564 Philippine Journal of Science 1919 
SPECIES GIVING NONBAST FIBER 
GRAMINEAE 
Dendrocalamus merrillianus Elm. 
MENISPERMACEAE 
Anamirta cocculus W. & A. 
PALMAE 
Cocos nucifera Linn. 
ZINGIBERACEAE 
Amomum sp. 
SPECIES GIVING STANDARD CORDAGE 
FIBER 
AMARYLLIDACEAE 
Agave cantala Perrine. 
MUSACEAE 
Musa textilis Née. 
Corypha elata Roxb. 
Incidental to obtaining bast ropes for testing their physical 
properties, observations were made on the methods employed 
in extracting bast and its manipulation during the process of 
fabrication into cordage. The process of preparation varies in 
detail of technic, depending upon the locality, the kind of fiber, 
its age, and the quality of cordage desired. The procedure 
in the Ilocos Provinces may be conveniently divided into (1) 
the plain stripping process, and (2) the water-retting process; 
the two methods yield very different products. 
(1) The plain stripping process is much simpler, and requires 
less time, than the other method, and gives a rough, crude 
product. The bark is stripped from the main trunk or branches 
of the tree; generally the branches are cut off for con- 
venience in peeling. Herbaceous or semiherbaceous plants are 
usually cut down entirely or pulled up by the roots, and the 
trimmed twigs or branches stripped of their bark. At certain 
times of the year, particularly after the rainy season when the 
tree is full of sap, it is an easy matter to strip the bark. The 
bark at one end of the branch or twig is loosened by beating 
with the flat side of a bolo and then stripped off. Generally 
the bast or inner bark is attached to the outer bark, although 
sometimes it is removed after the outer bark has been peeled off. 
When they come off together the two are separated by a sub- 
sequent operation, the outer bark is rejected, and the inner dried 
in the sun. The bast is then torn into narrow ribbons which, 
without any other preparation, are first spun into strands and 
then laid into rope. The ropes are bulky, rough, and lacking 
in flexibility, due to the high percentage of woody tissue, but 
are generally good enough for ordinary purposes. All of the 
ropes made to order, except two, were fabricated of crude bast 
obtained by this process. 
(2) The water-retting process is usually practiced on the fibers 
obtained from herbaceous plants. The twigs and branches or 
