XIV, 6 King: Philippine Bast-fiber Ropes 615 
The bast strips constituting the rope tested are cream colored, 
are softer and thinner than most of the other basts, measure 
from 0.10 to 0.31 millimeter thick, average 4 millimeters wide, 
and have a mean length of 1,060 millimeters. The strands 
average fourteen strips thick. — 
When dry, rope made of this bast gives a very low tensile 
strength and breaking length. Wetting the rope causes an ex- 
traordinary reduction in tensile strength, amounting to 44 per 
cent, or nearly half its original strength. The five dry speci- 
mens gave more concordant results than the five wet ones, the 
maximum variations from the mean tensile strength in the two 
series being 11 and 29 per cent, respectively. None of the wet, 
and only one of the dry, test pieces ruptured in an eye-splice, 
and the latter did not give the minimum value. Filipinos say 
that rope made of this bast is durable during the dry season, 
but that the fiber quickly deteriorates when wetted. The high 
loss in strength upon wetting shows that the fiber is suited for 
use in the dry condition only. This fiber is said to be abundant. 
A summary of the tests of this species made in the Bureau 
of Science is given in Table XXV. 
TABLE XXV.—Physical tests of rope made from the bast of Grewia 
bilamellata. 
[Rope made at Langiden, Abra Province.] 
Mean diameter: ; 
Millimeters 7.6 
Inches 0.30 
Mean perimeter, or girth: 
Millimeters 24 
Inches : 0.95 
True mean sectional area: 
Square millimeters 38.8 
Square inches 0.060 
Ultimate tensile strength (dry): 
Mean in kilograms 124 
Maximum in kilograms 136 
Minimum in kilograms 110 
Mean in pounds 274 
Maximum in pounds 300 
Minimum in pounds 243 
Ultimate tensile strength (wet): 
Mean in kilograms 69.8 
Maximum in kilograms 85.6 
Minimum in kilograms . 49.4 
Mean in pounds 154 
Maximum in pounds 189 
Minimum in pounds 109 
