98 JOURNAL OF I■OKI■;STR^• 



high grade furniture and cabinet work.* Varous species numbered 

 among which are Hopea plagata, H. ovalifolia, Balanocarpiis cagaya- 

 nensis, Isoptera borncensis, and certain forms of Vatica produce strong 

 and durable structural timbers and are employed extensively in the 

 Islands, under conditions requiring strength and durability. With the 

 continued exploitation of Philippine forests and the increasing cost and 

 scarcity of timber in the north temperate zone, new uses for Philippine 

 dipterocarps are coming to the attention of the public. The present 

 fiber study was undertaken with the hope that it might contribute to 

 our knowledge of the suitability of Philippine dipterocarps for the 

 manufacture of paper. 



The first serious attempt to establish a local paper industry was 

 made by the Philippine legislature in 1917, when a law ^ was enacted 

 guaranteeing 4 per cent interest for three or six years on the initial 

 investment. It was recognized at that time that there were obstacles 

 which must be surmounted before the industry could be placed on a 

 paying basis. Philippine forests do not ofifer conditions particularly 

 favorable for harvesting the raw fiber since many tree species abound 

 and pure stands are unknown. Small areas yield many woods which 

 differ widely in density, color, and mechanical properties and the 

 present study would indicate that only certain of these are suitable for 

 pulp manufacture. 



The problem becomes the more complex when we consider the lack 

 of adequate water facilities in getting the logs to the mills. In the 

 Philippines these obstacles are well nigh insurmountable and as the 

 industry develops in the Islands raw fibers from other sources will 

 undoubtedly be utilized in the manufacture of paper. But. as Brown 

 and Fischer ^ have pointed out, considerable pulp material can profitably 

 be obtained as by-products of logging and milling operations. It fol- 

 lows that this waste will be mostly of dipterocarp origin, since all the 

 large sawmills in the Islands are operating on this type of forest. 



In the selection of material I have been especially fortunate in ob- 

 taining authentic wood specimens from the extensive collections of the 

 Philippine Bureau of Forestry. The majority of the samples em- 



* The wood of Shorca polyspenna is marketed under the trade name of "Phil- 

 ippine mahogany" and has been employed successfully in the manufacture of air- 

 plane propellers. 



° See Act No. 911, Philippine legislature, passed in 1917. 



' Brown, W. H., and Fisher, A. F. "Philippine Forest Products as Source of 

 Paper Pulp." Bull. No. 16, 1918, Bur. of Forestry, Manila, P. I. 



