55 



balangot grew in great profusion in the vicinity of the 

 barrio, they soon gave up selling cakes and began making 

 slippers. Within a few months some Filipinos started 

 making slippers. As there was a ready sale for the product, 

 more and more people began making balangot slippers until 

 now practically the whole barrio is engaged in this industry. 

 The Japanese remained in the barrio for about one year 

 and a half, but finding competition too strong moved away. 



A better grade of slippers is now being developed in the 

 public schools. These slippers are neat in appearance and 

 are made of finely twisted split straw. For the inner sole 

 the sheath of the areca palm (bamboo sheath might also 

 be serviceable) is used with a narrow strip of rattan to 

 form the edge. 



Hats. — The straw was formerly used quite extensively 

 for cheap hats, but now its use for this purpose is rare and 

 spasmodic. The decline in its use is probably due to the 

 fact that more satisfactory hat materials have been found. 

 There is a large export trade from Japan of horses' sun- 

 bonnets made of sedges. It is very probable that balangot 

 could be utilized for the manufacture of this article. 



A good grade of matting can be made from the fine 

 balangot straw. In fact, the sedge resembles closely the 

 Chinese matting sedge (Cyperus tegetiformis) which is 

 used extensively in China for the manufacture of matting. 



ALINANG. 



{Cyperus radiatus.) 



Alinang (Albay, Cebu, Leyte, Sorsogon) ; balabalangutan (T.) (Bula- 

 can) ; malapandan dagko (Oriental Negros) ; obod-obod (Capiz, 

 Tayabas) ; upopi (Cagayan). 



Alinang is sometimes confused with balangot (C. malac- 

 censis) or with agas (Rynchospora aurea). Alinang can, 

 however, be distinguished from balangot if the following 

 points are noted: Alinang grows to be 1 m. high; has a 

 number of leaves one-half to two-thirds as long as the stem ; 

 a large number of leaflike bracts subtending the inflores- 

 cence and spikelets 4 to 5 mm. long. Balangot grows to 

 a height of 1.5 m. and has no leaves or just a few which 

 are less than 3 cm. long. Its spikelets are 1 to 2 cm. long, 



