INDUSTRIAL FIBER PLANTS OF THE 

 PHILIPPINES. 



Chapter I.— INTRODUCTORY. 



A number of household industries are firmly established in 

 the Philippines. These industries may, however, be further 

 developed if greater use is made of the fiber plants found 

 in the fields and forests throughout the Archipelago. The 

 Philippine sylvan plants that furnish industrial materials 

 are, as a rule, not massed together in great stands, but are 

 found scattered over a large territory crowded in among 

 many other species of plants. 



At present, the market for Philippine fiber products is 

 excellent, and for many years the demand for them will be 

 greater than the supply. No foreign material need be 

 imported for the fabrication of these products, and only at 

 times is machinery of even the simplest type necessary for 

 the work. 



In some places the petioles, midribs, and leaves of a 

 variety of palms, such as sugar, buri, nipa, coconut, and the 

 like, furnish the material. In other places, air roots are 

 found in plenty for the making of excellent articles. In 

 still others, the dried fiber or skin of the abaca petiole can 

 be utilized to advantage for many purposes. In some local- 

 ities, tropical vines (ex. pamago) are well adapted for 

 industrial work. In nearly all parts of the Islands the 

 stems of many species of ferns can be used in a number 

 of ways. 



Banban (Donax cannaeformis) is common along streams 

 and brooks in all provinces and makes an excellent industrial 

 material. The bast fibers of many trees can be utilized for 



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