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The buri palm is found in most parts of the Philippines, 

 but grows in greatest abundance in the central part of the 

 Pampanga Valley and in southern Tayabas. 



PREPARATION.^ 



Buri strips. — Buri strips are prepared from the young, 

 unopened leaf of the buri palm. The coarsest strips are 

 made by separating the segments from the midribs and 

 drying them in the sun. A higher grade of material results 

 from boiling them in water. Such strips are suitable only 

 for bayon (bag) manufacture and to be woven into coarse 

 mats for baling purposes. 



Several methods of bleaching buri strips exist in various 

 localities. An exact description of the processes is some- 

 what difficult, since the persons who produce the strips have 

 no definite idea of the proportions and quantities of the 

 various materials which they use, and often do not care to 

 divulge what they consider trade secrets. In several cases, 

 nevertheless, supervising teachers have succeeded in obtain- 

 ing fairly exact data on the preparation of buri strips. 



However, the same method carried on in different towns 

 seems to result in different qualities of strips. These 

 differences probably result from slight variations in the 

 method of preparation. It has also been found that the 

 age of the leaf, as determined by the length of the petiole, 

 influences the color of the strips produced. In some districts 

 the unopened leaf is not taken if the petiole is over 2 inches 

 in length. In other places, leaves with petioles about 1 foot 

 long are considered ready to be cut. It is probable, too, 

 that the composition of the water in which the strips are 

 boiled influences its color. Mauban, in Tayabas Province, 

 has the reputation of producing the whitest buri strips. 

 Mr. John H. Finnigan, supervising teacher, attempted to 

 introduce buri strips into the schools of Gumaca, Tayabas, 

 where the buri palm is very plentiful. The work was in 

 charge of expert weavers from Mauban, but only a poor 

 quality of strips was produced. It was claimed that the 

 water in which the segments were boiled, according to the 



* The Philippine Craftsman, Vol. I, No. 3, September, 1912. 



