PHILIPPINE FIBERS AND FIBROUS SUBSTANCES: THEIR 
SUITABILITY FOR PAPER MAKING (PART II).' 
By Gerorce F. RicHMonb. 
(From the Chemical Laboratory of the Bureau of Science.) 
In Part I of this paper, the waste fibrous materials which result from 
the isolation of the textile or cordage fibers taken from abaca, plantains, 
and maguey were discussed, they being included in the first division, 
namely, teatile papers, according to the scheme as outlined under “Paper 
materials” on page 439. . 
Leaving out of consideration the second division, which includes 
bast papers made from the bast fibers of dicotylidonous plants—e. g., 
paper mulberry, ramie, jute, etc., which latter are not grown in the 
Islands in commercial quantities—the next important division from the 
standpoint of the distribution of raw materials is that of the bamboo 
and grass papers; two of these, namely, the perennial grasses cogon and 
talahib, have already been considered. The paper-making qualities of 
bamboos, palm fibers, and Philippine pulp woods still remain for discus- 
sion; these will be taken up in the order named. 
BAMBOOS. 
The bamboos are giant members of Graminew (Grasses), the other 
individuals of which, while widely distributed, of great value, and 
very numerous, are for the most part insignificant as to bulk, height, 
and structural characteristics. The canes and bamboos are exceptions in 
that they form what may well be called forests and produce woods used 
in construction. ‘The bamboos include about twenty genera and two 
hundred species and are distributed unevenly over the tropical zone. 
Botanical description.—Tall, bushy grasses with woody stems or culms, for 
the most part growing in clumps. The bamboo stem, as is the case with all 
other grasses, consists of a more or less hollow culm with transverse, solid joints 
or nodes. Great variation exists among the various species with respect to the 
size of mature stems and the thickness of the shell walls. 
This gigantic grass is remarkable for its rapid growth under favorable condi- 
tions of heat and moisture.’ 
* Continued from p. 462. “ 
* Watt: Dictionary Economic Products of India (1885), 1, 374. 
; 1075 
Tg eo 
