586 Philippine Journal of Science 1919 
Tensile-strength tests of five specimens that had been im- 
mersed in tap water for twenty-four hours showed a reduction 
of 32 per cent in strength, with a maximum variation from the 
mean of 26 per cent. Only one specimen broke in an eye-splice. 
Due to the marked impairment in strength occasioned by wetting, 
it would seem that cordage made of wetted Commersonia bar- 
tramia bast is unsuited for use. Nevertheless the residents of 
Benguet, where the rope was procured, state that during rainy 
weather it is more durable than the other commonly used basts, 
and that it is considered primarily a wet-weather rope. 
A summary of the tests made in the Bureau of Science is 
given in Table IX. 
TABLE IX.—Physical tests of rope made from the bast of Commersonia 
bartramia. 
[Rope made at Disdis, Benguet Subprovince.] 
Mean diameter: 
Millimeters 12.1 
Inches 0.48 
Mean perimeter, or girth: 
Millimeters” 38 
Inches 1.50 
True mean sectional area: 
Square millimeters 97.5 
Square inches . 0.151 
Ultimate tensile strength (dry): 
Mean in kilograms 382 
Maximum in kilograms 458 
Minimum in kilograms 306 
Mean in pounds 843 
Maximum in pounds 1,010 
Minimum in pounds 675 
Ultimate tensile strength (wet): 
Mean in kilograms 259 
Maximum in kilograms 327 
Minimum in kilograms : 220 
Mean in pounds 570 
Maximum in pounds 720 
Minimum in pounds 485 
Mean ultimate tensile strength per unit area (dry): 
Kilograms per square centimeter 392 
Pounds per square inch 5,580 
Mean ultimate tensile strength per unit area (wet): 
Kilograms per square centimeter 266 
Pounds per square inch 3,780 
Mean elongation at instant of rupture: 
Dry (per cent) 14 
Wet (per cent) . 13 
