XIV, 6 King: Philippine Bast-fiber Ropes 635 
TABLE XXXVI.—Physical tests of rope made from the bast of Gnetum 
sp—Continued. 
Ultimate tensile strength (wet): 
Mean in kilograms 217 
Maximum in kilograms 240 
Minimum in kilograms 205 
Mean in pounds 478 
Maximum in pounds 529 
Minimum in pounds 452 
Mean ultimate tensile strength per unit area (dry): 
Kilograms per square centimeter 773 
Pounds per square inch 11,100 
Mean ultimate tensile strength per unit area (wet): 
Kilograms per square centimeter 1,000 
Pounds per square inch 14,500 
Mean elongation at instant of rupture: 
Dry (per cent) 10 
Wet (per cent) 12 
Mean weight per unit length: 
Grams per meter _ 19.7 
Pounds per foot 0.0132 
Average breaking length: 
Meters 8,450 
Feet 27,700 
Moisture (per cent) 11.45 
BOMBACACEAE 
BOMBAX CEIBA Linn. Malabulak. 
Local names: Boboi (Tagalog); bobor or tarokték (Abra, L[locano) ; 
bubui-gubat (Mindoro, Rizal); ddldol (Ilocano); kdpas, kapdi (Jolo) ; 
malabilak (Laguna, Nueva Ecija). 
A very large deciduous tree, the trunk with large pyramidal 
spines; leaves palmately compound, leaflets oblong to lanceolate, 
10 to 20 centimeters long; flowers very large, red, appearing 
before the leaves; capsules about 15 centimeters long; seeds 
hairy; throughout the Philippines at low altitudes. 
Bombax ceiba bast is orange-buff. The strips of rope procured 
for the test average 6 millimeters wide, 0.388 millimeter thick, 
and 967 millimeters long. Each strand averages ten strips 
thick. 
When dry, rope made of this fiber is medium in tensile strength 
and breaking length. Wetting diminishes its mean tensile 
- strength 13 per cent. Three of the four dry, and one of the 
five wet, specimens broke in eye-splices. The maximum varia- 
tion from the mean tensile strength of the dry test pieces was 
9 per cent, and that shown by the wet series was 37 per cent. 
