XIV, 6 King: Philippine Bast-fiber Ropes 583 
Some of the strips of bast have been freed so thoroughly from 
the adherent cellular tissue that the individual filaments are 
easily discernible and present a silky appearance; in fact, Watt ’® 
states that the fiber might be considered a substitute for silk. 
The rope was made of fiber that was already on hand at the 
time of my visit, and therefore represents the bast as it is cus- 
tomarily used there for cordage manufacture. Plate II, fig. 1, 
shows the process of laying this retted-rope sample, together 
with details of the triple-crank end of the primitive wooden 
apparatus employed for the purpose. The other specimen, shown 
in Plate III, fig. 2, is cream buff and was collected at Disdis, 
Benguet Subprovince, for this particular work, by Eugenio Fé- 
nix, formerly botanical assistant, Bureau of Science. In this 
place the Filipinos did not take the trouble to clean the bast 
by retting or other process; they simply used the crude ribbon- 
like strips, which average 5 millimeters wide, 0.51 millimeter 
thick, and 675 millimeters long, in manufacturing the rope. 
Each strand is about seven strips thick. The result is a bulky, 
coarse, and rough-looking rope of erratic tensile strength when 
either wet or dry. Although inferior in strength to the retted- 
fiber rope, due to the large percentage of inert material encum- 
bering its filaments, nevertheless it has more than average 
tenacity. 
The retted bast-fiber rope has a uniformly high tensile 
strength, and breaks of dry specimens occurred at 147, 157, and 
166 kilograms, respectively, a maximum variation of only 6 per 
cent from the mean. All three of the test specimens failed out- 
side of eye-splices. On the other hand specimens of the uncleaned 
bast rope in a series of five tests gave a maximum tensile varia- 
tion of 21 per cent from the mean value. Two of the specimens 
ruptured in eye-splices. 
No tests were made of the wetted rope specimens fabricated 
of retted fiber. Wetting the rope made from crude strips of 
Abroma fastuosa bast lowered its mean tensile strength nearly 
50 per cent, with a maximum variation in five specimens of 22 
per cent from the mean. One specimen ruptured in an eye-splice. 
It would appear that this fiber is unsuitable for use in the 
wetted condition. Its unsuitability in wet places is appreciated 
by the Filipinos, who largely restrict its use to the dry season. 
When dry it is much valued and is preferred for hanging 
clothes because it is nonstaining. 
* Watt, G., Dictionary of the Economic Products of India. Government 
of India Printing Office, Calcutta 1 (1885) 7 and 8. 
