so
that the knots are hardly perceptible in the skein. The braid
is known in the millinery trade in the U.S. as “tagal’”’ braid and
is imported from Switzerland.
Pinolpog is made by weaving the fibers into cloth and then
softening the latter by winding it around a piece of wood and
beating it thoroughly with sticks as it is being wound.
Abaca sinamay is a gauzy fabric used by Filipino women for
waists (camisas) or like buckram to stiffen the bottom of skirts.
The extension work of the schools utilizes the fiber wholly or
in part in the manufacture of slippers, coiled baskets, bags, lace,
lamp-shades, belts and furniture.
Several varieties of the banana, Musa paradisiaca, are utilized
for the manufacture of coarse and fine fabric depending on the
quality of the fiber.used. The fiber is prepared in the same way
as abacé. Greater care is however necessary in its extraction
73
from the petioles, as the fiber breaks more readily. ‘Banana
sinamay’”’ as the fabric is called is in great demand by Filipino
women for dress material.
The very finest cloth in the Philippines, almost as delicate as
a spider’s web, is made from the leaves of the pineapple plant.
The fibers are obtained by scraping the leaves with a blunt
object of some kind such as a piece of pottery, bamboo, iron
and the like.
In a number of provinces A gave cantula is the species of sisal
usually cultivated. The fibers are obtained by retting. The
fibers of bowstring hemp, Zansevieria zeylanica, are occasionally
used for commercial purposes.
MISCELLANEOUS FIBERS
The kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra, is found in all provinces in
the Philippines, but its silky cotton-like fibers are gathered for
trade or export principally in the Visayas. The fibers are
excellent as filling material for mattresses, pillows, cushions and
life preservers.
Cotton was cultivated formerly extensively in a number of
provinces in the Islands, but its present cultivation is rather
limited. While household looms still spin cotton yarn in the
Philippines, the bulk of cotton goods used in the Islands is
imported.
The stalks of Dendrobium crumenatum, an orchid with a fluted
and bulbous base, is used as a decorative material in basketry.
To make the stalks of an even bright-yellow color they are
placed for a short time in boiling water or in water to which a
little vinegar has been added. Exposing the cut stalks to the
sun produces the same result.
Donax cannaeformis, known to the Filipinos as banban, is
found throughout the Philippines, and is used much like the
petioles of palms for obtaining light to dark-brown splints in
basketry.
Bast FIBERS
There are a great many species of plants in the Philippines
belonging especially to the family of Tiliaceae, Malvaceae and
79
Sterculiaceae that yield bast fibers suitable for the manufacture of
rope. It is no uncommon sight to see a Filipino whose cart has
broken down draw out his “‘bolo,’” hack down a slice of bark of
almost any tree, twist the fibers, tie together the broken pieces
and go contentedly on his way, smoking the ever present cigarette.
THEODORE MULLER
2
i oo i BUREAU OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS—Continued. |
“ >
r
4 Continued from second page of cover.)
TEXTEOORS: $
~ 7908. ;
t ‘Selected Short Prasad! ne Hégreaentative tantoviaath ena. ‘1911. Reprint, 1913.
Commercial Geography ; the Materials of Commerce for the Philippines. 1911.
|. 491, Reprint. 1913.
eee Supplementary Problems for Trade. Schools and Trades Classes in the Philippine
Public Schools. 1913.
_. (In course of preparation. ) -
_ Economic Conditions in the Hethopiien, 1918.
i MISCELLANEOUS: ih
© Schools. 1908.
yn ‘seme: Recipes for Preparing Jellies, Pidarve, Pickles, and Candies from Phil-
-- ippine Fruits. 1911. (Supply exhausted.) ;
‘ Second and Third Annual Reports on Private Schools and Colleges of the Phil-
ippine Islands: 1911 and 1912. (Supply exhausted.)
rt Heh ply limited.) —
Sieh A Talk on Health Conditions. in the Philippines—Dr, ‘Victor G. Heiser, Director
PM ide aac of Health, 1912.
DP secant ORAFTSMAN REPRINTS:
ae Seni Mais. 1913, eS ANSE Ret abe CaS Seay
Wap us
ve ‘Woodworking—A, Manual of Elementary Carpentry for Philippine Publie Schools.
Samuel Johnson, Macaulay ;. ie aieps Metre Emerson 3 Gettysburg Address, Lincoln.
” Housekeeping—A Textbook for Girls in the Public Schools of the Philippine Islands. ©
- Domestic Science, A Guide’ to Practical Instruction in nine, Sewing, .
Cooking, and Laundering in Grades: Three and Four of the Philippine gens }
oe A Statement of Organization, Aims and Conditions of Service i in the Bureau of
_ Education. 1911. (Several editions printed at Manila and Washington.) (Sup-
e's ail ' ‘ t “. a
lew York Botanical Garden Library
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