376 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



percentage of the area covered was too small to be reliable, being less 

 than 0.038 per cent. The Philippine figures are drawn from work 

 covering 1,248,832 acres and based on 4,365.62 acres of valuation 

 survey, or 0.35 per cent of the area. The Bornean figures refer to 185,- 

 136 acres only, based on 5,420 acres, or a 2.92 per cent survey. 



An interesting fact brought out by the above comparison is that the 

 five timbers of the family Dipterocarpaceae, which occur in quantity in 

 both countries, make up 62.59 per cent of the stand in Borneo and 

 63.35 per cent of the stand in the Philippines. Of these five timbers 

 all except selangan batu (Philippine yacal) are relatively soft woods. 

 Tanguile {Shorea polysperma) occurs in the Philippines in much 

 greater abundance than in Borneo and kapor (Dryobalanops spp.) 

 is not represented in the Philippines. Both of these are softwoods.^ 

 Adding the percentage figures for these two timbers and excluding 

 selangan batu, we find that in the Philippines 67.29 per cent of the 

 total stand is composed of timbers which are relatively softwoods, 

 suitable for general construction purposes and interior finish, while in 

 Borneo 62.36 per cent are of similar character, if not identical. The 

 lower percentage of softwoods for Borneo is due to the fact that 

 billian, the Borneo ironwood, occurs in quantity and that selangan batu 

 is more abundant in Borneo than in the Philippines. Otherwise, from 

 the commercial standpoint, the close relation of the forest in these two 

 regions is remarkable. 



As to total stand, the figures thus far at hand indicate a heavier 

 stand per acre in the Philippines than in Borneo. I am not inclined 

 to think that this is the case. Philippine figures are based chiefly on 

 the sample-plot method, plots being located in typical areas and then a 

 guess made as to the total area to which any plot or series of plots 

 could be referred. In any work such as this the unconscious tendency 

 is to locate plots in areas which are a little better than the average. 

 As it was possible to work on a much more intensive scale in Borneo, 

 the strip method has been used in every case and the results could, 

 therefore, be applied directly to the whole area under consideration. 

 With this method there is much less likelihood of overestimation. On 

 the other hand, the results thus obtained cannot safely be used as a 

 basis for estimating the total stand of timber except in the coastal belt, 



' The word "softwood" as applied to tropical timbers is only relative. Kapor 

 and kruin would probably not be considered softwoods in extra-tropical forests. 

 They are neither as soft or as light as the seriahs, but when compared with 

 dense and heavy woods such as billian and selangan batu the term "softwood" 

 can be legitimately applied. 



