60 THE BUREAU OF SCIENCE 



maguey from the Philippine Islands in 1916 was valued at over $1,700,000 

 (^3,400,000). 



Buntal fiber and other hat materials. — The fiber extracted from the pe- 

 tioles of the buri palm is used for making the buntal hats, one of the best 

 hats of the Philippine Islands marketed in the United States as Bankok 

 hats. Fine hats made from bamboo fibers are marketed under the name 

 of Batavia hats. The present method of extracting the buntal fiber is slow 

 and expensive. The Bureau of Science has improved the method, with the 

 result that the cost of extracting the fiber may be much reduced and should 

 not only cheapen this hat of superior quality, but make possible the use 

 of buntal fiber in other countries. Several fibers are used in the manu- 

 facture of high-grade hats, similar to the Panama hat. Hats made from 

 buri palm leaves are cheaper and better than the cheap straw hats sold in the 

 United States. Abaca affords an abundant supply of excellent raw material 

 which is woven into women's hats. 



Rattans. — The commercial rattans of the Philippine Islands are derived 

 from the climbing palms. The many species in the Philippine Islands belong 

 to three genera. Some of these are small, the canes being 1 centimeter or 

 less in diameter, while others have a diameter of 5 centimeters. The 

 stripped material of some species is very tough; it has great tensile strength, 

 does not readily break in bending, and can be readily bleached. As soon as 

 the material can be satisfactorily separated into definite grades and the 

 differences which control the commercial product determined, there is no 

 reason why a considerable export trade of Philippine materials should not 

 be developed. 



Bast fibers. — Bast fiber is a tough, fibrous layer between the wood and the 

 bark, which is characteristic of certain families of plants, some of which 

 are represented in the Philippine Islands by numerous species. Among 

 these are various species of trees, known as "banot" (genus Sterculia) and 

 "analao" (genera Grewia and Columbia) , and certain small shrubs, known 

 as "anabo" (genus Abroma) . These bast fibers have an extensive local use 

 as a substitute for abaca, and in some parts of the Islands, for example, the 

 Ilocano provinces, the making of rope from bast fibers has a considerable 

 commercial importance. Some of the bast-fiber ropes are superior in dura- 

 bility to abaca rope when much exposed to moisture. 



Kapok. — Tree cotton, while of too short fiber to be of use as a textile 

 material, is a superior filling for pillows and mattresses. The fibers are 

 oily and, therefore, do not become easily water-soaked. For this reason 

 kapok is a suitable filler for life-preservers. 



Cotton. — True cotton is cultivated and made into various articles for local 

 use. 



Cloths. — Some of the above-enumerated fibers and especially the fiber of 

 the pii)eapple are manufactured into cloth for which there is a certain 

 export demand. Cloth known as pina made from the pineapple fiber is very 

 similar to very fine linen and is used especially in making fine embroidery. 

 Sinamay made from abaca is similar to crinoline and is used for similar 

 purposes. The so-called Ilocano cloth made from cotton is characteristic 

 on account of the weave and the dyeing and is much sought for and popular 

 for curtains, pillow covers, etc. 



REFERENCES 



Philippine hats, Philippine Journal of Science, Sec. C (1911), vol. 6, No. 

 2, 93-131. 



