54 



sun. Then generally they are tied into small bundles and 

 kept in the house until wanted. 



Fine straw. — Mr. W. Huse Chapman, division industrial 

 supervisor for Pampanga, who has given special attention 

 to balangot straw in connection with its use for slippers, 

 reports to the Director of Education as follows : 



Depending on the purposes to which the straw is to be put, just 

 one side of the three-cornered stalk is removed, or, if a very fine straw 

 is desired, the edges are cut off and the sides pulled apart. At the 

 same time, more or less of the pulp is also removed. 



Naturally, if but a small amount of pulp is removed, the straw 

 is thick and soft; if a large amount, the straw is thin and fine. 

 The strips are now put in the hot sun for a first quick drying, so 

 that the edges may curl around any bits of pulp left. After this 

 first quick or partial drying the straw is allowed to dry completely 

 in the shade and is ready for use. This method gives a light-green 

 straw. 



The straw may be whitened and toughened by keeping it damp 

 in the hot sun for several days. (If the straw is allowed to dry 

 completely in the sun, it becomes brittle.) If the straw cannot be 

 kept damp throughout the day for several days, it may be put out 

 in the evening to be dampened by the dew and allowed to remain 

 in the sun the next morning until about 10 or 11 o'clock, when it 

 should be taken in until night. This process repeated eight or ten 

 times will give a good, white, tough straw. 



The completely dried straw will keep without deterioration but 

 must be dampened before being used. 



USES. 



Slippers. — A very poor grade of balangot slippers is sold 

 in the small shops throughout the Islands — especially in 

 northern Luzon — and also by itinerant venders in the 

 streets of Manila. The chief center for the making of these 

 slippers is the important barrio of San Juan within the 

 jurisdiction of the municipality of Malolos, Bulacan. In 

 this barrio every house, with very few exceptions, is 

 engaged in the making of these slippers. Women and 

 children are the chief workers and apply themselves to this 

 work when they can find time for it from other duties. 



The slipper industry was first started in the barrio of 

 San Juan about four or five years ago, so the people say, 

 by two Japanese peddlers who came through the barrio 

 selling small cakes commonly known as "apa." Seeing that 



